So much to do and so little time to do it

Im trying to pack a lot of things into my weeks at the moment, which is great but I cant stop thinking about the scooter.  And so I was up with the lark this morning to get an hour in the garage before work.
It was a dark and damp morning - not too chilly - very autumnal, and as I opened the garage door and switched the light on I was struck with how very exciting the scooter is starting to look (I guess in all my rushing I hadn't noticed it before) - Its really starting to look like it could all come together now :-)

So on with the job - Painting the horn-cast, handlebar cowl and mudguard trim - these are all plastic bits that couldn't be powder-coated so Ive bought some cellulose in a can.  This morning it was a wet and dry rub down and 2 coats of primer

And I was still in my office for 7:30am!

handle bars

I thought we were going to have a family night in with a movie - but they all decided they wanted to watch a new telly period drama.  So that seemed like a good excuse to pop out to the garage and assemble the handlebar unit.  Once again it all seemed to go together nicely (though I have no idea as to how stiff the twist grips should be - I would have thought they would be a little freer, but I have left as is - as designed - with plenty of lube), and so it seemed a logical next step to assemble to the steering column.  Here the only challenge was getting all the cables and wires threaded through neatly - I was again very pleased that I'd taken so many photos of the tear-down to help me work out the designed reorder of all the bits

Rebuilding continues

Life is busy busy busy at moment and so im not getting into the garage as much as I would like. Every time I think I have a moment clear in my diary, my wife tells me otherwise! Having said that, she is pretty cool with me and the time I do have in the garage (even allowing me a couple of hours without mentioning once that I should really be getting on with putting the patio and decking back down after last weeks sewage overflow - who is that mystery sewage-pipe blocker?)
And so progress is not as fast as I would like, but the bits that I have managed to do are keeping me excited and enthused.
I'd been pondering for a while as to the perfect order to reassemble the bits.  Clearly wires and cables needed to go in first, but what then? There are so many independencies that nothing can be installed and ticked off as finished - everything seems to need to be going together at the same time.  And so after some head-scratching and procrastination (and with an eye on the limited time I had this weekend) I simple decided to "go for it" regardless of a 'correct' proceedure.
I was rather surprised at just how quickly the front end all came together (note - I havent changed the steering column bearings) and so thought I'd attempt the engine/rear suspension unit too.  And lo and behold, that also seemed to pop in quite sweetly.  I was delighted that the two chassis sides (that I had completely re-fabricated) between which the engine frame bolts was a perfect fit and everything appears to have lined up just right.
So within a couple of hours I had the scooter standing on its own two wheels with the aid of a milk crate for balance.
I had planned to spray black 'stone-chip' paint inside the wheel arches/mudguards but (again with my new 'get-your-finger-out-and-do-something' attitude) decided to simply paint a good coat of waxoyl over the complete inside surface (the propriety waxoyl hand sprayer is bloody hopeless) - I figured that it was perfectly good enough for my needs and this 'resuscitation' project
I havent taken any photos of the rebuild thus far as its not particularly interesting, and the garage is so cramped that I can hardly move to get a picture in there.... Actually I should say, that my cramped garage has been a source of frustration today.  Kids! I thoroughly recommend you working hard at school so you can get good qualifications, so you can get a good job, so you can get a big house with a big garage space, so you can work in comfort all around your chosen project.  PS if you do get yourself a good job and a big house with a big garage, and you are the sort of person who thinks a garage is for storing cardboard boxes or your executive BMW in, then I despair.

The rebuilding begins

Ive been waiting a long time for this moment.  The moment of starting to build the scooter up again.  But I was a little worried about how I might thread the wiring loom back through the tight gap between the headstock and leg-shield without damaging the old (and brittle?) wiring - note, I haven't done any renovation of the wiring loom.  However, as it turned out it was easy peasy.  I wrapped the loom and all its flying ends in a tube of polythene shopping bag, tied it to a length of 3-core electrical cable and simply pulled it through!  So easy was it, I threaded all the new brake, clutch, gear and throttle cables too - and then I was at a bit of a loss what to do.... i hadnt planned to get that much done in such a short space of time.  Will it all be this simple?

I have also put a good spray of waxoyl down through the box section of the frame in an attempt to keep water away from the joints and seams (though I suspect I shall rarely take it out in the rain, and even if I did it would take years and years to rot through the powder coating and then the metal - but it made me feel good all the same)

I am very pleased to have taken the dozens of photos of the strip down - to help me work out which cable threads through which hole with which grommet

Painted but not disguised

I finally got round to taking the bubble wrap off the frame (I still haven't even looked at all the ancillary bits yet) and I must say I am very pleased with it.  I love the colour (which incidentally is BS16C33 Blue), and it looks clean and solid.
My welding is there, warts and all, for the world to to see - but I'm not beating myself up over it.
I should have spent more time flatting the bumps and dinks - but, again,  Im not beating myself up over it.
I reckon if I go fast enough, not one will ever notice ;-)

This frame looks like its got a history, a story to tell.  A few scars and a couple of rough edges, its got character.  Its a rough diamond.

