PK

Long time since

2011-06-05T05:26:00.000-07:00

So it has been super long since my last posting. Almost 2 years to the date. I realized I never even wrapped up the blog I just got so excited about the project being done I didnt come back to the blog.
I Enjoyed riding the Vespa round town and to work for a few times and learned that I enjoyed the restoration even more so than it being done. I still had some little custom things I wanted to do like a spare gas tank I was welding up and I was planning on casting some runners for the floor boards, but ended up liking them as they were.

But now with a second kid on the way and little time on my hands I am choosing to let someone else take the reigns on it.
All that is left to do is hook up the head and tail lights and put the horn casting and front fender on. I am putting it up for sale on Scoot.net (you can see the posting here http://scoot.net/classifieds/forsale.html?id=28583.) The post has all the details of the bike.

Hopefully someone else will get as much as I have gotten out of owning restoring and riding it.
feel free to contact me if you have any questions. (theother@jdgraham.net)

Crank Setback

2009-06-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

So in putting on the flywheel I torqued on the nut to the flywheel and the threaded fly side of the crank broke off. I couldn't figure it out for a sec or two I just looked at it like what happened then I took the run out the socket and it still had the crank end in it. So now I am set back a bit trying to get it all figured out. I hadn't even gone 2 miles on the crank so back it goes to American Scooter Center. I just not a new one in but I need to put a new bearing on the crank. I am happen to have found one at a bearing shop in town for 5 bucks vs the 68 they ask for at the scooterworks or other places. So it is all part of the process I guess.
I just want to have some summer riding time before it is back to the garage for winter. I should get it ridable soon but i have said that before

Jets

2009-06-16T11:25:00.000-07:00

Fixing my jetting situation has been a nightmare and let me tell you that one of three things is happening
1. No one knows what to do.
2. No one wants to tell me what to do.
3. They all want me to spend stacks of cash

so i have had to do a lot of research
needless to say it is getting there. But not after a ton of time.

some things for me to reference.
http://www.smellofdeath.com/lloydy/jetting.htm
http://www.mypage.tsn.cc/rdd/TT/contents/CARB/dellorto/dellorto_3_1.html

Oring and spring

2009-05-03T15:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the difference between the bike shifting like a proper pig and shifting like butter. I had to change it out. The thicker spring is a racing spring in the back axel that controls shifting the spring on the left is the stock spring.

The o ring on the left is worn and is causing the cases to leak a bit of oil. The o ring and the spring were the reason I tore down the engine. Had to get it right or else it was not safe.

Wiring

2009-05-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

So I still haven't gotten all the electrics working but I have al the wiring done. I had to make an extension on the back cabling for the taillight. (seen above) I am going to have to get the motor back in and running before I can do the wiring work since the bike doesnt have a battery. But if feels like I am getting close.

Timing

2009-05-03T15:08:00.000-07:00

So before I tore it down I went through the process of setting the timing. It was interesting. The whole process can be seen HERE But basically you have to find Top Dead Center (TDC)(where the piston stops to return down) You can stick something into the spark plug hole to see where the piston goes and comes back and you can mark the degrees it travels then find the midpoint and that is TDC. Each size top end has a degree Before TDC measurement (my polini 130 is 16 Degrees BTDC) where you have to turn your stator plate back. I used a timing strobe gun to check the measurement and then adjust. Good times.

It felt good

2009-05-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

So I got back into the motor today and it was actually enjoyable, I thought it was going to be a real chore but it was good. It finally felt like I knew what the junk was going on and it looked like I knew what I was doing. Minus the whole scene where my friend brandon was over to help my take the motor out of the body, since doing it myself last time was not so fun. So we take out the mounting bolts and in all of my excitement I forgot to disconnect the cables and to drain the oil. Dang to excited. But in about 1 hour I had it down to this.

Put your left fender in put your left fender out.

2009-05-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

So after some time with a hammer and dolly I have gotten the dents out of the shape of a truck bumper and more into the shape of a vespa.

Back on the Horse

2009-03-22T14:59:00.000-07:00

So I got back on PK today for the first time since my accident. It was a bit scary. I got the clutch working however so it ran well. I am having to run it with the choke out and I need to tighten the gearing cables a bit tighter. I am so tempted to take it to a local dealer to get it timed just right and get things tightened, I have tried my best to tighten things the best I can. I am thinking about driving it to school to finish the body work and then taking it in after that. It was fun but a bit scary taking it out on the road for the first real time. I still have some electrical issues to work out but overall it it looking on the up and up.
I will post some pictures of the body work part two soon.

From Before

2009-03-10T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some images Holly took before the "incident".

