I picked up a new scooter. I am now the custodian of a 1965 Vespa 180 Super Sport. It is in very good original condition. There are no dents or dings whatsoever. The stainless trim is unblemished. Not a dent or scrape on it. The trim around the floorboards shows indication of 40 years of feet, but isn't too bad. At some point, someone slathered some white paint on the floorboards to protect them from rust, so that's not particularly pretty. It currently has a poor fitting rubber floormat covering it.
The paint has a fair number of small stone chips and scratches, but the integrity of the paint is still good. There is no paint checking, orange peel, crazing, etc. Where the paint is good, it is real good. I bought it in the process of being touched up, so it has what I call "black measles." All of the stone chips have been generously coated with Permatex rust killer. This is good to stop any rust, but doesn't particularly look attractive. I need to clean the excess off with carb cleaner, and then I'll clean everything up and go over it with 3M hand glaze. At that point I'll have to decide whether to get some color-matched touch-up and go after the spots with the air brush, or have it professionally taken care of. I don't want to repaint it, because it is in such good overall original condition.
Mechanically it is sound. The engine has recently had new bearings, seals, and rings, as well as the cylinder honed. The clutch has been gone through, and shifting seems smooth to my inexperienced eye. It has a deep, throaty sound, thanks to a period correct '60s aftermarket exhaust. I still have the stocker if I need it. I need to get in and clean the cables. The throttle seems stiff, and brake might need some adjustment. The engine needs a good cleaning. Some of the rubber boots are pretty much shot. I don't know how many of these are available for replacement, but I don't want to overdo the new stuff for fear of making the original parts look bad.
For the most part, it is a clean 'er up and ride it sort of purchase. Not pretty, but certainly presentable.
Check out http://www.morrisgarage.com/ss180 for the one photo I have up so far. You know me... more to come!
[edit: more pics] http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/2054703
OK, I took some photos when we got home. I just put them in the computer, and uploaded them to the gallery. The unblinking bright light of the camera shows bore than my blindered eyes saw at the time... Not quite the pretty thing I expected, but as I said, tons of potential.
The headlamp lens is plastic, but I have the glass Heim one here wrapped up safe and sound. That can't be a 41 year old saddle. It has to have been covered or replaced at some time. Under the headset, the paint has chipped off , there's some rust, and it has been touched up with mis-matched paint. I still can't see any signs that the whole scooter has ever been repainted. No spare or spare cover. I wonder if the exhaust interfered with it?
I took it for a first ride tonight. That clutch comes on *right now*. It's been a long time since I pulled an unintentional wheelie. Hey, these things lean to the right! I said I need to clean the cables, but I might just replace them. I've never ridden a shifter scooter before, but I've ridden a lot of motorcycles. I don't ever remember having to turn the throttle back toward idle rather than having spring pressure pull it back. I'm going to practice a bit before I ride it in traffic, too. Shifting and clutching with the same hand is definitely odd to me. The front brake doesn't do much, either. Don't know if that's cable or shoe. The rear works pretty good.
So, here it is in all its black-measled, grimy glory. Comments/critique not only welcome, but encouraged.
http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/2054703
I figured I'd start by cleaning the engine and drivetrain, and see if it needed anything. I took out the spark plug, expecting it to be gooped up, but it was a nice clean tan as it should be. Two strokes get checked by killing the engine while revving at high RPMs, right? It had an NGK B6ES in there. I haven't checked the gap yet.
I pulled off the fan cover, cylinder cowl, and shift selector cover, and took them into work to clean in the industrial parts cleaner. Much easier than at home with consumer grade cleaner and a toothbrush! The fan cover looked like it had been painted with a brush at some point. The inside still had the orange/tan color that I've read was originally the color inside the cowls and painted parts, so I left it like it was for originality. There was a little silver/aluminum color overspray on the inside. I gave it a light blast with the bead blaster to clean off the outside paint and sprayed it to match the overspray on the inside.
The cylinder cowl had most of its paint gone. I also blasted the outside of it and gave it a coat of satin black engine paint. This seemed to match the remnants of the original black paint. I left the inside alone after washing out the grime. I don't know if there was ever any paint in there, but there wasn't when I got it. It had a patina of years of oil and heat, so after cleaning it, I wiped the inside down with an oil rag to prevent rust, and left it looking like it always had. My nine year old daughter says it looks like Darth Vader.
