Lil Indian 600

markus

Well-Known Member
#1
Gonna start on a slightly custom lil indian. Was on the hunt for a Tecumseh/mid 69-up frame but couldn't find one so I found this 67-68 600 as a roller and just bought it to work with. I didnt want to deal with the 2 speed stuff but it did come with the fat 10.5 tires that look alot meaner on these so thats cool :thumbsup:

I need to make it more like a '69-70 bike because of the engine I want to play with is a Tecumseh. I did snag a 1968 3hp Briggs on ebay as well but I really dont want to go that route, so that and the original steel mouse hole wheels will be most likely sold off.

If you read the historry of LI they say thay had to revamp the frames to fit the Tecs, I always thought the frames were shorter for the briggs, but I am not seeing that. With the Tec in there (even on top of the 2 speed plate) it fits just like it did on my last lil indian that was a Tec bike so I dunno what changes they made to make the tec fit better, Maybe moved the engine plate back a little or something :shrug:

Anyway, I heres the "look" I have had in my mind for 6 months now and can finally put it to bike:



I fell in love with this header that I bought awhile back and felt it would be a great fit with the original chainguard shape and also clear out of the short indian frame as well, I think it does both pretty good. And even thought its not a true vintage piece, Jim definitely got that vintage vibe down well on it as its modeled after some of the Megaphones that were being made and sold for the early race karts.



"Bikerscum" Hooked a brotha up with a Jackshaft assy, Many thanks to him for Doing that :thumbsup:



Of course I dont have the mini matic 2 speed parts, I do have an NOS comet 2 speed for a Gilson/wards bike, I am hoping the comet parts clear on the bike, I have not had time to hack down the super long Gilson jackshaft and start actual test fitting yet though. Worst case I just run a standard jackshaft,




More to come later, I wanted to get a mock up to verify the Tec fit on that frame for now so I could plan the build

Engine is a later large journal 3.5hp block, it uses the same crankshaft as the HS40 does and has the standard size exhaust valve (some of the sidepoppers use a tiny valve). quick test fit appears I can use an early HS40 crank as well as aluminum flywheel so I can use pre 1969 shroud and parts to match the bike better. Wont be a screamer or anything but will have a the big bottom end in it at least, suck thing is scrapping out an HS40 for the parts :laugh:
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#4
Thanks guys, I hope it looks pretty cool when its all together!

Yesterday a package from Jonny Tillotson arrived with the Round top shroud Tecumseh used up till mid 1969, I plan to badge this engine as a december 1968 H35 to stay close to timeframe of all the other parts of the bike....and the smooth top is just plain cool :pimp: Thank you Johny!!!!!



And I have been waiting for these for quite awhile and they just rolled in from overseas today, they match the Original black NOS set I have pretty good (that is because the they are probably what OGK copied back in the 60's):



They cost an arm and a leg! Not as much as the NOS black assy costs (but they will once you factor in the cost of a throttle) But I really wanted that correct look, only in white.


I dropped the frame off at a sandblaster yesterday to get the initial blasting done. Dunno how long its going to take but once its gets back I break out the fine tooth comb and go over it really well. I want to be a poser and get it powdercoated if its straight enough but I know I need to clean up a few things before I can have that done.

Soon as I get this HS50 I am redoing to sell I will try and get some time in on the sidepopper for the lil indian, shoudl not be to much longer I hope!!

 
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markus

Well-Known Member
#6
where did you get the header? I love the side poppers!
Ebay seller jim48indian, he owns a nice foundry and makes up some stuff like this from time to time. He did 2 different side exhaust headers and he was telling me that if the angle of this new was not good they were maybe going to play around and make some other angles, but I think it just about perfect on the lil indian frame. I got a really nice velocity stack from him as we that will probably go on this build too, it can be seen on the table in one of the pics in my first post. I think he also made some of the Gem style chainguards in the Tec/briggs sidecover pattern as well, Really cool that they were thinking of the mini bike world as well and not just the Kart engines.

Hes a really nice guy and the casting quality is really nice!
 
#7
That is Super Kool! My very first mini in 1971 was a 600, two speed, Briggs motor in that color that belonged to the son of the local Chevrolet Dealer Owner (Sadly they've both passed away). My dad bought it for $50 with a broken rewind when he got a new Z50 mini trail to replace it. Don't know what happened to it when we sold it a couple years later when I got a '72 Yamaha JT-2 60 Mini Enduro. I'll love watching this build! Lead on Sir... :thumbsup::biggrin:
 

markus

Well-Known Member
#9
Got the frame back from being blasted, Nothing scary hiding under the paint, just the stuff I knew was there :thumbsup: it needs some touch ups, some of the factory welds are pretty gassy and lumpy. plus where they swapped the brake tabs over needs reworked to get the light grind marks out. It sucks because all that stuff is Factory and make it pretty unique, but if I leave it that way it will just look like I half assed the the bike :doah: Could only get away with it if the original paint was still there I feel.






I'm pretty heavy handed when it comes to bare metal, if I can get those areas I am unhappy with straight enough to powder remains to be seen, Will mess with it a little this weekend and see.
 
#11
Looking good Mark--would kill for that 2 speed plate. I just acid dipped a Lil Indian chopper frame-1970 and same thing with factory welds etc.
 
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