Die hard vespa

2009-03-06T11:35:00.001-08:00

So I have had to take a break from working on PK but I saw this and had to post it.
This is die hard. Great tattoo. (for those who have never ridden a vespa on the left grip is the gear shift and this is exactly what is there on the shifter)

Small problem... big set back.

2009-03-02T05:07:00.000-08:00

So I am a little down about the whole project today. I have learned lot through this and I am still learning about myself and what I need to become. So in the ongoing metaphor of PK as my internal rebuild that I have been going through for the past year...I have hit a major setback. As you can see in the photo something went wrong. I Took it out into the street and started it up and depressed the clutch and when i selected the gear (normally you would slowly let out the clutch lever and it would slide into gear) I didnt even release any pressure off of the clutch lever and it jumped into gear. The clutch would not disengage and the brake could only slow it down and not stop it from crashing into the back of my friends truck.
This comes at a time for me personally where I am having to deal with alot of internal situations that I originally got PK to work along side of the things I was fixing in myself. I however ended up concentrating more on PK than myself. So I think I dervered this in some round about way and I am learning that my personal restoration is not going to be in my timing but Gods and that it will be humbling at parts and triumphant at times but I cant give up. I tried to set deadlines and expectations that I now know are crippling. Anyhow I am going to take some time away from the vespa, and get the focus back where it should be and when the time is right I will finish PK. This is really tough for me however. It is all I can think about sometimes is getting it finished and getting it our of looking so painful. But if I start on it now I will get obsessed with it again and I will have not put into practice what I am learning.

First Kick

2009-02-26T04:32:00.000-08:00

So here is some much awaited video.
Here is the first kick after a long rebuild. I have been working on this since August of last year. I took it around the block and man does it scream.

I still have some work left to do (cable adjustments, floor rails, taillight, and minor electric work)

Sneak Peek

2009-02-24T05:09:00.001-08:00

So here it almost done. It doesnt have the cowl covers on or grips or a proper taillight or the floorboards on...but this is how it is looking. When it is all done I will take some proper portraits not in the garage.

Back together

2009-02-24T05:06:00.001-08:00

So here is the carburetor all back together. With a new choke cable, which after taking these images I tried to install and it is in my sophomoric opinion to tight so I put the old one back on. That is an easy install that can be done without removing the carburetor in its entirety if I need to redo it.

In all Glory

2009-02-24T05:01:00.000-08:00

This is where the gas line comes in. I would say the filter is a little dirty. (i also say this because I had to fish out paint chips and calcium deposits from the inside.)
Here is the bowl off with the float assembly in view with one of the jets at its side.
Float assembly removed and all jets out, get to cleaning out all the green gunk.
So I think this is the smallest piece I have had to get down to in this whole project.

So here the carb is broken down into all of its parts. Including the choke cable assembly the float, bowl, o rings, filters, and all jets and bolts. Now to put it back together.

Fuel tap and carb out.

2009-02-24T04:54:00.000-08:00

Here it is in all of its glory out of the bike. I had to fix the fuel tap and peck cock while I had the tank out and things all undone. That was just taking it apart and making some cleaning happen. Lucky the fuel tap assembly is ok that would have been another 25 bucks. It is a little hard to get to while riding however to change from on to reserve since it is at the bottom of the gas tank under the seat.
I ended up making my own fuel tap wrench saving 16 bucks. So here are images of that below.

Now that I have the carb out I need to research a bit on which screw does what in terms of tuning. These are the only two adjustments on the outside of the carb that I can find.

The carburetor adventure

2009-02-24T04:50:00.000-08:00

So here is an image of where the carb sits in a small frame. Everything is designed to the T and in there tight. So tight that to remove the carburetor you have to remove the seat and the gas tank and be sitting on the bike to have it go up far enough into the frame for you to remove or tighten the hose clamps. So I am taking it out and apart to clean it all out. In all of my excitement I cleaned out what I could see and thought that i didnt want to mess with it right now I just needed to see it run. I should have done this while I had it out the first time. I am learning about expected deadlines of the self imposed nature.

Cables need to be banished

2009-02-17T05:21:00.000-08:00

I am having more trouble with brake cables than I would have figured. First there is this little bear of a piece. While trying to install the cable through it. The cotter pin decides to throw in the towel and give up the ghost. It being 9pm on sunday. I make a cotter pin out of a bobby pin, which works fantastic with some filling and bending.
Then installing this was such a beast since I realized after taking this picture that I had to put the pin in place while it was on the bike. So I made TWO cotter pins out of bobby pins since I had to cut the first one off.

Motor Matters

2009-02-17T05:18:00.000-08:00

So here is the finished motor on the bench and installed. I am super excited to kick it over. Its heavier than I remember. It is funny I have been moving it around in parts for so long. I used to pick the frame up by the seat area with one hand but now that everything is coming back together, I had just forgotten how heavy it was.

