Modern Vespa

Filing them with a belt sander seems to work better than drilling them. More control.

These sanders range a lot, but the low end ones are $50-75

youtu.be/bG1ng7gi7kQ

baileys in the coffee? sacrilege! everybody knows baileys (or kahlua) goes into the pankcake or waffle mix!

anyway, similar minds. knock the mud off, buzz the lower with a spot weld bit and straight R&R. i think that would give the best results with the least amount of effort.

-g

nice tips on how to remove welds gentlemen, very interesting!

chop off the old, zip on the new. as G said, you'll get the best results with the least effort. Its what, 3 spots per side? You'll be done before you finish thinking about it.

Hope your lights, heat, water, etc... are all working as they should.

Wow look at all that powder! Hope you guys fared well along with all the other Hooligans.

We only got about an inch of the pretty stuff. And... the novelty wore off quick when we started losing power wednsday. Lucky though, we have only been suffering the "rolling" blackouts that last an hour or two and not the extended bullshit that so many have had to survive. No water for 2 days though. Lucky my hurricane supply closet had a few gallons (and a few six packs at the ready from my Cali folk).

Still.. been a bit of a gong show for sure. ERCOT is gonna get sued 7 ways to Sunday.

Speaking of Sunday... Looking forward to Sunday with a high of 60... positively tropical! Will be a scooter riding and wrenching on the SS for sure.

The water issues seem to be statewide. I have been fortunate enough to have no problems. But, still concerned with the thaw coming that something may have been frozen unbeknownst. I was also fortunate to be able to help a friend (and his dog) who went without power and water for 3-4 days.

The rest of the guys, including our Houston area Hooligan have all been dealing with plumbing or water outtage issues.

We'd planned on doing a camp and scout run this Saturday for the Hill Country Classic but, weather aside, everyone has issues at home to tend to.

But, I'll throw in the obligatory "How it started" and "How it's going
" Pics.

Anyway, sorry to derail your post with weather. Look forward to seeing that bike progress. If there's anything I can do to help, let me know.

On the bright side we all do now have something so interesting while useful to know, to keep us happily occupied for the rest of February and probably most of March and maybe even beyond waiting to see how this horncast comes out finally in the end. It's like the Game of Thrones! Only a few more days to see Bondo exorcised, I can hardly wait.

Don't let us down now Jeff, I'm not only semi locked down still, but also semi snowed in! It's like plus

Ours is melting fast fortunately, and still most ppl have power.
We're finally able to get up the damn hill and out of here.

jeeze. i'd post a pic from my kitchen window but i'm sure it'd make most of you mad or violent or sick or all three.

let's just say there's house pants and bare feet and it's bright outside.

-g

What if I said Pretty Please?

C'mon, man! Nearly everybody else has... I'd like a look just to remember what it's like to have SUNSHINE again!

Here you go Voodoo.

We had an escape of the big V from quarantine a fortnight ago, and as a result got chucked into a 5 day statewide circuit breaker lockdown last Friday at midnight.

Senior Management and I celebrated our release last night by cycling up to the local foodie hub in the balm 30°(C!) evening and having a restaurant dinner in the sunlight.



We're lucky to be in the warm, and lucky to be in a 'Covid Normal" area.

^^^^
Short sleeves... restaurant... cute ladyfriend... covid normal area !?!?!?

Go buy some lottery tickets man! That looks down right heavenly.

Suns out so time to do some quick work. I am impressed with the mud job they had done on the horn.

I could not find the spot welds to drill out? Maybe on the inside of the leg shield? *scratches head*

Anyway, here’s some pics with it cleaned up more...

Full frontal:

boy howdy, somebody went to town with the slide hammer.

BRUTAL! But them holes could be weld shut, ground smooth...
If one were foolish enough to try to salvage that mess, I think a cut so you could peel it back some for access MIGHT help, so you could get at the backside with some kind of small dolly or ball pein hammer head. Then I'd like a heavy washer big enough for the horn to fit thru the ID and small enough OD to fit in behind.

Then when you have the shape as good as you can get, clamp the washer in place and weld it to the holes and your cut, etc and grind smooth. A lot of work, but it could work if you like to fiddle and your time is cheap.

