Still Busy, Busy, Busy!

The second anniversary of me getting the Lambretta is getting close. I had in my head that it would be all finished by now, but sadly , it isn't. So, what else have I done?

I needed to get the fuel tank, the airbox and the toolbox in, so that was the next job. A load of fiddling to make sure I didn't scratch that lovely orange paint, but it was all relatively straightforward. And it looks excellent.

I need to fit the legshields and the mudguard and the horn casting. And get all of the rubber bits of trim in the right places, so off I went. The paint work suffered a few scratches while trying to get the leggies in, which I was very pissed off about. I even masked up all the points of contact, so that this could be avoided, but the leggies just ploughed the paint. Very annoying, but it's only a scooter...


Legshields in, I fitted the stainless runners prior to the mudguard and horncasting ... Just can't wait! The reason for fitting this trim first is that some of the bolts for the runners hold on the mudguard. But other bolts need to sit under the trim, so it all gets a bit confusing. Oh, and I put in those little rubber anti-vibration thingies too... How fiddly are those? I put the legshield trim on too. The original polished legshield trim clasp I bought shattered, so a quick trip up to Scootlife, and I had a new (and better) set in my hands.

Mudguard and horncasting, next, and what a pain in the arse those were. You have really limited access to get to things, so I had to enlist Carol and her unfeasably small hands to do up some of the nuts. And taht trim for the horncasting just wouldn't stay put at all. You'd do one side, then the other would pop out (or pop in). That was very annoying. But, it's all finally in and looking absolutely sweet! It looks like a scooter now.

April stuff... Busy busy busy!

Went to New York again with work, which was nice. It's a beautiful city, and I was on the lookout for a New York numberplate for my workshop. Sadly, I didn't get one as I felt that an arrest for stealing a vehicle part would be detrimental to my career.

The Easter Break is a very productive time... Did a few small bits to the engine, like fitted the new side casing and a few internal bits, like the kickstart bumpstop, kickstart oild seal, etc. and loosely fitted the casing to the engine. Still a few bits in there to sort out, so it's pointless ratcheting it all up. And while I had the engine nearly done, I decided to fit it in the scooter. This was a tricky job, as I was on my own for pretty much all of it. I have a small car jack and a couple of axle stands, so a bit of jimmying and a few swearwords later, it was in! And it looks really good, too. Also fitted the toolbox door, which required a bit of fabrication to get a decent hinge mechanism. Speaking of hinges, I need to fettle that petrol flap, too...

That rear bulb holder turned into a bigger job. It ended up costing me £22 for a decent bulb unit, which I then butchered to put into the alloy unit fitted on the scooter. It is a bit annoying, but I want the thing to be right, so it needs to be done. I got the rear bulb holder from Pete Merchant's shop over in Rochdale. While there, I had a chat with the famous Harry Barlow. He is doing Ange's engine for her and so we are in a bit of a biker build off. He is a top bloke, and one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, so I quite enjoyed going over and having a chat. Got a few bits from the nice people at Lambretta Cottage Restorations while on my travels. I thoroughly recommend these nice Yorkshire folk - Very knowledgeable and they will tell you which bits are shit and which aren't, even if they sell them! Not everyone is like that, I can tell you!

Gave the workshop a coat of paint, too, while dodging the rain, and sealed off the edges of the roof, so it's now nice and watertight.