Tires and details.

2009-02-17T05:10:00.000-08:00

So here are the white wall tires that are now on PK. I spent the time to detail the nuts and lock washers for mounting the tires. They are all white, I know it will not last forever but it looks good now.
I attached the front Horn Casting and that was a choir since I in my unknowing state didnt put it on before the front fork so I couldnt get a tool under it or my hand for that matter to attach it. I had to put a thin screwdriver through the front grill part and leave the nut visible rather than the screw head, but so be it.

The underside

2009-02-17T05:05:00.000-08:00

So here is the foot stand in all of its restored glory. I know road grime and stuff is going to make it look oh so nasty in not so long but as of now I think it looks great. This also was a time when I wished I had taken better notes when I took everything apart. You know at the time I thought my notes were extensive enough and I didnt think I would have to take a 6 week break in the project. But I keep finding parts that i have to look at and think hmmm where did that come from and where does it go. Like on the foot stand there is a small L/J shaped piece that goes on a mounting bolt but which one?

Here is the final foot brake. I am loving the white and black details.

Foot brake

2009-02-17T05:02:00.000-08:00

So here is the foot activated brake out of its place. I am having a bit of confusion since I cannot for the life of me find anywhere wires can come from to link to this.
I can see leads on the brake and in the diagram for the bike but those wires do not exist in the wiring harness I have. So...I dont know if a brake light even works on this model but there are wires to the brake light and I know it had one originally. So... I dont know.

Wires and Tigers and Bears

2009-02-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

So I have fallen in love with the new heat shrink rubber sleeves I got. I dont know how I existed without them. Next time I break a limb or finger I know what I am going to use.
Above is a picture before and after the conditions of the undercarriage wiring. So much decay on the wires and so much old messy electrical tape.

Before and After of the brake cable housing. I thought I didnt have a new brake cable so I had to use the old one. I ended up having to cut the old housing to get a blockage out and then used the heat shrink sleeves to mend it. Of course after all of this and installing it. I find the new brake cable I thought I didnt have. So now I have a spare and next time I do any overhauling I will replace it.

New cotter pins

2009-02-17T04:56:00.000-08:00

Here is the back axel cotter pin. When I got PK the cotter pin was actually a nail cut in half. So I think this will work just fine.

clutch and nut

2009-02-17T04:38:00.000-08:00

So one of the issues i ran into was finding a nut to fit the clutch side of the crank. So i found the right size nut but had to cut it in half so here in the final nut cleaned up.

Here is the clutch all installed and good to go. This was a beast due to my cheapness. I made a clutch compression tool out of a bolt, nut and washers. It kept expanding the clutch crooked by just a little and so when it came back together the plates would be off just enough to be super tight to get in. Finally after a while it finally clicked in and was set flush.

Overlooked

2009-01-31T08:30:00.001-08:00

I had finished assembling the cases and placing the stator and was reaching for the flywheel when I saw this. This is the flyside crank bearing... point is it is supposed to be in the cases. On the crankshaft... which it was not. So I had to remove the stator plate and wires. And re-split the cases and in the process tore the cork gasket so I now need to remake a main gasket as well as press on more bearing in place before continuing. It was one of those moments where I counted 3 times then assembled cases but apparently my skills in pre case assembly were lacking.

Stator plate and screws

2009-01-31T08:25:00.000-08:00

So I replaced the screws for the stator plate, the old ones (seen above) I think were in need of being replaced.
I mounted the stator plate in and was going to start doing the stuff for timing the firing, when I looked over and saw something that made me quite upset.

Throttle and carb

2009-01-31T08:17:00.000-08:00

This morning while it was 9 degrees I was out in the garage putting together the carburetor (which was fun since I have no idea what went where) But I got it all together and all put back where it was supposed to be. I had to shorten the throttle cable and clean the choke assembly to get it all in its proper alignment.

I did do something I thought was quite smart. I drilled a 1/16 inch hole through the plastic cam so I could tension the throttle cable through the headset rather than under the carb.

2009-01-30T12:29:00.000-08:00

So here is the engine on its way to being closed. I am well along in terms of its reassembly. I replaced the shift cross, the kickstart rubber, the kickstart gear, all of the oil seals and gaskets. I reassembled the gears to the axle and pressed on all bearings to their places. Below is an image of the new kickstart gear.