Im loving it more and more :-)

Powder coating

Ive been purposely holding back from writing my next blog post because i was afraid that I might have said something i would regret.  I'd been getting a bit pissed off with the powder coaters - Redditch Shot Blasting.  But before I go on - I am over that now and am now delighted with Redditch Shot Blasting :-)
Remember that I had tried to get the painting done way back in July but they couldnt get it done before I went away on holiday, so on my return I got it into them as soon as I could where I was told it would probably take about 10 days.  10 days turned into 2 weeks.  Then it was going to be Friday, then Next tuesday etc etc.  In the end it took 3 weeks to turn around - time in which I could have finished the rebuild.
It wasnt so much the time it was taking (though I was desperate to get it back) but more the messing with my expectations and logistical arrangements.
The Job cost £270 +VAT and I was a little taken aback at what initially felt like a lot of money to me, especially as it was taking so long to get done!
On reflection - I think I had been unfair to the chaps.  When I did finally get to collect it from them, they had done a marvelous job.  Everything had been thoroughly masked and plugged and some of the pitted areas they had actually layed 3 coats of powder on to buildup the surface.  I am guessing that cost of materials aside, there is probably quite a lot of labour in getting these bits coated.
The only trouble now was - I had only just enough time to get the bits home and in the garage before I had to turn round and dash away for 5 days leaving all those lovely painted bits behind me still wrapped and tantalizingly close to starting the rebuild

Rusty Italian Scooters

2 fiat 500s, an Ape, a Dyane and a Renault 12?

I read a fascinating article in a magazine recently that talked about the reputation of Italian vehicles of a decade or so ago being total “rust-buckets”.  In the late ’70’s / early ’80’s - when I was buying my first car, i was advised to steer well away from any Fiat as they would invariably be riddled with rust - so I bought a 1967 Renault 4 for £60..... which was itself riddled with rust! but thats a story for another time.
Anyway, this article;  Apparently, at the end of the cold war, Russia had very difficult trading restrictions forced upon them, and one consequence of this was that there was some sharp dealing going on between countries and Italy did a ‘great deal’ on a shed load of steel.  Everyone was happy.
Turns out that this cheap steel - thousands of tons of it, tens of thousands of cars, hundreds of thousands of scooters? (millions of washing machines?????) - had a nickel content that was just perfect for cultivating rust!
And so for the sake of a good deal, Italy suffered decades of reputation of poor quality vehicles.
As I think back on the rust I chopped out of my own scooter I wonder now if it is made from  imported Russian steel

Piaggio Museum

Back into italy.  yes we are doing a lot of back and forward. 
As a reward for a long days drive (Croatia, through Slovinia, and across italy from east to west) I was allowed to stop off at the Piaggio museum (just outside the port town of Lovorno) It is a lovely little museum that is predominantly Vespa related, but does also have examples of the earlier Piaggio machines including an aeroplane, a train carriage, and a pair of cable car cabins!
Ive read a little bit about all the variants of Piaggio scooters, but to see them all in one room was both impressive and suffocating - i shudder at the thought of being the stores-man in the Piaggio factory - it must have driven him nuts with so many changes and unique model bits.
Naturally most of the exhibits are the older and so rarer machines - I only saw one PX - and I have to say that they did whet my appetite for perhaps an older more curvey vespa :-)
I was keen to buy a souvenir from the little museum shop - just to show that i’d been there - but i really think that they were over-egging the privilage of being THE piaggio museum by charging those sorts of prices for a t-shirt, and so I shall have to make do with the cheap vespa t-shirt that I bought at a market in Croatia

European helmets

We’ve been traveling around Europe a bit this holiday and spent a week in Rovinj in Croatia (lovely place.  Thoroughly recommend it)  Once again, the place is heaving with modern scooters (with a sprinkling of PXs and interestingly a generous helping of Renault 4s in remarkably good condition!)  However, what makes these scooter riders seem cooler than Ive noticed elsewhere is that they nearly all wear those tiny ‘skid-lid’ type helmets (you know the sort that look no more substantial than a tortoise shell).
I was quite excited by these helmets, particularly as you seem to be able to buy them just about anywhere - clothes shops, supermarkets, souvenir boutiques.  Despite the fact that these sorts of helmets are illegal in the UK, i thought that perhaps it might look cool to have one just hanging from the helmet hook on my own scooter, and so I went to look at some in a road-side market stall.  The stall-holder was very helpful;
Him:  “very good quality”
Me: “Yes they are great”
Him: “I do you a good deal.  Normally 250 kunas” (thats about £30)
Me:  “Thanks, but they are illegal in the UK”
Him: “For you, 200 Kunas” (23 quid)
Me:  “Thats great but we cant use them in the UK.  It is against the law”
Him:  “Yes, its the same everywhere in Europe”
Me: “Oh really?  All Europe?
Him:  “Oh yes.  Here in Croatia too!”
How cool is that - they just refuse to comply with the law and seem to get away with it!
Mind you, I really couldnt bear to even think about what it might feel like to come off a bike with nothing more than one of those and a bikini to protect you!

