Modern Vespa

So here it is in September and I haven't posted on this thread since April. So much has happened, but slowly. The scooter has been at the panel beater, then had some bead blasting done to it in Cambridge then back to the panel beater and a bill about $2000 bigger than planned due to unforeseen rust. Again, I decided that scrimping now would only upset me later so the work was done. I took a little consolation from looking at a project they are working on to restore an old (1960s) Austin ice cream truck like Mr. Whippy for a local artisan ice cream company. If they haven't spent $40,000 they haven't spent a cent! I look forward to enjoying an ice cream this summer.
The panel work is all complete and the painter has everything as of today. He expects to get onto the job next week and hopefully I will have a million pieces to reconstruct soon.
Discussion with my local Vespa 🛵 dealer suggested that winter isn't the best time for them to be doing restoration work as many clients have their maintenance done while it's wet and a bit cool. We don't get extremes of weather in Hamilton, frost is about as bad as it gets here, and being dairy country the farmers think we are in full drought conditions if it doesn't rain in a 7 day period. We have had a wet winter so plenty of bikes and scooters passed through the workshop.
I will update with photos when I get all the bits back from the painter.

Yesterday, Friday 1 February I visited my painter as I hadn't heard anything. He wasn't there but his team showed me the body in primer and asked me about which bits in the container were to be painted silver. That's one of the dangers of the painter doing it as a filler between car work. With that sorted, and me giving them the paint code for the silver, they showed me what has been painted red. The glovebox and door are done as are both pods and the top of the fuel tank. They look great, and if the body comes out that well I will be very happy. Photos when all is done.

It seems so long since I last reported on how Gina was coming along, and it has been. However, I was talking to the painter last week and it appears that I will be able to pick up all the bits tomorrow, Monday 13 May. When/if I get her home I will get photos and post a few here. Can't wait.

So; I didn't get everything back as the painter was not satisfied with his own work where some paint had come through holes from the underside and left little runs. Maybe tomorrow, Wednesday, but we will see. I did bring home the glovebox, the glovebox door, the fuel tank, the fuel tank lid and cross piece along with all the rims and other silver parts. Still need to get the body, side pods and headset along with the fork. More information as it comes to hand, and photos once I have it all.

Finally got a call from the painter to say that everything was finished. He was happy to have me pick it all up and will send me a bill. That bit is a little scary; I will worry about it when it arrives.
We loaded the cowls and mudguard into the boot (trunk) and the fork behind the front seats, then realised we had the headset so back to the boot and it found room, then the body had to go into the car. We debated whether it would fit on the back seat (Alfa Romeo 156) and decided it would. Initially it looked like the door wouldn't close but a careful lift of the rear put it up on the armrest and a bit of a twist and the left door closed. Phew.
I unloaded it all at home by myself and I took a few photos to continue the record. In case anyone isn't sure, the area inside the body where the tank fits is finished in the original primer as they were in their day.

Very nice. Is that single stage or base + clear?

It's a 2K paint (I don't recall the brand, but will post when I get the leftover back from the painter) with clear that has been buffed by the painter. The colour was matched to the original unfaded NZ red that the paint supplier inside the body.
He usually uses Sikkens 2K with clear. His specialty is hot rods but his bread and butter work is tidying up cars for car yards.

Today I spent a couple of hours in the garage, initially trying to fit new studs to one of the brake drums, then I fitted the chrome leg shield trim. Slow steps to avoid rushing the job.

