And Finally......

Well it not 'finally' really - there is still loads to do, BUT, 'Finally' I get to weld the floor pan in.
It was a lovely sunny Sunday - and I was up early to make the most of it. Trouble is I was going to have to do some grinding - I went round to the neighbours to apologise in advance figuring that it would be harder for them to say 'no' that way.
Despite having (wanting!) to go out at lunch time to see eldest daughter perform a 'homeless project' I had the whole of this day to myself - and seeing as England were going to be playing Germany in the World cup (second round?) I was not going to be getting any hassle from anyone wanting me to do anything different.
The leading edge of the floor is butt welded to the trimmed leg shield, and the rear end is welded the lip of the bulk head and side panels. In between it should be a simple case of welding in those drilled out spot weld holes to join the new floor to the existing spine box section. Who said "simple"? There are over 30 of those holes and everyone was a pain in the ass. It was a real challenge to get a good weld in these. Firstly, to get a good wet pool in the base of teh hole (on the new floor metal) you have to either get a lot of power in there or spend a lot of time in there - it seemed very difficult to get this right (as if the arc didnt like it in an enclosed space) and I tried everything from 30 Amps up to 60 Amps. All this has to be balanced against minimising distortion, and minimising burning the hole out.
In the end I think I got the hang of it (but not until I had walked away from it for a while in frustration). The weld I believe is strong - penetration evident on the underside of the floor - but it is not pretty - even after grinding off its still pretty ugly. I can live with it..... I'll have to! Its as solid as a rock now, and I hope the paint will distract the eye. If worst comes to worst I shall have to put a lot of 'mod-bling' on it to distract viewers from the scooter itself

So thats it. its all welded up (as far as Im going to go anyway) - there is some bashing to be done still, and some final grinding (actually ive spotted a weld that needs doing too) but I reckon its only about another 3 hours and I can get it to the powder-coaters.

Floor pan

It feels like a long time getting to this point. After all, it was only a hole in the floor that I was supposed to be patching. But at long last, I finally got round to fitting the new floor pan.
I had done a research on the web about fitting a new floor (and there are surprisingly few references to it) and found a handful of suppliers selling what they claimed to be the right floor pan for a PX ('there is only one shape for a PX' etc). However not all of these 'correct' parts looked the same.... and not the same as the one I was replacing.
SIP (the German supplier of scooter bits) were showing thier replacement floor for £83 and yet some people were selling new replacement floors on ebay for 40 quid. On inspection of everyones accompanying photographs, it would appear the more expensive SIP floor has the rear cut out and upturned lip that my old floor suggested it once upon a time had. So I was getting myself prepared to spend 80 quid, when I spoke with Kevin at K n S scooters in Derby who told me that his floor for £40 was exactly the same as the SIP one (and that they made much more profit on theirs than he did) So I was delighted and as already explained in a previous blog entry went over last weekend to buy. HOWEVER. What Kevin had did not LOOK the same as the photo on the SIP site - no cut out or upturned lip. I bought it anyway, and a week later, I have finally got round to working out what all that Lip is about and whether I'd saved myself 40 quid or lost myself 40 quid on a rough copy.

Well that Lip is essential - to join with the rear wheelarch bulkhead, and on very close inspection, someone had actually scribed some cut and fold lines on this replacement floor (so maybe thats what you pay your extra £40 to SIP for - to actually do the cutting and folding) - though Im not sure that the side flaps that Ive put in are standard - there was certainly something going on here in the old floor of my scooter, but I dont see any evidence of side flaps on the SIP part. However I chose to put these returns in to help strengthen the whole thing by welding them to the inside side panels.
I was encouraged to see these fine lines, but didnt follow then, choosing to mark out my own to suit my, now unique, frame conditions (there wasnt much difference in the end, but I felt happier to be sure).
Note, I do all my marking out with a scribe, but sometimes I use a marker pen to highlight which line to cut to - Ive been caught out before my marking several lines, then turning the piece upside down to get better access, and then cutting to the wrong line - so the pen marks you see in the photos are to help me make sure Im working to the right scribe line ;-)

Vin number replacement

I took the advice of TVOR and Hughie (see earlier post) to punch and weld in the VIN number so that there can be no argument with MOT inspection.
The number is what is on the V5 document..... but Im not convinced this number was ever on the frame. Is this a different frame? Who knows - there is no evidence to say otherwise, and so in all good faith, I have placed what is known as the VIN number for this vehicle onto the frame

Doh! from the look of the photo, Ive put it upside down!

