Vintage Taco 44

Taco 44

  • yes

    Votes: 15 78.9%

  • No

    Votes: 4 21.1%
  • Total voters
    19
  • Poll closed .
MSPTREX

MSPTREX

Active Member
#1
#1
I entered 2 bikes last year but only got one done. I didnt get alot done on this 44 last year so I decided to re-enter it this year to finish. It will get the iconic taco purple paint, burnished wheels, period correct 3hp Briggs, NOS Carlisles, and a seat by the one and only manchester1. Here is a link to the thread of last years build off so you can see what little I got done.

https://oldminibikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/taco-44.164828/

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Addicted 2 Minis

Addicted 2 Minis

Well-Known Member
#4
#4
Nice!, love them Tacos!, not as much as my Lil Indians but I'm an east coast guy, what can I say. Those wheels look awesome, wish I had a set, looking forward to the build.
 
MSPTREX

MSPTREX

Active Member
#6
#6
Talked with my buddy who paints today and he told me to go ahead and get the paint mixed and drop off what I need painted whenever I am ready. Going to try to get that done this week.

Tonight I set out the wheels, tires, and sprocket so I could see what I need to get for hardware. Cambo61 burnished the wheels a year ago and they still look new. Not too thrilled about all the chain marks on the sprocket but guess it will add some character to the finished product. Tires need to be cleaned up before assembly but I feel fortunate to score such a nice set of NOS tires to use on the build.

Also got the 80202 Briggs I tore down last year out of garage and it is still just how I left it in pieces. I need to pick away at some of the oil chunks stuck in the cooling fins and tape off a few things before I take to a friends to sandblast everything. I have a ton of NOS Briggs parts to rebuild the engine with.
 

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MSPTREX

MSPTREX

Active Member
#10
#10
Busy week so far! Yesterday was able to get the paint mixed and dropped off the frame, forks, and swing arms to get painted. My friend Danny painted my taco 22 as well in the same color for the 2018 build off and did great. Can't wait to see it with some color on it!

Last night I cleaned up the Carlisles, found the hardware I needed, and then was able to get the wheels/tires plus the brake assembled. Tires cleaned up great, not 100% sure the exact years the Indian head tires were made but I would guess these are 40-50 years old.

And tonight I spent a couple hours at a friends shop sandblasting the 3hp Briggs I will be rebuilding. Hoping to get it rebuilt in the coming weeks and then need to find a warm place to paint it. I also used my friends chop saw to cut the new jackshaft to the correct length.

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MSPTREX

MSPTREX

Active Member
#15
#15
Picked up the bike from being painted this morning. It looks awesome but there was some mis-communication between the painter, guy who mixed the paint, and myself. When I did my taco 22 for 2018 build off I had it painted in a dual stage, for whatever reason this time it was mixed as a single stage so that is how the painter did it. I was a little bummed at first as it doesnt match my 22 exactly even though it's the same color.

So I am just going to try to not dwell on it and I will just refer to the bikes as step brothers when done. Besides that it looks great and technically a single stage paint is more period correct. Throughout this week I will get the frame assembled so I can mock up the front and rear wheels for wheel spacer measurements.
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MSPTREX

MSPTREX

Active Member
#16
#16
I couldn't contain myself to start assembling the bike! I mocked everything up so I could get some measurements for wheels spacers. This is my first time messing with a full suspension vintage bike, I am more of a rigid frame mini bike guy. If you are familiar with Taco bikes at all you might know this 44 is a little different then its successors.

Not only is 1966 the first year of the Taco 44, but it is the only full year year they made them with tube style swing arms. There was tube swing arm bikes with 1967 serials but sometime in 67 they changed the frame design on the 44 for good reason. If you look at the pictures you will notice the swing arms actually mount to the jackshaft. Not the best design out there which is most likely why they changed the frame design in 67.

Which brings me to talking about the swing arms a little more. Even though the bearings fit tight in the swing arms, the shocks are bolted to them, and the axle bolt is tight against the wheel spacers... What keeps the swing arm from getting knocked off the bearing? So I had these 2 bearings made with a dual snap rings to make sure everything stays in place like it should.

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Biffmini

Biffmini

Well-Known Member
#17
#17
MSPTREX said:
I couldn't contain myself to start assembling the bike! I mocked everything up so I could get some measurements for wheels spacers. This is my first time messing with a full suspension vintage bike, I am more of a rigid frame mini bike guy. If you are familiar with Taco bikes at all you might know this 44 is a little different then its successors.

Not only is 1966 the first year of the Taco 44, but it is the only full year year they made them with tube style swing arms. There was tube swing arm bikes with 1967 serials but sometime in 67 they changed the frame design on the 44 for good reason. If you look at the pictures you will notice the swing arms actually mount to the jackshaft. Not the best design out there which is most likely why they changed the frame design in 67.

Which brings me to talking about the swing arms a little more. Even though the bearings fit tight in the swing arms, the shocks are bolted to them, and the axle bolt is tight against the wheel spacers... What keeps the swing arm from getting knocked off the bearing? So I had these 2 bearings made with a dual snap rings to make sure everything stays in place like it should.

View attachment 255279
Click to expand...
Better than good!
 
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