Here are both cases joined. I was in need of one size nut for the crankshaft on the clutch side. It took me an hour of driving to find one and that was at advanced auto and it was not even labeled and then ended up just giving it to me since we couldn't find the package it came from or where it belonged. I tried Lowes, tractor supply, fastenal and grainger. It was a 12 mm by 1.5 thread. Everyone seemed to have 1.25 and 1.75 but not 1.5 so if you are looking for that nut good luck. I still have to grind it down to the right thickness but it will work. I am also in need of a woodruff key that is the right type for the clutch basket. After this I have to just reassemble the wheels, magneto and flywheel, and exhaust. If i get the time I think I can kickstart it within a month. Pray it starts or else my wife might drop kick it. Thank goodness we have had some serious ice and snow so that I can stay home and get some time in on it.

Wiring

2009-01-30T12:27:00.000-08:00

I have started doing the rewire of PK. Here is the end of the wiring harness coming to the front. I still have to do the underside and the taillight work. I am considering making my own taillight. We will see how it all goes.

Steering column lock

2009-01-30T12:12:00.000-08:00

Here is the new steering column lock. It is a far cry from where I found it...Not there.

Below is the original condition of the column lock and surrounding area. I think it is a great improvement but it was not without struggle. Refer to the next image.

So here is the story. The hole on the right is supposed to be there the whole on the left...not so much. I had already finished assembling the front fork and head casing and done all the cables and wiring when I realized that to do the steering column lock you have to have the fork out. So i had to undo the headset and lower the fork to get it in. Now mind you I have had to take on and off the headset what feels like 100 times, to get all of the wires in correct since they were not in there correctly when I got it. And also I didnt take any pictures of how it was so when I put it back together from memory I did what looked familiar and then i realized it was not right so on and off on and off etc. Anyhow I got the front fork off and slipped in the cam into the small pipe in the picture above. I went to put in the column lock on the inside of the vespa and the spring it comes with is a little bit of a riddle and I cant figure it out. Here is where I got stupid. I put in the tumbler to see if it would even work. I learn after hearing a little click that the tumbler is supposed to go in ONLY ONCE. it has a little tab that slides in then clicks into place. So now the tumbler is stuck without its housing and I cant get it out. I thought no big deal I can just pull out the cam push the button and slide it out but I cant since I cant push out the cam with out getting the fork out and I cant get the fork out with the cam in.. grrrr.

So I ended up drilling a hole in the pipe so I could reach in with a needle file and depress the button and slip out the tumbler. It took about 1 and 1/2 hours to do it all. So if you ever have questions about one of these locks let me know. I have spent the time with it. Everyone one I called didnt know how to install these and where does the spring go (not the coil spring, the sheet spring). I learned my lesson on this one.

Gaskets

2009-01-30T12:09:00.000-08:00

I have cut out new gaskets out of cork gasket material in hopes of fixing the one side of the case having a small warp to it. The owner before me used a thick paper and silicone gaskets material.

The cork seems to do a great job swelling where needed and crushing where not.

Dots

2009-01-30T12:07:00.000-08:00

I have chosen to cover all open screws for aesthetic purposes with plastic coverings. Here are a few on the front fender. I think it looks rather sharp.

Cush gear and Clutch basket

2009-01-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

So when I took the motor down to bare bones I found that one of the springs on the back of the clutch basket was broken and I had two choices. Option one: replace gear and basket (179 dollars) or Option two: Get replacement plates and springs (21 dollars) and do it myself. Now they warned me this is one of the biggest pains to do. I was willing. It was a pain. Here is the part in its original condition.

After I drilled out and ground out the old rivets and got the plates off I found that 2 of the springs had been sheared. Here it is in all its glory.
Here is the cush gear, clutch basket, plates and springs.
New plates and springs.

Now to crush the rivets without a machine to do so properly I had to build a small tool. This is it. It took almost just as long it seemed to make this as it did to crush all the rivets. It is a small piece of round stock rigged to fit into an anvil and so that I could heat the rivet while it was on this stand, slip the basket and all over this tool and strike the hot rivet... It didn't work anything like that. I made the top just large enough to hold the head of the rivet while crushing it flush and true. I didnt think that if the head of the rivet went on the lip it would crush the lip therefore defeat the purpose of it holding the rivet, this happened.

I ended up throwing this guy away and just using a ball peen hammer and the corner of the anvil. Once I gave up the tool it was a whole lot better. If I had just crushed the junk out of the rivets on corner in the first place it would have taken me half as long and would have looked a little better. But in the end it worked out. below is the finished piece back in the motor.

While I am waiting..

2009-01-30T11:44:00.001-08:00

While I am waiting for some small things for engine work I have made a major decision. I have not found a floor rail kit or parts that i like so far and none that fit the outer curve in the floor board, so I am going to make my own. Here are the wax originals I am made in the garage. I used a piece of angle iron as a base then bent them to fit the body.