Get rid of those last bits of rot

The spine of the frame isnt in too bad condition except for one or two places where the rust has found its way all the way through to the outside world (I wonder how long this process actually takes?) - So a good 3 or 4 hours work saw me cut out the, make new and weld back in.
My sheet metal clamps worked wonders here to hold the bits in place while I welded, but the magnets havent helped at all really - the magnetic field plays havoc with the welding arc - its impossible to TIG weld in close proximity to magnets.

I show the inside of the weld here in the last picture for no other reason but to prove to myself and perhaps an MOT inspector that the penetration on the welds is pretty good :-)

Sweat and tears

You see those splashes on the metalwork in this photo. They are popping up all over the frame.
Its rust. Rust from the sweat that I keep dripping as I work!.... or is it tears?
This week we have see the most glorious weather. I would love to have lazed in the sunshine with a cold beer or two, but instead have felt compelled to get this frame finished.
It means that I can work outside - bit more space and less risk of fire, but it also means that Ive been sweating buckets. And when its not dripping onto the frame, its dripping into my helmet - all very unpleasent.
Ive also got a bad case of welders neck burn. I would normally wear a t-shirt under my boiler suit but its been far to hot for that so the open neck of my boiler suit has left me with a bright red V on my chest

bulk head back in place

Ive been waiting to do this bit right from the beginning. putting the bulkhead back that seperates the inside (dry-side) of the frame and the inside of the wheel arch (wet-side). Getting this in place is a psychological milestone - it makes me feel like its all going back together. Its also the bit that ties the two sides together, so it was important to get the space right between the two plates that hold the engine mounting. I cut a piece of tube to length and bolted it in place and then got welding. It was relatively straight forward as long as I could keep moving the frame around. Interestingly though, as I was working inside the wheelarch my auto-darkening welding helmet really struggled with the light differences and kept un-darkening mid-weld- very annoying.

Using the drilled out spotwelds as a welding point to join the new material back in to the existing is a bit tricky - you cant apply too much heat else it blows through - but at the same time it appears to need a good spark to get into the hole. Im getting better at it and hope ill have had enough practice before having to fit the new floor pan in... Oooh exciting! im getting dangerously close to having to do that now :-)

Rear mudguard

In theory its a nice easily accessible bit to repair, but the rear mudguard needed a little bit longer than I anticipated. Its quite a rust old bit of metal here and in an ideal world I'd have chopped away much more material to ensure I got to 100% solid metal, but if I start going down that line I might as well chop everything off except the ignition barrel and start from there.
So the material I was welding to, was of variable thickness, which meant being ultra sensitive to how the weld pool was running - I didnt blow too many holes through, but I did lay down a weld much thicker than was necessary - i kind of used the filler rod to take much of the heat as I tickled my way along. Penetration was certainly good!
This area is quite flat and although I tacked and filled strategically, a degree of distortion was inevitable. I panel bashed as much as I could to keep the shape, but I am sure it will look a bit rubbish when painted. Fortunately much of this is behind the number plate and rear light cluster

Well who'd have thought it?

So it turns out that TVOR was a scooter man in his day. And a Lambretta man at that.
Until 5 or 6 weeks back, I had no interest in scooters whatsoever. I wouldnt have known a Vespa from a Lambretta from a Peugeot from a Suzuki. But that is all starting to change. Im still no expert (and to be honest, never will be with Suzukis) but I'm learning fast.
Ive fallen in love with the Vespa and the history of Piaggio, and for me this is THE scooter, however as I read more and speak more to spares suppliers, I cant help but fall over the odd comment or picture of Lambrettas - and then TVOR reminded me that he once owned one. Well, wouldnt it be funny I thought if he got another one now! and so i started to look in magazines and on ebay at how much a Lambretta goes for these days.... And I was startled by the very high price. you aren't going to get much for less that a grand.... and then youve got some work and cost to get it roadworthy

Ive started to learn that Lambretta appears to be the cream of scooters. Highly sought after and highly priced. I seem to remember someone telling me recently that Lambretta owners/dealers/officianados can often look down their noses a little at Vespas and thier owners. Vespa is a second rate scooter in their opinions.... and maybe market prices proves it so.

Anyhow here is a picture that TVOR sent though to me of his LD125. So old is this picture that it was taken in the days before he met his future wife, and out of respect to her, I have replaced the head of TVORs old girl-friend (who incidentally had a very nice tea-pot) with a smiley yellow head.

