Good evening,
I'd like to share my latest project.
A Cheetah 325! Not sure of the year but the original engine plate was stamped 62879 (June 28, 1979?)
I've always enjoyed the 6-spoke wheels these came with. Something about the classic style made this one jump out at me.
It was in really rough shape when I Inherited it with the purchase of my '72 Rupp Roadster2, about two years ago.
I had it stored in my storage unit and it stayed there for about two years, that is until recently. I thought it would be a great winter project to slowing chip away while the weather dipped below a bone chilling 75* and sunny here in Houston, TX.
I thought about finding the original 4hp Clinton Engine, which it should have had from the manufacturer.
After searching high and low for weeks, I determined that it would take weeks, even months to locate one. I changed my plans and started to hunt for a solid briggs 5hp flathead locally relatively quickly and cheaply.
I was opposed to the Predator 212 on this build, not in general, but this one I could not be satisfied without the Original American 12ci Flathead!!
I found one rather quickly and started planning out the rest of the build.
It had came with a 6" Comet Series 20 driven on the jackshaft. I was not sure if the Series 20 comet TC was original, but I thought it was unique enough and parts were easily available, I could stick with it. The bike already having been produced with the jackshaft, I figured I could get away with just replacing the parts that were already there, and fill in the blanks as I go. Another plus would be, using a USA made CVT that would have been readily available and commonly used on minibike at the time this bike was produces.
I quickly ordered some parts and started thinking about tackling the repairs. I have no space to do these repairs with me being in an apartment and all of my tools and welding equipment in storage. This has posed a tough challenge to not be able to get real dirty building this bike.
Anyways,
Long story short I found a great fabricator to pick up a side job of whipping this clapped out Cheeftah into a solid, reliable bike agin.
What an incredible job Mario did! Some of the things he made look easy were:
I chose a small fuel tank I thought would be compact and allow me to use a a bracket I already had and be big enough to take a decently long trip around the city without stopping for fuel. I was wrong. To make up for this, I discovered the MSR fuel canister from REI Co-Op. It's 30oz and should net me an extra 30+ miles if I choose to go that far, or carry a back up for who ever I am riding with.
The wheels, some brake parts, and other pieces were restored or cleaned with a vapor blasting process! Love this option for cleaning and restoring old parts!!!
The wheels cleaned up so good I couldn't believe they were the same ones I has started with. They the finish was brand new.
The engine I will using is a Gen 3 Briggs 5hp flathead. Some upgrades will be:
Governor Removal
ARC Billet Connecting Rod
New piston Rings
New Ignition Coil
ARC Billet Side Cover (Beautiful CNC machining!!!)
Vapor blasted block that was previously polished to a mirror finish.
Valves lapped and gapped
Mikuni Fuel Pump
VM22 Carburetor
Exhaust port threaded reducer.
Port casting removal and polishing of exhaust side
I might shave the valve "eyebrows" but I'll look into that further before I do that, any suggestions?
I'll be making a new seat from scratch.
PMR Adjustable motor plate
So now it sits, patently awaiting me to finish placing the last few items before it gets stripped down and sent to the powder coat shop.
Most likely it will be a Teal similar to a 2019 Jeep color, "bikini pearl".
Although not finished, she's come a long way! Excited to finish! Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
I'd like to share my latest project.
A Cheetah 325! Not sure of the year but the original engine plate was stamped 62879 (June 28, 1979?)
I've always enjoyed the 6-spoke wheels these came with. Something about the classic style made this one jump out at me.
It was in really rough shape when I Inherited it with the purchase of my '72 Rupp Roadster2, about two years ago.
I had it stored in my storage unit and it stayed there for about two years, that is until recently. I thought it would be a great winter project to slowing chip away while the weather dipped below a bone chilling 75* and sunny here in Houston, TX.
I thought about finding the original 4hp Clinton Engine, which it should have had from the manufacturer.
After searching high and low for weeks, I determined that it would take weeks, even months to locate one. I changed my plans and started to hunt for a solid briggs 5hp flathead locally relatively quickly and cheaply.