Thats looking great Mr Piggy

Look nice looking forward to seeing it come together

Well; the process has begun! A few hours in the garage have meant there are a few pieces in place.
I started by attempting to fit the new studs into the bub that had been repaired. All the wheel studs on that one were damaged and removed when the repair to the fins was being done. I had 5 new studs from SIP and started to wind them in. My reading suggested that the old trick of winding 2 nuts together wasn't wise. I need to know what is wise now as only one stud was keen to wind anywhere near to the bottom of the hole so it's back to the drawing board on that one.
Next I added the chrome leg shield trim. The body and trim had been dry fitted prior to painting so it was just incumbent on me to fit it without scratching the paint. The panelbeater had put masking tape on the chrome to protect it and I have left it there in the meantime. After the initial placement of the trim I used a small tie down strap to gently pull in on the trim at each of the three screw levels down the side. As I did the uppermost the top pulled together and I gently tightened the two screws on the horizontal part of the trim and did the same with the top screws, then moved down to the next screws then down to the bottom. I have a terrible propensity to scratching new paint with screwdrivers so I was extremely cautious as I tightened the screws. Somehow I managed to get them all done without any extraneous scratches.
This afternoon I fitted the intake pipe from the body to the rubber bellows. The gasket is the original, as are the nuts and bits which I had cadmium plated at a local aircraft manufacturer. They are not shiny and I believe that this is how they started their life. I have had to add some new washers as they had gone missing since 1965. Then, I put the Vespa SS badge onto the leg shield using the SIP riveting tool. Initially I was a little confused by the tool but putting it together made it clear how it works and it did the job well.
More as I get more done.

More time in the garage and a bit of progress. I also realised that I hadn't ordered cables or a wiring loom so I did that last night and delivery is expected in 3 - 5 days. We shall see.
I pulled out the floor runners and rivets, end pieces etc. and fitted those. That wasn't without drama as the centre one on each side was too long and the top hole (where it was too long) was also not in the correct location. This was disappointing considering that the panelbeater had both the body and the runners while he worked on it. Shortening the runners was easy, adjusting the hole location was carried out by elongating the existing hole. On opening the packet of rivets there turned out to be two more of the longer 4mm rivets than needed and 1 too few of the small 3mm rivets. Interestingly (to me anyway) the 4mm rivets are longer than the gap in the SIP riveting tool. They needed to be cut so that they could be crushed into place. Only one needed to be longer and that was one of the 4mm ones that went through the crossmember - but only on one side. The joys of local production. A note last night on the local Vespa Club page located a rivet for the missing one so I spent today fitting the rear badge, fitting the rubber in all but one of the floor rails, and putting on the horncast badge. Feels good to get some visible progress.

So, while I wait for my bits from SIP (they have despatched it toady midday in Germany) I thought I would do some little jobs. I have a new glovebox gasket from SIP that has to be glued to the inside of the glovebox door. But what glue to use. I thought I would ask my crafty (that is, she does all sorts of crafts) wife what she recommends. After all, the made costumes for Starlight Express using the material that wet suits are made from and glued all sorts of bits and pieces to it. However, she was stumped. We sort of think a contact adhesive is the way to go, but aren't sure so;

What have people on this forum used successfully to glue the foam gasket to the inside of the glovebox door.

I look forward to your advice.

Looking great so far!

And the final rivet (with spares) arrived today and I fitted it tonight. A photo of the rubbers fitted is below.

Satisfying isn't it?

It certainly is. I find I have to curb a tendency to want to do things too quickly. Fitting the rear badge took over an hour as I cajoled the shape into it gently with thumbs and fingers being VERY careful not to overdo it. The satisfaction is worth the effort.
Now I am impatient for my cables and wiring loom etc. to arrive from SIP. I noticed my credit card has been charged

The"wiring diagram" provided with the SIP loom will temper your enthusiasm!

I have heard that, but the one that came with the scooter was a very sad collection of old copper wires inside dodgy old plastic surrounds with plenty of cracks in the plastic to let the electricity out. I will come back here for comfort if it all gets too much at any stage.

In case you haven't already seen it, take a look at mr.10's Rally build. His gallery of 200+ quality pics are a priceless, step-by-step that will inspire and help as you proceed with yours.

https://gallery.vespresso.nl/mr10/Rally200

Thanks, that's this afternoon filled up on a cold miserable winters day.