Today I got into the heavy grime. I went through nearly two cans of degreaser, broke two toothbrushes, and froze my tail sitting on the garage floor. I swear there was 40 years of built up oil, grease, and road crud on it. But I got a lot accomplished. I ended up like I always do. Not knowing where to stop. I raised it on my ATV/Motorcycle lift, removed the rear wheel, and removed the rear shock mount so I could swing it down to clean. Of course I had to remove the exhaust to do that, and the carburettor. I got most of the crud off the engine halves, though, and the swing arm is pretty clean. I popped the head off to de-coke it, but there was no buildup. Slid the jug off while I was at it. It has a lot of surface rust and crud caked down between the fins. I'll take it and the head in to work and clean them thoroughly, too, and give the outside a light bead blast to clean off the built up rust and oxidation. That ought to allow the fins to do a better job cooling the engine.
I'll replace the carb gaskets, as well as the one under the jug. I probably should do an entire carb rebuild kit while I have it off. I'll replace the cables when I put it back together, too.
I haven't done anything on the chassis or paint yet. I figure I'll get the engine cleaned up and back together first. Oh, and it is now titled in my name, and I've got a plate for it.
Looks like I need to get back in there and clean the rear brake actuator! Compare this third photo with the one posted above, especially in the case area around the gear selector box. It is black in the first photo. A little Simichrome worked wonders on the selector box cover!
Don't be expecting too much. Remember, this is a preservation project, not a restoration. That's why there will be rounded bolts, gummed up slots in screws, the pieces aren't blasted down to bare metal and powder coated, etc. I'm just making what is already a nice scooter clean and presentable. If I paint anything, it is for protection and matching what was there. That's why I didn't cover up the original primer on the inside of the fan housing. My MGA was over-restored, and doesn't have a "history." It just looks new. That's why I'm preserving whatever history this one has.
These two were just bead blasted after work tonight
This one was bead blasted on the outside and sprayed with a matching aluminum paint, leaving the original primer/preservative on the inside.
A little Simichrome on the kick-start lever brings back some luster without over-doing it.
Darth Vader
The inside was left as is here, too, and the outside sprayed with engine black. It came out too glossy compared to the rest of the black, so I have some satin black hi-temp paint coming from Eastwood to overspray it.
Nice jug! Taped off and ready for a light bead blast. Then some hi-temp clear to keep it from rusting again.
I split off the preservation project photos from the bringing the new scoot home photos, so anyone not totally bored by this thread can follow along.
http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/2102031
I got a couple more pieces bead blasted the other day, and got some better matching hi-temp black paint. The stuff I put on the cylinder cover is just too glossy compared to the rest of the black items. I was going to put hi-temp clear coat on the head, cylinder, and flywheel fan, but decided to let them oxidize and rust as they are supposed to. Plus, it will help allow for better heat transfer.
Tonight I stopped at POC to get some engine gaskets, assorted grommets, oil, hoses, cables, fasteners, etc. so I can put things back together.
Friday I'll bead blast the last couple of parts, and put it together this weekend. I might tackle the cables then, too, while everything is clean.
Assuming it works, next up is to start cleaning the cowls and chassis of the rust killer swabbed on it. Then 3M hand glaze to see how good/bad the paint really is. After that I'll decide what to do about touching it up and/or leaving well enough alone for now.
I finished cleaning the engine components (except the carb) and started reassembly.
I also added some new photos to the gallery.
http://smorris.smugmug.com/gallery/2102031
I was surprised to find that there is nothing to center the head over the cylinder other than the studs?! That can't be right. There is enough clearance to allow a fair bit of movement of the head relative to the cylinder before it snugs down. This setup would allow areas where the head occludes the bore, and others areas where there is a "shelf" in the combustion chamber.
Long overdue update:
I broke the choke cable some time back, and couldn't find a replacement. I also stripped off the broken and checked wiring covers and had trouble finding a cover to fit. I got discouraged, found other things that needed done, and it sat...
A few weeks ago, a guy was over looking at my MGA and mentioned he used to have a mower shop. I asked if he still had a z-bend tool, since no one I asked at Honda, H-D, local mower shops, etc. did. Not only did he have a tool, but took my cable, trimmed the shroud, put on the z-bend, and lubed it for me! Then I found a plain plastic tube that was perfect for the wiring! I was on my way again.
So last weekend and yesterday, I got the electrical straightened up, put the cables back on, cleaned and reinstalled the tank, put on the carburettor and air box. Now all I need to do is clean the exhaust and reinstall it, put the kick start lever back on, and give it a test run.
After that is figuring why the front brake doesn't do anything, probably replace the tires (and clean/paint the wheels), and then get busy rubbing out the paint and removing the anti-rust goop the PO put on.
It is getting closer!
That's about it for photos. I got the rest of it back together and it started right up. Nothing has been done to the paint other than cleaning it up. It is only original once, so I don't want to repaint it. Hope some of you found this interesting. I had a blast doing it, and enjoy riding the scoot. It is so much different than the LX or Burgman!