So the challenge now is to find an LD125 for TVOR that fits within his budget - the only one Ive seen so far was on Italian ebay and located in Sicily!.... But what a great adventure that would be to go and collect it :-)

The Wall

I've heard it said that marathon runners hit a metaphorical wall at about 20 or so miles. Its the point that separates the men from the boys. Only the most determined and focused of runners will break through this wall and complete the race.
I felt as if my wall came into sight today. Im really enjoying doing this, but I did have a little hesitation today when I stood back and wondered why I'm bothering with it. Its not a restoration, and yet its not a quick patch up job. For £300 I could buy a rust free frame off ebay and I could have been spending this week fitting all the parts back to that!
Im feeling a bit tired but still trying to get out there at 7.30 to get a good few hours on it before settling down to some work in the afternoon - I did wonder about not doing anything on the scooter today, but knew that if I didn't I'd be fidgety all afternoon wishing I had - and so I pressed on.


Once again - I thought this bit would be easy, but once again it wasnt. It was a fiddle trying to make the compound curves all line up while the bit was free in my hand and so in the end I had to do some tack and shape on the go - seemed to work. Sometimes I think my welding is getting better - and then some back handed torch restricted bitch of a run comes up and it tests me to my limit. Its strong and its sound, but it aint always pretty.

Ive decided to get it powder coated asap - and powder coating means not using plastic filler - so my welding is going to be on full display :-( Ive decided that if Im that bothered then once ive run it around for a bit, ill strip the scooter again and body fill over the powder coating and respray (oh come on, lets face it - that's not going to happen is it?!) - or i might even hand paint the welds in a complimentary colour to actually highlight the Vespas scars! :-)



So this rusty section of wheel arch took approximately 4 hours to cut, shape and weld. As perforated as it is, the section just above this new bit is going to remain so - I did plan to cut it out and put new metal in - but during my "why bother?' moment I realised its just not worth it - it will never be a great frame, and this bit is not structural (much) and its not perforated into the frame internals (ie both sides of this bit of the panel are wet-side). So I shall leave it

Just as I was finishing, its started to spit with rain AND my gas ran out - It was a message, and I welcomed it for today.

Another section repaired

Up and out there at 7.30 this morning, and straight onto the Off-side engine mounting point. I was worried about the noise i might be making, but soon reckoned that most neighbours would be grateful for the early morning wake up - They should be at work anyway.

Once again, that cheeky Vespa had me fooled. I thought this repair was going to be easier than the last, but sadly not. Once again its a double / triple skin area with loads of spot welds. I took a slightly different strategy with this side - Chop out the whole section and work from there. On the Nearside I'd left the original engine mounting hole in place (not wanting to lose its reference), but this offside was so rotten that I decided to make it all new. And I think this was definitely the best strategy even if it did mean making up 2 plates and filing out 2 lots of 3 holes plus a spreader washer.

You can see from the section picture that the two skins that are spot welded together at this point have been swollen apart by rust. The bit that Ive cut out is the majority of the rust, but as can be seen in the picture, Ive sawn through a rust patch... which means the other half of that rust patch is still in remaining chassis. Im not overly worried. The panel is swollen and it is breaking through a little - but its good enough. I have to keep reminding myself that this will never be perfect - and I keep taking inspiration from memories of roadside workshops in India where shoeless men squatted in the dust repairing and rebuilding vespas as a critical part of their transportation needs and culture. I am sure these guys werent worried about what some self-serving scooter show judge had to say about the authenticity of the renovation...... In fact this isnt a 'renovation' even..... its a 'Rustovation' :-)

Ive been using a 1.5mm cutting disc on my 115 dia angle grinder - works a treat. With a bit of careful forethought you can cut most things very acurately and easily, though of course there are some tight spots that a disc of that size simply cant reach. Im wondering if I should get a compressor and air tools for cutting - they seem to get into small gaps. My other brilliant tool at moment is my pistol-drill powered nibbler. Absolutely brilliant for a quick clean cut. Its not always easy to get access with the great big drill sticking out the side, and the accuracy needs a little practice, but when the circumstances are right, its perfect.

