The Rebuild underway

The rebuild couldn't start early yesterday, because I needed a part. To be precise, I needed a Lower Frame Cone Cover. A small piece of pressed steel which goes between the Frame and the Frame cone... It costs £2.50, and I didn't have one. Anyway, a few phone calls later and I was heading over to Preston to buy the aforementioned article from Frank Sanderson at Lambretta Innovations. And what a nice chap Frank is... He showed me round his workshop and I saw some really excellent Lambretta conversions going on. He is a superstar in the scootering world, but he is a down to earth bloke like the rest of us - a real unassuming northerner, and a top bloke. My next scooter may well be one of Frank's wonderful creations.
So, part in hand, I returned home to begin the rebuild. Only I couldn't... I had to Waxoyl and Stone Chip Guard the area behind the rear numberplate, and that involves taking the scooter outside to spray it - As it was bloody freezing yesterday, I decided to do the spraying in the nice warm kitchen, on account of the paint needing to be warm enough, you understand. So I set up a makeshift spraybooth using an old sheet and the maiden, masked off the bits I didn't want spraying and proceeded to apply liberally. I think I got away with it!

According to Sticky, the chassis rebuild has to go in a certain order, and I'm not about to argue, so I proceeded to fit the rear mudguard and the stand. The rear mudgard needed a new hole drilling, as the original one was about 20mm away from where it should be, and the stand was a real pain to fit because of the bloody spring. After much jiggling and on and offing, I eventually got the stand and the spring fitted, using a combination of brute force and the stand bolt to drag the stand in line. Then I remembered that I'd bought a stainless steel splash plate, so the whole thing had to come off and go back on again. Such is life!

Forks went in next, and these were really easy to do. Loads of grease, bearings, tab washers and bolts, and in it went. It looks really well, and the scooter is finally starting to have a feel of a scooter, rather than a load of components now!

The Theme Revealed...

OK... Some of you have been waiting for this, so I will finally reveal the theme for the scooter. Originally, I was going to do a 'Pressure Drop' themed scooter, after the excellent song by Toots and the Maytals, but I have seen a few scooters of the same name knocking around, so I decided against that one.

So that set me thinking... What shall I do with mine. A couple of days to go before the respray, I was wracking my brains wondering what to do when it hit me. I'll do a scooter based on an MA1 flight jacket - The ones which many scooterists (not mods) wear. And not just any MA1... The king of all flight jackets, Alpha Industries!

The colour I chose was a sage green colour specified for Skodas in the 70's and 80's which matched the colour of olive green used in Flight Jackets quite well. The thing about MA1's is that they have a reversible lining which is bright orange, so that a downed pilot can put the jacket on inside out to be more easily seen in an emergency. So all the scooter internals (the petrol tank, Airbox, airbox bellows and the toolbox) are painted in Ford Focus ST orange.

I have other plans for the scooter too; It's not just the colourway I have chosen... These will be revealed as I do them. So you'll want to see a photo now, I guess... Thanks for your patience.

Half Term - Don't you just love 'em?

Back from Bridlington and looking at a week off work, so I thought it was about time I did something with the GP... I got the front upper and lower bearing races two weeks ago, and they have been in the freezer since (note to self; don't put on tongue), and I picked up a pair of silent blocks plus a Mark Broadhurst rear wheel race bearing and a copper exhaust gasket from the parts fair in Brid, so we're good to go. On the subject of the parts fair, why do we get charged a fiver to go in to spend? It's wrong that we have to stump up this money... I don't mind a couple of quid, but a fiver? Come on! ) OK... End of rant.

Anyhow... The good news is that because of my lack of workshop, Carol has agreed to let me start the build in the kitchen, where the dining table used to be... What a result. A warm, light environment with clean floors and easy access to brews in which to put the scoot back together... It can't get better than that! I'm off to move the dining room table now, and get the frame prepped for the rebuild. May even post some pictures later today to show how much I've done...