j57little's - Roper Rebuild - (Vintage Class)

j57little

Active Member
#41
Thank you to Mr. Pat. I will definitely check the spring company. It's not the ID or OD that is so tough to find; it's the right wire gauge that yields the correct OD AND ID. Much appreciated.
 

j57little

Active Member
#42
The bearings are just slightly loose. You can turn them with your hand, but I think a thin metal shim and maybe a dot of JB Weld as Buckeye suggests might just do it. The weld bead and regrinding would be the total fix, but I don't do my own welding and that solution becomes a logistics and timing problem. Ironic, I work for a welding company, know the theory inside and out, I am certified in soldering, but never welded anything. I'm thinking about just buying a TIG welder and going nuts. I know there are lots of MIG and stick welding fans, but the fine work I want to do means TIG. The goal; next year my project will include my own welding!

Chipper did some great welding on last year's project - I'd love to hear his advice (or from any seasoned welders out there). By the way, I tried Chipper's rod connector idea for attaching the rear sprocket to the five-spoke wheels. Not only is it strong, it creates a perfect gap between sprocket and tire. Photos coming soon.
 
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#43
You are surely doing a fine job , if you are going to powdercoat the frame ( and the powder guy is good ) there is a metal filler they use , it'll cost more as it's time consuming but it will make the frame tubes like glass ! If painting use bondo !!
 

j57little

Active Member
#44
Hi Chipper,

The frame now has a powder coated primer. There are lots of spots with heavy pitting and voids. I plan to paint over it in a bright yellow pearl (three part paint). The question is whether I can use bondo over the powder coat primer or if I will have to take it back down to the metal before painting. My hope is that the powder coat primer has enough adhesion so that the bondo can be used over it and then painting done over that. I appreciate your advice!

Thanks,
Jack
 
#45
My hope is that the powder coat primer has enough adhesion so that the bondo can be used over it and then painting done over that. I appreciate your advice!
Jack, I am not Chipper, but I do paint. Yes, "bondo" will adhere to your PC. But you will need to scuff it pretty good starting with a light 100g, then a 220g. by hand. Then you hit it with acetone, or lacquer thinner/reducer to clean, then fair with bondo, sand, etc. A rule of thumb is that bondo will adhere to anything you'd expect your catalyzed paint to adhere to. Since you are going to shoot the entire bike with paint, however you might want to consider abrasive removal of all PC, and start from zero.

Here's my thought on that: When you go to the trouble of shooting a base coat, then a pearl coat, then a urethane top coat, you owe it to yourself to start fresh. Remove any chance of bleed through, or anything else occurring in the PC base that could come back to bite you. That would be my concern, not so much the bondo.
 

j57little

Active Member
#47
Thanks Dave,

Somehow I suspect that Chipper and most of the purists on this site would have the same thoughts. I appreciate the feedback. On the other hand, if you saw how rough this frame is you might reconsider and allow for some age-earned "character" in the final product :) But as you suggest, why go to all that work if the result will be less than perfect? So OK, you talked me into it! I'll be sanding for the next month or so... :)

Still love the Coronet! Yours is a 67 - mine is a 66 convertible. I like the 67's better, but my wife loves the convertible - so practical here in Michigan!
 
#48
Thanks Jack, I received and sent you a PM on 2K primer. Hey, give me an RT convertible, with the 426. I think there was maybe one made, or was it two? :) Let me know if you have any more questions. Always glad to help.
 

j57little

Active Member
#49
Oh man, a 67/RT/426/convertible???? Now that would be amazing! As much as I like the 67's better than the 66's, I have to admit that my '66 was pretty rare. They built a quarter-million Coronets in '66, but only 3,000 convertibles and fewer than 1,000 with a big block. I can settle for that!

And thanks for the paint advice. I will be following it carefully!
 
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j57little

Active Member
#50
A couple of people have commented on the chain I am using. This is old-style roller chain. Some of the newer chains are wider and simply won't fit on a two-speed clutch. The reason is that the clearance between the two sprockets on a two-speed clutch is very tight. Sometimes even a master link will not clear. So yes, this is old style chain (aka farm chain), but it is stainless steel. There are no master links. The ends were joined by pressed pin. This is easy to do with most chain breakers and is often seen on racing go karts. If you have a two-speed clutch and have problems keeping the chains in place, this method might help.

https://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=95023&d=1489432270
 
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j57little

Active Member
#51
The motor is almost done. Sears used Tecumseh engines, but they displayed the Craftsman brand and this engine highlights that fact. I'm not sure the Craftsman badge will stay, but with Sears going under I thought it might be nice to highlight one of their highest achievements - the Craftsman brand. Some might note that this engine has a lighting coil. Some might even say that this engine appears to be configured like a Rupp engine (and they would be correct). The only exception is that this one has the shorter shaft and non-angled intake.

I have an NOS original spark arrestor as used on many of the Sears bikes, but it has a short stubby pipe, not the s-curve pipe that was typically used. If anyone has a lead on this pipe I would much appreciate it!

IMG_1062a.jpg
 
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j57little

Active Member
#52
IMG_1066.JPG

In addition to a very rusty frame, the scrubber brake was really bent up. It could have been straightened to some degree, but I decided to replace it. Thanks again to Chipper for the replacement part.

IMG_1067a.jpg
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#53
The motor is almost done. Sears used Tecumseh engines, but they displayed the Craftsman brand and this engine highlights that fact. I'm not sure the Craftsman badge will stay, but with Sears going under I thought it might be nice to highlight one of their highest achievements - the Craftsman brand. Some might note that this engine has a lighting coil. Some might even say that this engine appears to be configured like a Rupp engine (and they would be correct). The only exception is that this one has the shorter shaft and non-angled intake.

I have an NOS original spark arrestor as used on many of the Sears bikes, but it has a short stubby pipe, not the s-curve pipe that was typically used. If anyone has a lead on this pipe I would much appreciate it!

View attachment 95388
Looks good! Dunno if you know this or not already, small engine deals has some NOS craftsman lubrication/info decals correct for that era engine still floating around. I used one to replace the pretty wore out and cracked/peeled one on an OG paint original engine on a sears bike I went through last year.

Tecumseh Parts 30592 DECAL USE 36261 Engine TE-30592

 

markus

Well-Known Member
#57
Hi Markus - Yes indeed! I have been looking all over - thanks for the lead. I already ordered two!
Right on :thumbsup: I know I was giddy like a schoolgirl when I saw them post up those decals :laugh: What was left of that decal on my Roper was pretty rough looking.
 

j57little

Active Member
#59
I started sanding (mostly grinding actually) last night. This frame was so rough, but the goal is to have it like glass (at least in the visible areas). Ropers were originally painted in blue, red, orange and yellow (that t I know of) and one version was actually in all-chrome. This project will be yellow, similar to the original yellow color, but with a pearl coat and clear top coat. I hope to have the tank done this week and will post the photos.
 
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j57little

Active Member
#60
IMG_1076.JPG

IMG_1074.JPG

IMG_1073.JPG

I really wanted to use the Astra five-spoke wheels, but there are few sprocket choices that will work because of the five-bolt configuration. OldMiniBikes has one sprocket that would work, but it has an integral brake drum that I don't want. So I drilled my own sprocket. By mounting a bearing in the sprocket I am certain to have the sprocket concentric to the axle and this also increases the load that can be applied to the sprocket. Chipper gave me the idea about using rod connectors as spacers and they seem to set up the correct spacing needed. Now back to sanding and body filler!
 
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