I will then transport the wax pieces to the shop and proceed to cast them out of aluminum to make my own rails. If this doesnt work out I can always melt the aluminum back down and use it for something else. And if I find something better along the way or afterwards then no real loss minus time.

Clutch plates

2009-01-30T11:37:00.000-08:00

So I have gone about rebuilding the clutch with new plates and spring. You can see by the old plates below that they were burned out and in desperate need of replacement.

Now onto the clutch basket and cush gear.

So it starts again

2009-01-13T16:31:00.000-08:00

It is now January and I am able to start back into getting PK up and running. I still have one part to fix, and I have to wait about a week for the things I need to get here to make that happen but in the meantime I have cut all new cork gaskets instead of the old paper ones, and i have been working on making a floor kit since I am not happy with any of the ones out there so far. I have high hopes for getting it running soon. My teaching schedule starts back up tomorrow and once that settles down I will have a little more time to get into putting all of PK back together again. It has been a little to cold to work in the garage and I have been trying to settle title stuff out and register it for this year rather than having to pay taxes and junk for last year when it wasnt even running. So hopefully this will be the home stretch... hopefully.

Waiting and working

2008-11-07T04:58:00.000-08:00

So the guys at American scooter center have been great working with me to get the right parts to get PK going. Till I can get the right crank and things I am going to be getting to work (like I said before) on the cable changes, electrical work, and front end work.

How great is that.

Crank shaft is a no go.

2008-11-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

So I was all pumped for the weekend coming up since Holly will be out of town visiting her mom and sister I was going to have all day saturday for PK but now that is not so much. I was hoping to work on the engine but the crank shaft I was sent was in fact the wrong one...Not really incorrect from what the order was supposed to be but what they told me would fit didn't. So i must send it back and get an different one. This will not happen by saturday I dont think. So I will have to do what I have been putting off...Working on the electrical and cable bits and pieces. I think I am going to end up having to remove the entire wiring harness and work on it that way (which I dont want to do) I want to make sure nothing is grounding out on the frame. Also there is some questionable nature of the foot brake connection and by questionable I mean I cant find it. I also have to thread new cables and cable housings through the frame. So I have stuff to do that day but I was so excited about possible hearing it run. But alas it may not happen. The weather is back to warm for how long I dont know but it would be perfect for riding. GRRRRR.

I also have found that one of the four springs in the behind the clutch basket is broken. So I dont know if I can just replace the one or need to replace the whole thing. once again thanks to some total tool who wrecked it.
Springs are just behind this helical gear attached to the basket.

New Friends

2008-11-03T07:54:00.000-08:00

So a new chapter has been added to the story. Through a series of events I have met one of the original owners of PK and a mechanic that worked on it. They have been an amazing resource. Learning some history and some things to look out for. One of the original owners lives in Cincinnati and she sent me some pictures of the original condition she got it in. (seen below). I have been in contact with the mechanic by email and he has given some amazing advice and direction and I cant thank him enough.

How PK got into the condition it did and how it got to where it was is a different story that we may never know but it has been great to learn more about its history.

crank fails but no puppy dog tails

2008-10-09T04:18:00.000-07:00

So I have found what I think to be the major problem with PK. When I first got the vespa when kickstarted it would just wirrr and nothing. I always thought it was a stripped kickstart gear but... I took out the crank the other night and to my surprise the nut that holds the crank to the clutch side hexical cut gear was totally stripped and free to spin in place as well as the tab washer was gone as well as the woodriff key was sheared and the end of the crank stripped. This would make sense why the wirrr and nothing happening. Anyhow now I have to buy a crank and install. I am going to wait on anything else since the crank is 160 bucks from what I can find. Hopefully this will get it running. I am still waiting on new clutch plates. So the wait begins again.

Final Paint

2008-10-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Super pumped about paint and all the body work being done. So here are some sneak peaks of what it is looking like.

The dots on the gas tank are the original color of the vespa.

This is a far cry from what it used to be (seen below)

Wingdings

2008-10-02T04:10:00.000-07:00

So they have these little clips (left side of picture) that cost almost a dollar a piece and are on back order everywhere I have looked so could take up to six weeks to get in plus shipping and time. That is an unacceptable situation in the graham house I could have stopped at almost a dollar a piece. In my family if you cant make it you really don't need it. My family is famous for saying "I could make that" or "if you just did this you could" or in the case of my grandfather "whats wrong with a headlight repaired with a plastic jug" or in my case "make it work"...needless to say it runs deep. So in a matter of 2 minutes I had all of these little clips i needed. The clips are used to hold on the leg shield and cowl badges on (the pieces that say vespa and the model) the clips will be painted to match the body color.