I was opposed to the Predator 212 on this build, not in general, but this one I could not be satisfied without the Original American 12ci Flathead!!
I found one rather quickly and started planning out the rest of the build.
It had came with a 6" Comet Series 20 driven on the jackshaft. I was not sure if the Series 20 comet TC was original, but I thought it was unique enough and parts were easily available, I could stick with it. The bike already having been produced with the jackshaft, I figured I could get away with just replacing the parts that were already there, and fill in the blanks as I go. Another plus would be, using a USA made CVT that would have been readily available and commonly used on minibike at the time this bike was produces.
I quickly ordered some parts and started thinking about tackling the repairs. I have no space to do these repairs with me being in an apartment and all of my tools and welding equipment in storage. This has posed a tough challenge to not be able to get real dirty building this bike.
Anyways,
Long story short I found a great fabricator to pick up a side job of whipping this clapped out Cheeftah into a solid, reliable bike agin.
What an incredible job Mario did! Some of the things he made look easy were:
- Sand blast all parts to reveal damage, and more importantly frame cracks.
- Cut out the old engine plate, the previous mounting hole damage, along with the frame cracks at almost every weld, constituted the cut out of the engine pate and allow him to correctly repair the frame. He built a new engine mount, improving on the original design. Other frame defects were repaired as well. Slag, dents, etc..
- At some point the bike had taken a pretty hard fall on its side. One of the handle bars was bent in, and up about 1-2" in each direction. Mario, cut off the top of the forks off, slugged the fork tubes, and re-welded the forks in perfect alignment.
- Both of the fenders' bolt holes were ripped and misaligned. Mario welded these up, and re-drilled the mounting holes to align the fenders to the frame.
- The sissy bar seat mount had been welded from the factory but the small welds broke in time and a bad fix took place. He re-welded the mount in its correct place.
- In addition to these awesome improvements, He masterfully built a fuel tank mounting bracket, designed with my high tech, ultra CAD design program, AKA cardboard, a pen and a ruler in my living room. He built an auxiliary fuel take storage cradle. More on this in a few. He redesigned the briggs go-kart loop exhaust to loop 90* to the ground; The original offset of 45* to clear the briggs raptor fuel tank would interfere with the TC Driven. He also shortened, and installed a pipe coupler on the end of the exhaust, to allow me to use screw in type mufflers in a populated area.
- More to list that I'm probably forgetting! Amazing craftsmanship!
I chose a small fuel tank I thought would be compact and allow me to use a a bracket I already had and be big enough to take a decently long trip around the city without stopping for fuel. I was wrong. To make up for this, I discovered the MSR fuel canister from REI Co-Op. It's 30oz and should net me an extra 30+ miles if I choose to go that far, or carry a back up for who ever I am riding with.
The wheels, some brake parts, and other pieces were restored or cleaned with a vapor blasting process! Love this option for cleaning and restoring old parts!!!
The wheels cleaned up so good I couldn't believe they were the same ones I has started with. They the finish was brand new.
The engine I will using is a Gen 3 Briggs 5hp flathead. Some upgrades will be:
Governor Removal
ARC Billet Connecting Rod
New piston Rings
New Ignition Coil
ARC Billet Side Cover (Beautiful CNC machining!!!)
Vapor blasted block that was previously polished to a mirror finish.
Valves lapped and gapped
Mikuni Fuel Pump
VM22 Carburetor
Exhaust port threaded reducer.
Port casting removal and polishing of exhaust side
I might shave the valve "eyebrows" but I'll look into that further before I do that, any suggestions?
I'll be making a new seat from scratch.
PMR Adjustable motor plate
So now it sits, patently awaiting me to finish placing the last few items before it gets stripped down and sent to the powder coat shop.
Most likely it will be a Teal similar to a 2019 Jeep color, "bikini pearl".
Although not finished, she's come a long way! Excited to finish! Thanks for reading!
Cheers!
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