Modern Vespa

Lot of winter projects/finds popping up.
Figure I'd post one that I found last week.
Person I bought it from pulled it from his basement where it sat for ~35 years. Last road-worthy in '72. PO said he and his father found it at a sidewalk sale in non-running condition when he was 15. They pushed each other around on it a few times but never had it running. It went into the basement and sat as a future project. Life happened and they never got around to it. Motor is not locked, all levers and grips move freely.

oh sheet

Man another beautiful find! So good. Looking forward to seeing it done.

Wow
That's stellar! Keep us posted.

Well done!

Rare GL's and old Sprints, even a dead SS180 all over the place these days it seems.

I like those stylish but practical safety reflectors, hope you can find a proper mate!

Wow wow wow... What a find! GLs are so pretty. That one should clean up nicely! I'm terribly envious of these finds - I look just about every day here and there on various sites, and I've yet to see anything even remotely close to "barn find" status.

Wow, beautiful! Great find.

Very nice find. I do hope that you keep it as original as possible. It is getting harder to locate little time capsules, like this GL. Such a good runner once you get it up and going. I had a similar one when I lived in San Francisco. I rode it all over the city. So fun. Enjoy.

Lots of nice stuff here... envious

Beautiful. Here's my '64 Motovespa 150S , in front, parked next to a GL at a local Carbs and Caffeine a few years ago.

Another great find, their really coming out of the woodwork lately.

No spark so decided to investigate. Pulled the flywheel to find longer screws (possibly mixed up with the fan shroud screws) in the dust cover cut through the primary coil windings along with a sheared key.

New one on the way, but in the meantime, I figure I would join the loose ends and see what happens. Losing two turns on the primary coil can't make too much difference.... I hope.

Gapped the points, put it back together and we have spark!

Now the fuel system.

Found what looks to be original tools in the side box and an unknown-to-me brand of spark plug.

outstanding you are going to love the GL it's one of the best.

That Marelli spark plug is original to the scoot for sure. Italian maker. Known for their Pink Plugs.

Those are the original Vespa tools that would have come in a roll for repair on your scooter, as described in the owner's manual included when your GL was purchased new. Nice find. If you want to keep that period correct look, rolls without tools can be found fairly easily. The tools are usually the missing component.

I'm so digging this ...

Congratulations on your great new project! Your GL is beautiful, and perfectly 'rough'. Straighten her up, a little buff and polish, new motor bits and you're good to go! We'd love to see this thing cruising in original trim but all cleaned up. Good work on the spark situation, that's a win already!

p.s. As you probably noticed, one of the flywheel fan screws is missing. You should replace it before you fire the engine up.

are both the Engine & Frame a VNL2?

VLA1T frame and VLA1M engine. 1963 from what I have searched online. Yes, I did, thanks. I found two of the short screws in the fan shroud holes and put them all back into the flywheel so they don't cut anything else up inside! Did not know that. Thanks for the insight. Figured it was Italian by the name. It will stay in the side box! I will keep an eye out for the roll. Are we talking eBay or somewhere else? Thank you. I am not planning on painting it. Been scraping off the dirt and grime and paint is pretty good underneath.

I will keep an eye out for the roll. Are we talking eBay or somewhere else?

The last time I saw the empty rolls (just the original tool holder with no tools) was on a Facebook group. I am sure if you ask for such a thing on one of the accessory pages you will get some responses. I am sort of looking myself, although I have not put any real energy into it just yet.

While waiting for parts, I attended to some of the aesthetic duties. It cleaned up okay. Need to put some elbow grease in it to get a shine.
New rubber bits here and there. Found a touch up paint job and a little bondo on the right cover and front fender. Pretty good paint match, it doesn't bother me. Banged out most of the easy, larger dents and straightened the trim best I could. I am torn on the leg shield... if I fix it, I will have to replace the trim... still deciding. Couldn't find a matching reflector, Voodoo, so I removed the lone one for now until I can find a partner.



There was a bit of play in the headset. Found the steering bearings were shot! No cage left in the lower, steering stop bent, top bearing missing bearings. Replaced both bearings and was able to bend the stop back decently. Shifter cables and front brake cable changed along with servicing the front hub. I think they might be the original made-in-France Michelins on the scoot. Or were all the early ones Ceat? Speedo shows 1800 clicks but the speedo cable is broken so who knows...

wow I'd be proud

That is amazing.