So I started by trying to get the new SIP wiring loom in place. I ran a pull string first, and, to cut a long story short, spent more than a few hours getting the guts of it under that tricky bulkhead. I kept reminding myself that I didn't have a deadline so if I felt frustration coming on I would cover her up and walk away. Then, as if by magic, early this week the first of the loom appeared without swearing of any tearing of the protective outer cover at the horn hole. I gently pushed from the spine and continued to pull from the front of the scoot until I had all the handlebar wires out the front and I then pulled the brake pedal switch wires through and fed the appropriate wires up the steering column area.
All I have to do now is get the three tail/stop light wires down the tube to the rear and I can look at running the cables.
It's a slow but satisfying job.

I'm happy to see your progress! Looks great so far, and good job getting the wiring through the tunnel. Rear badge fit looks nice. I have an '68 SS USA version, which will be put together some day in the future Following along with your progress 8)

There has been a little progress, and one sticking point. I have 2 of the 3 wires through the tube to the rear light, and the earth wire is close but I can't quite hook it to pull it through. After a couple of hours of pushing and poking and trying to remain patient I gave up and looked at fitting the trim to the mudguard and side pods. I had a new set of trim clips, and the replacement special bolts to hold the mudguard to the fork. I started with that trim piece and after a little tweaking of the curve of the right hand trim it was all on and nipped up. Then I went to the left side and that was much quicker. Then it was lining them up and tightening them down - successfully. I then moved to the engine side pod and fiddled with the curvature of the trim, wriggled the trim clips in and got them through the holes. A quick nip up has the trim held in place. Then I went to do the spare wheel pod and, horror of horror, only 2 trim clips when I needed three. I stopped!
I dropped into the local Vespa dealer today knowing he has a NZ assembled 180SS being restored and tried to steal a clip off him but he hasn't ordered them yet, so I will have to be patient and get another.
I also found out that the recently arrived glovebox lock doesn't fit through the hole, by about half a mm. Dremel tool and later protective paint will be needed methinks.

Thanks. I just have to curb my natural impatience.

Thanks

When Gina arrived she didn't have either the speedo cable or the front brake cable in place. I would really appreciate it if anyone has a photo or photos of the cables at both the bottom and the top of the steering column, preferably without the mudguard (fender) in place. They don't need to be connected up to their respective ends, I'm really just looking to see how they come down and out of the column. I will also post this in the NSM forum. Thanks in anticipation.

A friend has one. I'll try to get you some pics. Your bike is looking sharp, almost makes me want me some new paint too.

Thanks, I found one of my dismantling photos and the brake cable was in, but I still want to be sure I have it correct before I commit to putting the mudguard on etc.

Time for another report and a few more photos.
I have fitted all the trims to the pods and front mudguard, and also put the rubbers on the pods and trimmed them to length. I have light tack masking tape on at the moment while the rubber gets a memory of the correct shape.
Having done that I decided it was time to reattach the front hub to the fork. I had a new axle kit for that, with all 36 individual rollers to be fitted. I had visions of getting them all set in properly then nudging them on assembly and having them escape on to the floor. So I started and did one side on an afternoon and with a few drops of grease on the inner washer left it all alone overnight. I knew I needed to be able to get the axle in one side to the edge of the washer, then pop the fork in, and . . . . . . what next? How do I keep everything in place on the other side? So I measured the axle diameter, and decided my long reach 10mm socket looked about the same so I measured that and bingo, it was within 0.01mm of the axle. So the following morning I put the axle and the socket in the freezer and gently put the second lot of 18 rollers in place on the second side. Again a few dabs of grease held the washer in place. I carefully measured the resulting gap and checked it against the width of the fork and it was again very similar so the time arrived to get it all together. I quietly slid the axle into one side until it reached the end of the washer, and did the same with the socket on the other side. Then the big test, slide the fork into place. A gentle tap or two had the axle on its way through the well greased fork, and out the other side forcing the socket out.

Nice to see you're making progress. You might consider putting a blanket or towel down over the floor to protect that lovely paint from an accidentally dropped bolt or wrench. Ask me how I know.

You have just seen her unclothed, unless I am actually doing some work on her she is fully covered.

So outstanding, beautiful vespa. Congratulations

Thanks, it's slow but satisfying. I have started putting the fork together, but my "part time casual" retirement job has kept me out of the garage lately. Perhaps a report again next week.