So both parts were welded in separately (Inside bit first) and with a bit of fine tuning (and I mean fine - micro-degrees of the knob on the welder) I am finding I can tack and run without blowing too many holes through the metal (invariably the original metal, and not the new). Getting your body in a comfortable position is half the battle to a good weld run. And finding that when the arc strikes and you've got sunlight reflecting inside your helmet, is a real pain in the ass. The weather has been glorious here so I am working outside (saves mess and risk of fire in the garage) but it does mean that the sweat is constantly dripping inside your helmet, however, the sunshine does motivate me as I dream of actually riding the scooter in this weather :-)

Once again I show a picture of the part welded in place. Not because its interesting or clever, but simply to remind myself that there is progress

VIN number

Ive been searching and searching for the chassis VIN number. Its supposed to be on the nearside rear arch..... and if you look carefully enough on my frame, you can just about see it.... or at least 2 characters of it ... and a star!

Do you think this frame is really worth the effort? :-/

Right lets get creating

Its time to start making good again, and what better day to start than on Fathers Day! As well as baking me 3 plates of cakes, my fabulous daughters said I could have ALL day in the garage (the perfect gift :-)
I was awake at 6.30am but much like christmas day, I patiently waited until 8.30 before getting out and making a noise in the garage (not that I often go into the garage on christmas day , but you know what I mean)

First up was the nearside rear panel (just above the engine hinge point). My initial plan was to 1. cut out the rubbish, 2. shape a new bit of metal, 3. weld in place, 4. beer in sunshine
It didnt quite work out like that though. The trouble is, there are so many panels and sections that come together at this point that its virtually impossible to simply cut one bit away. So it took me a lot longer than I was expecting (couple of hours?) to get the section cut out, and even then it required me cutting other panels out at the same time in order to get access. I had hoped to do one panel at a time, so that I didnt lose any reference when replacing.

Hugh popped over to see how things were going. I am always happy with my own company in the garage and probably work best when alone, however I really do appreciate a sounding board now and then. I can sometimes get a bit tunnel visioned or perhaps stuck in procrastination over options, and having someone to bounce thoughts off is really appreciated.

Bashing out the replacement part out didn't take very long at all despite the ribbings (which my cheap ebay panel beating set seemed to handle ok once I'd filed the hammer faces smooth!) And then it was time to weld. At last I felt like I was about to make some progress forward - constructing instead of destructing.

The TIG welder was fab. I however wasnt so fab. To be fair, this was an awkward thing to access and as feared, if there was even a sniff of rust in the weld area, there was lots of spluttering.

Its not the best welding in the World, But its certainly not going to come apart, and its a darn sight stronger than it was 2 days ago.
Its not going to look like a professional restoration, and its not going get any show prizes, but I am confident that it will get me on the road safely, and even be of value to someone who wants a tidy solid scooter someday.

Aladins Cave for scooters

Up early on Saturday to get over to Derby to K and S Scooters. Ive had a couple of emails with Kevin about replacement floor pans and it seemed like he might be able to help me with my requirements, so I took the long haul (about an hour) over to the East Midlands.... and what a delight, when i got there :-)
I was a little anxious when I got to the given address... it was a house! but the lady who answered the door directed me round the back to the garden where Kevin had 3 or 4 garages, a large shed and a massive lockup FULL (literally) to the ceilings with scooter bits. In the lock up, heaps of new and shiny bits; in the garages with reclaimed spares - Vespas and Lambrettas.

Kevin is a jolly nice chap who made me feel very at home as a noobie to the scooter world (ive felt a bit uncomfortable with some suppliers who make me feel like a little boy when I ask my virgin questions) and gave me lots of inspiration - though I have to say, when he saw the photos of my frame, he wondered if it was worth the effort - he would probably have scrapped it and found a replacement frame (£400?) - I wasn't deterred.

So after about of hour of interesting chat about the state of the world and current developments in freight rolling stock, I went away with;
1 x new floor pan. £40
1 x cable set (I decided I might as well renew while ive got access) £30
1 x set of floor runners (im pretty well committed now and will need them - the originals were shot). £30
1 x fuel tank mounting gasket. £4
2 x side panel electrical connectors. £4

So if it werent for a ukulele performance this afternoon I would have got started and have that floor fitted by now ;-)

Shot-blasted.... but now Im under pressure

Have got the frame back from Redditch Shot Blasting.

At first sight it looks lovely - almost as if it has been painted. On closer inspection however, we can see the full extent of the damage that the rust has done. The point to remember here though is that what you are seeing is solid metal - there is no cover up of any rust. This is not painted, just fresh, clear and very exposed metal.... the pressure now is to get it repaired and painted asap, before the exposed metal starts to oxidise again.

In theory, everything is weldable now.