This adventure of rebuilding pk has been such a great one. It has done everything I could have asked for so far. I am giddy with excitement about riding it but a bit nervous about getting it done right. Anyhow I must say that as silly as it sounds pk has taught me a lot about myself so far and i cant wait to see this all start coming together.

Second coat of paint

2008-10-02T04:08:00.002-07:00

So the second coat of paint went on great. Had a couple of dust particles but I am ok with it since it is the best I could do. And if it ever gets to bothering me that much it I will just change the color. But I am pretty pleased with how it is coming together.

Spray booth

2008-10-02T04:08:00.001-07:00

video of the spray booth.

First coat of color

2008-10-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

So I have put on the first coat of color and I have rediscovered my disdain for mosquitoes. I am using a shed for a makeshift paint booth. I can spritz the air with water and control quite a bit of the natural dust and particles. But I had a couple of mosquitoes land in the paint and take off. Leaving their legs behind. Also due to the close quarters I tried to paint to many parts at once and ended up backing into a part and the fibers of my shirt were left behind. So this is the result. Sanding the parts and repainting. The paint is a urethane acrylic one phase so the color and clear coat are one. People have said that the color does not last as long and the coverage and saturation can be issues with this type of paint but since i am using gray the color issues are not an issue and I didn't have any problems with coverage. I am pretty pleased with the results. If I were using something like a red color it would be more of an issue. Also it was the difference between 30 dollars a quart to 128 dollars a quart.

FInally The Time has come

2008-09-25T04:13:00.000-07:00

So I finally got the flywheel puller in and I can split the cases. All i have to say is thank goodness for my printmaking degree. You might be confused so let me tell why I say that. I got the flywheel puller and ran into the garage like a giddy little school girl but to my dismay it didn't thread right in. The threads on the flywheel were all covered in dirt so I clean it out and it is a no go and it damages the first 2 threads on the flywheel puller. So i get all frustrated and look closer to see that the threads on the flywheel had been gnawed on by a beaver or someone had used a hammer and some medieval tool on this before and the metal had been bent in a bit as to cause damage to my brand new flywheel puller. Also the threads in some places were crushed together and in some places totally missing. So since I don't own a tap and die set that are 1.0 mil and almost an inch in width i had to call upon my printmaking skills. I went to my studio and grabbed my burin (an engravers tool, its what is used to carve the filigree and faces on our money, its made for detail line work) and carved the threads on the flywheel as well as the flywheel puller by using the previous traces of the threads as a pattern. And it went right in. Man that feels rewarding.

This is a burin. (Thanks to James Ehlers for teaching me to use one properly during my time back in undergrad.)

So I took off the flywheel and the magneto and split the cases what I found pleased me. Nothing majorly wrong as far as I can tell. There is some wear on the kickstart gear and on the shift cross (man I sound like I know what I am talking about). So I am most likely replace the kickstart gear and send the image of the shift cross to someone who could answer if I need to replace it. So here are some images from the cases being opened. The entire thing is now in its smallest parts possible and I am going to clean clean clean then replace what I need to and throw it all back together and cross my fingers, say a little prayer and see what happens.

Here is the wear on the kickstart gear.

Here is the wear on the shift cross.

Surfacer and Horncasting

2008-09-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Here is where the horncasting (the black thing) is going to go.

So here are some images after the hammering, the etch, and the body filler. This step in the painting process is the surfacer. It is a coat to help even out stuff i guess. So you can see all of the dents removed and PK is starting to look sharp. I have also epoxy painted the gas tank white with three little dots masked off to keep some of the original body color. The underside and engine cavity is all done in black. If you take a look at the last picture here and one of the first pictures posted of the condition of PK you can see some of the serious metal heating and beating that had to take place. Next step will be to spray PK with a sealer to harden everything and then comes color and clear coats. I am very excited and quite nervous.

i little bit of frustration never hurt anyone...except that dude you threw the chair at

2008-09-11T04:32:00.000-07:00

So i have learned that PK is a real "special" Vespa and by "special" I mean NOTHING I BUY FITS THE DANG THING. I finally got the horncasting (the thing on the front that covers the horn) in after it has been on back order since what feels like my 3rd year of life (see picture below). My original intent was to make a custom horncasting but I figured since a pre-made one is under 20 bucks that is well worth my time and materials to make one that fits just right...The horn casting that is supposed to fit does not fit. So i had a good long talk with myself and said "Self, should you make one or modify this one?" So i am modifying the pre-made one and later if i want I will make a custom one and keep this as a spare. In all of my excitement I cut it a little short so I have had to come up with some custom creative solutions to my issues at hand. I swear I measured 8 times and cut once. I also finally got in the floor rail kit, which are the little rails where your feet go. When I got PK he only had 1/2 of one rail and their are supposed to be 6. The original one that I took off of him had a raised tongue sticking out of the bottom to fit the groove on the edges. That is why i took so much time in prefabricating that groove on the edges, because I assumed the floor rail kit would fit in that groove. Funny that the new floor rail kits that should fit PK are flat on the bottom...So i have to either rework the body (which is now so far along in paint i am not going to) or modify the floor rail kit. Grrr...