Well that was certainly a long week, but today I finished the fork apart from the fitting of the mudguard.
I replaced the axle bearings with new SKF ones, taking the measurements of the old ones with me. As soon as I gave the guy in the shop the measurements he rattled off a couple of SKF part numbers and produced the bearings. They are slightly different in that they are pre-greased and have seals in them. A couple of the guys I work with have restored motorcycles and both suggested removing a seal and filling the bearings with my own grease. I did that, put them in the freezer and got them on to the axle. Then the assembly sat in the freezer for a while as I put grease into the bottom of the cavity before popping the axle assembly into the hole. It didn't seat completely so needed some encouragement using a long reach socket and hammer. I reused the left hand thread castellated nut although it was a little reluctant to go into the hub initially but running it back and forwards a few times before doing a final tidy up on the edges of the nut which had seen a few punch hits in its life. A smear of grease on the threads and it ran home well, before the tricky spring clip went back in. Whoever designed that was clearly having a bad day.
When I did a trial fit of the hub it appeared that the splines didn't want to match up. A closer look suggested that the end of some of the splines on the axle were damaged so I spent a bit of time filing the ends to make sure they were clear. After that the hub fitted easily so the brake shoes were fitted and the hub, with copper grease on the splines, slid into place. Finally, the cone, washer and axle nut went on and lunchtime called so I could check the torque setting for the axle nut. The recurring number on the internet was around 80Nm, or as my friends in the motor industry say, f-t.
Running the cables was very low stress, I ran the inner up the fork for the brake cable then fed the outer along it from the top. With a little nudging to align the outer with the hole in the fork it was soon out and the inner run. Then I did the same for the speedo cable and, to quote Robot of Scooterwest.com, put a smear of grease on the cable before running it down the outer. With a good amount of grease applied I put the speedo drive in - the correct way around - and added more grease to the plug that then fitted nicely and as I tightened it it rotated the hub. Win! The gear had successfully engaged with the axle. I was fortunate to have the crush washer for where the speedo outer goes into the hub so I inserted the outer as far as possible then checked that the inner was seated properly by rotating the hub and getting movement at the top of the cable. Time then to tighten everything down and recheck the axle rotated the speedo cable. All good.

and today I visited a local fastener supplier who is happy to sell 1 or 1000 to get the bolts for the top of the mudguard. I had checked the correct size on the Vespa 180SS Owners Facebook page so managed to buy 2 bolts with the appropriate washers and nuts. I also picked up screws for the mats on both old scooters as I had lost one from the kit I got from SIP.
The mudguard was most cooperative going on, I recall the one on Bella fighting me over the steering stops; perhaps I had good muscle memory. All that came together nicely and now the mudguard is all bolted up. Following that I put the dust cover and lower bearing race on before calling it a day while I was still concentrating well. No use in taking a chance on these things.

Every so often having to do that home maintenance stuff has a good outcome. I needed some bench space today so I needed to move the fork out of the vice jaws. It struck me that the best storage place was actually in place on the scooter. So I got out the new bearings and races etc. and checked everything fitted well before I greased the seats and races and slid the fork up the tube. With the minimum of fuss it emerged at the top and I threaded the first of the nuts on, then the washer with the tab then the second nut and pulled it all up until it was tight enough without being finished. The best thing is that both steering stops work as intended.

I have enjoyed reading this thread immensely. Your attention to detail blows my mind! 1 nitpick detail - the way the split pin(or cotter pin) is installed thru the wheel hub nut. I think you need to turn it 90 degrees and install it this way. Keep posting!

There's a first time for everything, I have never seen that before but it is certainly a more secure method of ensuring the split pin (in New Zealand, a cotter pin is what used to make pedals secure on bicycle cranks) stays in place.

And now a question which I will repeat I'm NSM. Can someone please show me the various cables exiting the frame on a 180SS. I have all bar the rear brake cable in the frame but don't know where each one exits at the bottom end.

very cool Tierney.

Pigletpilot looking outstanding great color!