OG paint looks soooo good.

Hibbert and Birdsnest, thanks for all the kind, encouraging comments.

So about ready to tackle the bad coil and uncovered more issues. To be expected for wiring that is over 50 years old. Solder time!!

If you are interested in getting some of the dent out of the legshield (the area on the side) and engine side cowl (looks like there is a pressure dent above the louvers towards the front of the cowl, on the side), try wrapping a dead blow hammer with a microfiber cloth and making your adjustments. For the legshielld, I would also wrap a small block of wood with a cloth to use as a backstop on the front of the legshield while you strike the back with the dead blow hammer. And for the cowl, remove it, lay it outside down, on a low pile carpet, and strike the inside where you would like the correction. I have performed countless repairs like this on original paint scooters (to preserve while repairing) and it works. If you don't have a dead blow hammer you can get one cheap at Harbor Freight and Tools. Keep in mind that you want to strike with the flat of the hammer as much as possible so as not to do anything but allow the metal memory to reform the scooter back to the form it was stamped when new. This is one of the scooters I have done this to and it came out very well. My GS160 had a legshield dent from a rack, and good sized dent on the engine side cowl, and both are hard to see at all now. Hope this helps, whatever your goals are for your GL.

Cleans up well. Coming along nicely!

This is awesome. One day when I have a little more time and garage space, I would to find a neglected old Vespa and do a full restoration.

I agree with Gab125, straighten it out with the trim in place if it bothers you. What's the worst that would happen, you mess up the trim? You may be able to do this with a fews block of wood and a strong C-clamp as well. Good luck, that is an amazing looking scoot, keep up the good work.

Gab25 and Tierny, great tips and suggestions. I will definitely go that route. Great looking GS Gab25!

Been awhile since I got to mess with the GL.

Soldered new wires to the stator and put on the new coil and I got a bright-blue spark. Finally got it to start but it wouldn't idle. Had to keep blipping the throttle to keep it running. Found little to no oil in the gearbox. I am guessing a leaky crank seal. Time to pull the engine.

video link here

Wow that's cleaning up great! What are you going to do with the lump?

Nice work poidog.

I'm curious... does your GL have a number stamped on the inside of the frame in the rear wheel well, left side? Found this stamped on mine. It's not the frame number. Wondering what it is.

love me a nice GL

Plans for the lump are full rebuild. No mods, as of now... it's a 2-port and I know the options and potential are limited without some work. Just clean and make it run well, replace the consumables. In the meantime, I do have a proxy engine that I am planning to put in to get it ride-able so I can work out any other issues that present themselves.

SoCalGuy, I do have a number there and it is different than yours... batch number perhaps? Encrypted date code? Expiration date? No idea.

Those are 2020 lottery numbers boys. Get your tickets now!

My 63 GL has one too

Sort of took whodatschrome's suggestion.
While the original motor is being rebuilt... wanted to ride it around and enjoy it a bit and see what else needed attention.
Only spare I had was what you see in the pics. I am worried I will be sorely disappointed when I put the original motor back in and try it after it is rebuilt.
With this lump, it is a blast to ride!
I am surprised by the weight of the proxy lump and how much the scoot wants to lean and turn right. Much more right-biased CG than any of my other rides.
Tried to keep as much original as possible. Brakes rebuilt, wiring and bulbs sorted to 12V with 'correct' brake switch. New steering bearings. Cleaned out the tank. All rubber replaced. New speedo inner cable and rebuild of speedo so it is correct within ~3mph. Worm gear for odometer drive (running off the speedo) was out of its tracks. All lights (sans speedo light, can't find the small festoon locally) work along with the horn. Having a ton of fun just riding it the way it is. Local locksmith was able to make a key for the side glove box. That was amazing. It didn't have the steering lock in it so I had to replace that. I will start tearing the 150 motor apart eventually.

man that looks great! Personally I would not be satisfied with the stock engine but it depends on what you want. Good running no matter what performance it expected. Glad you got it back on the road to enjoy!

Very nice PDog - very nice indeed!

How's the project going?