Me on the left and my sister Abbie on the right.

On a more positive note. I did finally get in the back ordered flywheel puller so I can start to split the cases and hopefully find out what is going on inside the motor.

Body filler

2008-08-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Step two: Body filler

So i always forget how much i hate bondo. So much detail work to do and i just want to ride PK...grrrrr. But I got word that the Flywheel puller i have needed and cannot make is on its way so as soon as that is in i can dig a little deeper into the motor and hopefully find out what is going wrong. The fender (pictured above) was also split open in the wreck so had to weld it heat and bend it back into what I think it was supposed to look like. The bottom of the leg sheild where your feet sit was a bear to work with because it was directly welded to the frame and bent around the frame in the crash. So all of the little wrinkles up next the frame I had to fill. I just wish I had more time to get it all done, its always inconvienent when work gets in the way of life... But i would have it no other way.

Rust and etch.

2008-08-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

So I had an interesting education at t "Car Quest" paint store in lexington. I learned all about it all, through the sassy words of a rather unhappy person behind the counter, but I got what I needed.

Step one after blasting was to put on an etch, since it it bare metal I had to get off all the rust and then the dust then put mulitple coats of etch on PK.

This is my makeshift spraybooth. Using an old shed in the back of the sculpture yard that I emptied out. I am spraying the inside with water before i use the spray equiptment as to knock back any dust or other particles.

Sand blasting

2008-08-29T08:18:00.000-07:00

So after sand blasting the paint and body filler off I see that there is a lot more stuff busted, thats ok because I like to fix stuff.

The back of the body was split open and it was impossible to bend back in. So i welded it shut and filled it.

I tryed to reconstruct the back bumper piece from the mangled pieces left but it was a no go is I cut it out to make room for fabricating a new one.

I also beat out all the dents I could with hammers and hand anvils. All the curves and edging that was curled under is now fixed.

Here is the bumper or back plate or whatever you want to call it. Fabricated and welded on. It will look sharp when it is all said and done.

The Problem?

2008-08-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

Long story short: I went and saw a Vespa Guru in Louisville, KY and that is a whole other experience altogether. It is to great of a story and to long to write out. But I think the problem in either in the clutch or the gear selector. So i have been waiting for what feels like an eternity for a clutch puller and flywheel puller so i can work on these two areas. Below is an image of the engine in the cleaning process as well as the engine remounted to the body and the clutch exposed. Not it is waiting for the tools...

So I have begun body work and will update some pictures as soon as i am able to.

At the home front

2008-08-26T04:33:00.000-07:00

So i have PK back at my home and my Wife has agreed to see the garage look like the beach at Normandy for a while.

Working under a car is great because you can lay on your back and if you thought things were tight there try working under a this guy with a 6 in ground clearance. So step one take the motor off so I can work on it and the body separate.

So here is the motor in all of its rusty dirty glory. This is the better looking side it, I also wanted to point out here that you can see something that looks like bailing or picture frame wire holding on the muffler...IT IS BAILING WIRE. Also the dude that owned it previous also (i will come to find out) use bend nails in place of cotter pins.

Motor is out and here is all the scramble that is left behind. Another 1.5tons of dirt to be removed this is just the loose stuff, and a bunch of frayed cables to be replaced.

Behind Curtain Number One

2008-08-26T04:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some detail images of the original condition I found PK in.

Some serious rust issues to deal with as well as some major body repairs to be made. The area above is curled under the frame quite a bit and it just beat way out of shape. The legsheild (the main front portion) has some twists and dents to it. The front fender is skewed and split down the middle (assumable in the crash). There are thin spots on the underbelly where you can start to see through them (i guess the previous owner slid it around on its belly or something)

This is where the steering column lock should be, it looks as if some got a little screwdriver happy on this one. That should be fun to fix...

Under the left cover (exposed here) is supposed to be a spare tire holder and cover as well as a spare tire and rim set. Since this is obviously gone I have plans to build a spare gas tank and oil storage instead. The gas tank only holds 1.4 gallons but since smallframe Vespas can get anywhere from 78 to 128 mpg 1.4 gallons is a lot of time on this little guy, but I would rather carry a tube for a spare tire since it is more expensive to get an extra tire and an extra rim set and it will be a more custom creative solution to using the space.

