Sent away for acid dipping

Took the bits into Preston today for dipping... The downside is it's probably going to cost a little more (£120ish), and I noticed that the area behind the number plate is in need of welding...

The people there told me it will be ready in about ten working days, so it's going to take a little longer than I anticipated. They also explained the process... The parts are baked in a large oven over a period of several days, and after that, they are immersed in a large tank full of a really weak acid which dissolves the flaking paint. After that, the parts are pressure washed in a detergent which contains phosphor to prevent flash rusting. It all sounds very technical, but they seem to know what they're doing...

Fork off!

The forks will need extensive work... Looking at them and reading Sticky's manual, I reckon it's a job for the professionals, so I phoned the Mod Shop in Eccleston, and took the forks over to them...

My Mum bought me a pair of stainless front shocks from there for Christmas last year, and they are the weld on bracket type (not that my Mum is any Lambretta afficionado - those are what I asked for...), so it's only right that the people I got them from should weld the bits on. And while they are at it, they may as well do the fork strip and rebuild, too. So I loaded them onto the PX and off I went. I went through what I wanted with the guys there, and they told me to call them in a couple of days.

Stripped and ready

The scooter is now stripped down to component level... A really satisfying feeling, seeing it in this state. I need to get it stripped now. I'm using Ribble Technology for the stripping... They did my mate Ady's scooter and did a good job of it. The company is based in Preston, so it is fairly local, although I'll have to wait until Carol is off next week because I'll need the car. It is possible to take each piece individually by scooter, but it wouldn't be the best use of my time...

The Chinese boxes in the foreground are all labelled and ready, the scooter itself will now be stacked up and readied for the stripping process... I need to check for hidden components (lugs, shims, etc) which may be destroyed by the dipping process...

And that toolbox was a right bastard to get out, too... The forks will be totally refurbished, which means that I'll have to strip these by hand after they have been done... More on that later.

The big strip

The catalyst for the big strip came when I got a visit from my Dad... We started talking about the Lammy and I said I was waiting for some cash in order to start the rebuilding process. I need to get the scooter Acid dipped to remove the Indian paint and crap that have built up over the years, but I estimated it would cost £80 - £100, which is money I would rather use for going on rallies with.

The idiot in the picture is my son, Scott, a challenged individual who usually does nothing... This looked like fun, though, so he offered to help.

So anyway, back to the story... My dad then game me a oner for my Christmas present, which he said I should use to get it stripped... So I did. I started that afternoon and by the end of the day, the scooter was all but stripped down. I know that this is the easy bit, but there is an immense feeling of achievement in looking at a pile of components which was formerly a rolling scooter... I will be replacing all of the nuts and bolts with Stainless Steel items, so there was no need to be careful with their removal. Some particularly stubborn ones were hacksawed off but most have been retained in my "Big box of Shite". The components I will be reusing are in there too, in the plastic tubs you get Chinese meals in... I love Chinese, so I have managed to acquire quite a few of these, which is handy! The lids are also useful for writing on, which means that (theoretically, at least) I should have a chance of finding these components when I later need them.

Just out of shot in the first picture is the original "Big box of Shite". This has been upgraded to a plastic model with wheels, though, after a rain related incident compromised it's integrity. It is pictured to the right, along with my catalogued Chinese boxes.

If you are wondering where the front wheel and hub went, this was donated to Matt from our club (the Pogue Mahone Scooter Club) for Ange's Lambretta project. I have a replacement unit anyway, so it was surplus to requirements. Matt also polished my air scoop, so I owed him one...

The box of bits

So I mentioned earlier about the box of bits... This turned out to be a real headache for me. I bought some stuff from ScootRS which arrived fairly promptly with the exception of the front Hydraulic disc brake kit (drum links) which was out of stock at the time. The prices of these items were excellent compared to the rip off prices for the same stuff on eBay, and it is calculated in dollars which, because of the strong exchange rate at the time, meant I got more for my money. The only issue I had with the ScootRS stuff was not really anything to do with the company, but with the shippers.

I used the fastest shipping option, by FedEx (2-5 days), which arrived within the specified time... Only a couple of weeks later, I was stung with an import duty bill from FedEx based on the value of the items... One to watch for, if you are doing the same yourself. Admittedly, the duty was low, based on the valuation of the items which ScootRS enclosed with the package (which is lower than the price I paid - maybe that's how much they get the items made for in Vietnam...?) but it was still a nasty surprise which I didn't account for. Apparently, the slower shippping options do not incur this duty, but I have no evidence of that... I didn't want to wait 90 days for a boat to arrive anyway.

I also bought some bits off traders who set up stalls at rallies... Disco Dave sold me some good stuff, as did SP4Y (Scooter Parts 4 You) and Steve at Scootergifts has been particularly helpful and great value for money.

So... We have the bits, and I reckon I've spent about £1,500 plus over the course of last year, and I still don't have everything I need... It's like buying a Lambretta on HP!

So it begins...

I got an Indian GP for my 40th Birthday in 2007... My partner Carol bought it for me as a project to complete over the summer, and I was well chuffed... The panels looked nice and straight and although it needed some work, I felt sure I could do it using the excellent manual by Sticky.

And so it sat there. All summer, then through the autumn, winter and spring. Rallies came and went, and it was far easier and dream about what it could be, and what it would look like than to actually do it. I'm lucky enough to own a few scooters, so the need to complete this project wasn't that urgent.

I wasn't totally idle, though... On each rally, I made sure I bought at least one item for the rebuild. Small things, sometimes, and other times I got a larger bit. At the Cheeky Northern Monkeys do, I got a set of Chrome tubeless rims, for example. Then at the Isle of Wight, I bought some Heidenlau tyres to go on them. I also got some things off the net, from e-bay and from ScootRS in Vietnam. The e-bay stuff was of varying quality (some OK, but mainly average), but the ScootRS stuff was excellent.

So it got to Spring of this year and I had a scooter and a box of bits. All I needed was to put them both together... Can't be that hard, can it?