I am delighted to see that the engine mounting plates are pretty sound. All ive got to do is make sure the structure around them is strong



I dont feel overly daunted by it all - rather excited in fact. I've bought some 0.9mm mild steel sheet (£12 from MetalSupermarkets) And Ive got my cheap panel beating set off ebay, and a nibbler and sheet-grips from Frosts so I'm all set to go :-)
BTW Just for the record I'm not counting the cost of tools towards the cost of doing this bike - only materials and processes - So to date ive spent £24 to get it running, £11 on metal and £25 on shotblasting - Grand total = £60

Clean enough to have in the living room now

Working on your project is so much easier when the wife is away

Still not sure

I rather like the pale colour and white combo..... but i find it really hard to want to paint anything white! It feels like such a wasted opportunity when you could have any colour you like in the World.

Maybe it should all be one colour??

Maybe it should all be one duckshell blue... at least i wouldn't have to change the logbook details

Getting rid of old rubbish

Its been a glorious day today. Sun out, family out. What else is a boy to do?
After getting all the bits off the frame - BTW sandwich bags are perfect for storing assembly parts so as not to lose any bits - I sat in the sun with a glass of water to admire my work.
The next step was to get the frame shot blasted. But it occured to me that it would be nuts to shot blast the bits that are definitely going to be chucked - so, with time on my hands, I decided to chop out the rubbish.
First up to remove the plate that a previous owner had pop-riveted in as a patch up job, and Oh what a revelation. This floor was completely rotton. And I am not convinced that the patch up plate actually contributed any structural strength
I decided that I might as well remove the majority of the scrap floor, so got on with drilling out the spot welds between the floor and the spine box section. At this point I have to make an admission - In drilling out perhaps 30 spot welds, I broke 4 drills bits! I was devastated. I havent broken a drill bit in years! I put the bad experience down to hunger and hardened welds.

To help make sure that I buy exactly the right sized replacement floor panel (Ive seen various people selling various shapes and sizes of replacement floor) I decided not to totally destroy the scrap bits, but try to hold them together to show the man-in-the-shop - I screwed a couple of bits of wood in place to hold the two sides of the old floor together.
Once the floor was drilled out and cut off, I could at last see what I was faced with. Actually the spine box section (Im not sure what the right term for this is) isnt as bad as it could have been when you think about the state of the old floor. My hope were raised a little. Maybe I can make this work.
Tonight I made pizzas for the family while they watched the England-USA world cup match. I found that kneading dough is a perfect way to clean grubby finger nails

Getting things in order

I had a sudden panic today. There are so many little tiddley bits that, when it comes to rebuilding, if I forget to get in place at the right time, then I'm buggered to get them in later. I wonder if i should have taken a video of the strip down to give me some clues on the way back.
Getting all the ancillaries off today was pretty straight forward - except for the last 2 or 3 bitches; One bolt holding the regulator, and both connectors for the rear indicator circuit (I had to cut one out in the end I was so frustrated).
Just for reference - if i ever get as far as reassembling this machine. This is the order I think I shall attempt it
1. thread the wiring loom through from the front (dont forget the body grommets)
2. thread the gear/clutch/throttle/brake cables through from the front
3. put the rest of it together

Actually, Ive lost all track of order now. Ive got 160 photos of details that i thought were important during the break down so I hope they will help (I wonder if they are date/time stamped? that would really help)

Whatever - I couldnt get the scooter frame now down to any less parts!

Down to the nitty gritty

I should have done this when I first saw the thing - kicked it over on its side. It would have been quickly apparent this was never going to get through an MOT. I cant believe I was so naive!
At least now, stripped down to the frame (though still some cables and ancillaries to be removed yet) I can man-handle the frame with ease, which makes it much easier for inspection (and I hope, repair)
You can see from the pictures that the floor is completely shot. Someone has at some stage riveted a plate on and done a not-too-bad-looking fibre-glass job at the back of the floor panel. The rust around the brake pedal hole is thick and flakey - i can poke great lumps out with my finger!

I knew the floor was going to be an issue. But I was intrigued to see what the engine mounting holes were going to be like - on my first breif inspection they arent as bad as I was expecting, but the surrounding areas are clearly going to need some work.
How do I feel about the whole thing? well not too bad actually. In fact rather excited. I want desperately to get it shot-blast or chemically dipped (still not absolutely sure which yet) so that it is clean to handle and we can see what the real extent of the job is.
Next job - to strip out the ancillaries, cables and wires and cut off as much of that patching plate and fibreglass as possible so its ready for the stripper