You can NOW remove and replace if that's just not gonna work .

alright, alright.

(FIFY)

and not to derail it, this was just as all y'all were getting the brute force



dropped the car off for air bag recall and walked home that stuff just happened to be on the way


short sleeves and yellow fizzy beer was rolling.

-g

oh... and my great friend and his LOVELY wife sent some of these...



which are fucking AMAZE-BALLS by the way.

-g

fine... fine...



yes, i need a shave. and man... i look fat.

and no, i don't have my pocket protector

and yes i suck at taking selfies and pictures in general. that is why i'm a mechanic. uh no doi!

Good to hear that you didn't fare too badly down there, Birdsnest.

My brother also lives in Houston and he's had no water, no electricity, and at least one broken pipe. My mom is in assisted living in Dallas and just had to deal with the rolling blackouts, so she's counting herself lucky.

I'm glad to see the LA/San Diego contingent are making the most of their weather, though, because they'll be back on fire soon enough.

I was up in Chicago the first part of the week, so I got a refresher on Chicago winter--sub-zero temps and 18" of snow, meaning all my meetings cancelled. So much for business travel. Then, I got back to Nashville just in time for 6" of snow here. I don't even want to go out to the workshop, and it's heated. Boy did my blood thin fast.

This weekend I'll hopefully be able to play catchup on my own bodywork project and, assuming that parts & paint ever actually get here, maybe I'll feel like I'm starting to make real progress.

dude... no lies. we got an ass ton of rain (for us, that is) and the hills are already getting green again. which, well, you know means... a party later on down the line.

but when all that goes, the air quality is a real bummer. like, in the before times wearing a mask because you *needed it* as ash and debris was just raining all down around you.

but anyway, it's been windy as F so i've been busy on branch patrol the last few days. which is a party in and of itself. tomorrow and sunday i suspect some climbing or the big ladder to come out.

hot friday night over here boys! sharpening up some chains and gassing up the saws! woo woo! i'd take bondo work over this ANY day of the week!

-g

https://youtu.be/_KvRJE0J1WY
From one weather to another greasy

I kid!

^^^
hahahaha


On the horncast... Mark came over to lend his expertise and just killed it. With some kind of V-oodoo reclamation magic he managed to remove the crease, reshape it into almost original form, and lift the dents ALL without adding another hole or cutting. I did about 5 minutes of real work, the rest was handing tools to Mark and staying out of his way. Amazing vision.

Will braze the holes (liberally) and grind the high spots.

Pretty stoked to keep the nose OG Pontedrra!

You are too kind. It was a COLLABORATIVE effort, sir!!

It will still need some rhinoplasty, but I am on-board with original metal as much as possible. And, AND, you still have the option to replace if need be.

Man - y'all have some wicked termites down there.
Understand you are in the high 60's tomorrow.
Hope the water is back to running as soon as possible.
Will be interested to see what you decide with the horncast.

Pro job there, Mark ... extra kudos for creative use of C-clamp. Nice work, and great save.

I like it, how's it look with the horn in there?

Very impressive!

Thanks all!!! That happened in California man. So best to keep an eye out for sure! Solid. Horn sits flush and will hide some of the seam damage. That said after brazing it I will try and bribe Mark with donuts and other snacks to see if he has any more tricks up his sleeve. (Certain he does.)

Worked on the fender dent some this morning. Mark stopped by with brazing rods for the horn cast that he had on hand, and after I cleared the bondo (pounds of it), we lifted the main dent.

This one I can take 50% credit for (unlike the horn cast.)

Still has lots to go but here’s a before and after...





Last edited by Birdsnest on Sun Feb 21, 2021 2:01 pm; edited 1 time in total

After-

That piece could be replaced. Here is a 100 Sport chassis with an earlier lower horncaste; I did a few weeks ago. The new piece had to have some work prior to welding it on.

Pretty work all the way around! Top marks!

anything worth doing is worth doing right. Thanks.

Working 55 yr old metal.... making it nice!

this settles it. i'm officially starting a go fund me to get birdsnest some sawhorses and a sheet of wood, or like, an old door. that way he and mark can work at waist height!

-g

Count me in!

It’s all about the space to store the damn things... but yeah... my arthritic back would appreciate a set.