This has been one of my biggest struggles in terms of body work. The guy who wrecked this was trying to do a wheelie when he crashed and it shows, the entire underside of the tail is shredded into bits so I will have to fabricate and reconstruct it. The frame is slightly skewed as seen in the picture above (tilting left a bit) I am assuming when it fell it landed on the left side and just made the whole thing a bit wonky or as my mother would say "catywompus" or "whomperjawed" but whatever the case it is going to take some serious time, heat and beating to get PK up to snuff.

You can't help but use your imagination. (at least I cant help myself).

Funny story: I brought PK to the shop (Georgetown College, where I am a sculpture professor) to clean him off and start the body work, after cleaning off 1.5 tons of mud from him I realized it would be easier to work on the body separate from the rest so I would have to take him all apart and I would have to do this at home so I had to get him home somehow. Now it took me and a friend and all of our might to wrangle PK into the back of my truck to get him from London KY to here. I in no way wanted to do that again so I decided to walk PK home (1.7miles from the college to our house). I asked my wife if she would like to take a walk and chat she said sure so we went to the college got PK and started walking home. Uphill...not so fun...pushing dead weight...thinking to myself...pant...wheeze...I am...wheeze...out of shape. But the down hill Holly would hop on the back and I would steer and we coasted all over town. It was a blast. The street we live on is slightly downhill so I told holly to hop on and we rolled so slowly we really could have walked faster or crawled faster is more accurate. Fun was had.

Till then

2008-08-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

I will soon put some pictures up of what has been going on with PK but till then I thought I would put up some images of scooters that I would love to have. enjoy

My wife Holly and I totally need this one. we would have to make a mini sidecar for clover (our mini Dachshund, who thinks she is our child)

Holly would look super cute on this one. Or the green one above since she loves her green.

Cardboard Lambretta

2008-08-22T04:29:00.001-07:00

Its quite amazing what chris gilmour can do with cardboard and glue and time, check more out HERE

So i have found

2008-08-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

So i have found that Pk is a 1982 Vespa PK50 Import, and even though it has a PK50S badge on the back it is not That as far as my research could have taken me. I ran the serial number and motor serial number and all said it was PK50. All of the 50's sold in the states in that year were shifting into automatics and mine is not. All of the 50's sold in the states should have speedometers and indicators so i have found it to be a import from what everyone can tell me.

My am in the process of taking everything apart and cleaning it off.
I have so far taken off 1,500lbs of mud and dirt off of it.
I first drained the oil...oh wait I had to scrap (not exaggerating) 3/4 in thick of mud off of the motor to get to the plug to drain the oil.
thanks to the folks that put up the scooterhelp site.
I have no Idea what I am doing to i have had to research my butt off as to not just jack something up beyond repair.
I love "making it work" but with this one i just stared at and didnt even know where to start. so i "drained" the oil to start engine work. I took the plug out and it went drip...drip... and thats all that was in there.

The mass cleaning has begun.

Reasonings

2008-08-22T03:49:00.000-07:00

So i have started a project. Life for me is very busy. I am blessed since my hobby and passion are my job. I am a art professor at Georgetown College in Georgetown KY. But like my wife's grandfather said "you always need a competition for work" I needed something to do other than what I do. Now I have always loved vintage vespas but could never afford one or had the time to wrench on a wreck. But one day a friend and I drove down to London KY to a motorcycle salvage yard just to check out what was there for his motorcycle that he rides and just as an adventure. I step out of my truck this place is a graveyard there is not one bike with even half of its parts it is just mountains of frames and tanks and bits and pieces...but in the middle of it all is a vespa pk50. Now it is need of some serious TLC but in the middle of nowhere London KY and in the middle of a true junk yard there is an true vespa import never sold in the US (it has no indicators and no speedometer) So i approach the owner of the salvage yard and ask him what is the story on the 50cc scooter out front and he informs me it is in no way a 50cc scooter. I find this curious since the side cowl on the scooter says PK50S. He tells me that some "show off kid" drove 3 hours to see him and show off this scooter and how fast it could go, and while showing off he popped a wheelie and wrecked it. They heard a loud pop and he could not get it running and being abandoned he sold it to the salvage yard guy (maybe in hopes of coming back? I dont know) but after looking it over a bit I see that it has a performance exhaust and a modified aftermarket carburetor. The salvage Yard owner informs me that the prevoious owner had put a new piston in it. So i figured man I would love to work on that guy and even if I could not get it running or after cracking it open saw that it was way to much money to invest I could sell it piece meal and get at my first estimate about 2,000 dollars just in parts. This of course is not my intention, but a last resort. So i bought it for a steal. I affectionatly call him PK. Kinda like Peekay from the Power of One, he has changed me for the better. Below are some images of how and where I first found him.