Where are all the old Vespas?

All projects greasy have to pause for a moment while I go on holiday, but this seems like a good excuse to sit back and reflect a little on the progress so far.  And if I am going to be in the native home of the Vespa, I might get the chance to learn a little more about the scoot, and maybe even pick up some bits!

Well the first thing I notice while here on the continent is that while there are thousands of scooters on the roads, a good many of them are brands Ive never heard of and a very few of them are older vespas (and I havent seen a single Lambretta).  Now when I say ‘older’, I dont mean vintage machines, I mean, it is rare to see a vespa of more than maybe 10 years.  Everybody is driving modern, plastic faring, twist’n’go’s (though I have seen a few knackered old Tomos mopeds that I rather like ;-)
As part of the Kyoto agreement on global emission reduction, the Italians apparently got into a bit of a pickle a few years back as they had quite a stretching target to meet.  And so some bright bureaucratic spark came up with the then brilliant, but now disastrous idea of insentivising the nation with huge subsidies to trade in thier old smokey scooters, for brand new clean ones.  The rules were strict, and old traded-in machines had to be scrapped (unless broken down and sold for parts).  On the one hand this had a huge and positive impact on the air quality and environmental impact of italy, but on the other hand it stuffed the italian scooter manufacturing industry (leaving the market wide open for japanese scooters) and destroyed the iconic symbol of its national identity, culture and heritage.
So no more cool and suave on a vespa or lambretta.  Instead, skimpily clad nubiles and bermuda-shorted youths on suzukis, yamahas, MBKs CYMs(?) etc (though I have to admit that Piaggio and Aprilla still represents a good proportion of new scooters on the road)

Statistics

For those who might be interested here are some recent stats....
From the moment of shotblasting the frame (ie not including any time or money spent up until that moment), I have;
- spent 45 hours cutting and welding
- consumed 10 meters of welding rod
- consumed £40 of argon gas (i have got to get a better gas bottle and fill method. Current method is cheap for infrequent jobs but expensive for bigger jobs)
- ground away 1/4 of a tungsten tip
- removed nearly 2.5 kg of rust metal - presumably Ive replaced at least that much
- spent £52 on floor pan and replacement sheet metal

Thinking time

Oh what a disappointment. I had it all planned that I would get the scooter and parts all powder-coated this week, but when I phone Redditch shotblasting
***** News Flash******
TVOR BUYS A 1956 LAMBRETTA LD150
Old man has new excuse to fiddle in his shed
Watch this space for links to project progress
**********************
..But when I phoned Redditch shot blasting, they told me they couldnt do it this week..... and from next week I am on holiday (who would have though that a holiday would be so inconvenient).... so for one reason or another I can get the thing painted now for at least 6 weeks! Will it be all rusty again by then?
I am trying not to get too disappointed about this - in the grand scheme of things it doesn't actually make much difference to how quickly I get it back on the road - even painted I couldnt have done any rebuild for several weeks anyway. And so I am going to take the opportunity to reflect on the journey so far and think about colours and graphics - I am going to be in Italy for a a few weeks so will do lots of field research on Vespas in their natural habitat

Just do it

I had a master plan - when dropping the frame off for powder coating (hopefully this week), to also drop off the side panels and tool box for shot blasting. Then when I collect the painted frame I could also collect the stripped other bits ready for panel beating and preping for powder coating another day.
But Ive blown that master plan out.
Instead Ive decided to take all the above (plus handle bar head and various brackets) to be painted at the same time (ie NOT bring it back here for work prior to painting) - it will be good enough. Ive bashed and straightened as much as I can, and am prepared to accept a few imperfections and just get everything coloured up - so I can get on with putting it all back together again. I dont want this to drag on longer that it needs to

final details

So I thought I was nearly there with the finishing... until I woke up in a sweat the other night thinking about all the things that I SHOULD really do seeings as Ive come this far.
Ive been really struggling with this balance between - making a good enough job, and making a job Im proud of. Sometimes I think "that'll do, it'll never be a show vehicle, just get it done and out of the way" and then in the next breath (or in this instance, middle of the night) Im thinking "you've come this far, why cut corners now and regret not doing it properly"
So in addition to the final bit of grinding, I also make up some strengthening plates for the mounting holes on at the rear of the frame that locates the side panels. This is quite a rusty area, but I had earlier made the decision not to replace all this metal figuring it would have meant virtually replacing half the vehicle. So I guess a reasonable compromise that might help me sleep easier was to make up these plates, and they certainly have given a lot more strength to this area.

Another thing that has been playing on my mind is the security of the bike when parked up outside pubs and other public places, and so I decided to weld a 1/4" bar loop onto the inside of the stand - so that I could thread a chain through. I know that it wouldn't stop a very determined thief, but it would slow opportunists down. It seemed like a very good idea to me - why dont they put a loop on here as a matter of course.
And while I was tossing and turning over the stand - I also decided to make up some plates to help spread the load that it places on the floor while on the stand (Ive seen some sort of plate kit offered in a magazine to overcome this problem)

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 ;-)