Modern Vespa

Quick fix for a leaky seal or something more sinister lurking under there? Hmmm...

geez... that looks fun. Time to get chipping away to see what other treasures lie within

I got in touch with the PO. Not a cracked case, but an old fix for a weeping seal. I'm going to leave it alone until I have some urgent reason later on to rebuild the engine.

Rust paint for the tunnel should arrive Wednesday. I also have a new master cylinder and caliper on the way from scooter Mercato. Ran a new green wire from the horn cast junction box into the headset. Getting there.

Weeping? More like throwing a tantrum if it required that.

As to whether or not it's cracked, I'll believe it's not when I see it's unblemished on the inside of the case.

Yeah...I hear ya. Might as well drop the engine and have a closer look. I was thinking of softening it up gently with a propane torch (once it's off the bike).

I just want to have one bike ready to go for spring.

Yup. My minimum standard is "one to ride, one to wrench," but I prefer to have a spare or two in each category

I also have the spare LML engine sitting in my desk. I cauldron just swap stuff over and kick that can down the road.

If you're going to open up the maybe-cracked engine anyway, then it's just like any other rebuild, only the cases are now also a "wear part."

I cleaned off the goop. I used a heat gun and a screwdriver. It wasn't JB weld and came off pretty easily. I don't see any cracks or that it even leaked from there.

Whew!

weird. hopefully it wasn't the only thing keeping the spiders in!

I guess we'll find out. Going to drop the engine anyway just to get everything clean. It's just too easy not to. The engine isn't excessively dirty, just the normal crud. Brake stuff arriving tomorrow. Onward.

all's well that ends well

The PO said that he had a leaking cylinder base gasket and I guess he first thought it was coming from the parting line and slapped on some goo before figuring it out.

You should go buy a fistfull of Lottery tickets right now.

It did really look like it was hiding some horrors.

The PO has been really helpful about answering questions and very honest about issues or repairs that were done.

This thread is about exciting as watching paint dry. Speaking of paint, the rust paint arrived as well as the master cylinder and caliper. I only ordered it on Monday from Scooter Mercato over the phone. He remembered me and I would have talked longer but I was at work.

I also pulled the engine out of the LML. Took less than an hour taking my time. Getting pretty good at getting stuff apart. It will be nice to start putting it back together.

Years wrenching on a VW bus have prepared me well. Can't be in a hurry. The thing you take apart to replace is always connected to something else that's broken. Even freshening one up means ordering lots of parts and one order never gets them all.

But slow and steady gets it done. I enjoy the work itself, for its own sake. Otherwise I wouldn't bother. It's a great feeling to take something worn out and rusty and make it right again.

So I was thinking more about some color schemes for the Stella. I'm not really a fan of red but the paint is in good condition. The cowls have some dents so I probably will repaint them. I was thinking of going with a Ferrari theme.

Only difference is the horse. My neighbor is retired army so he puts a First Cavalry sticker on all my vehicles. I guess it's his way of looking out for us. Makes more sense to me than the Ferrari horse. He was quite pleased when I asked him for a sticker for the legshield.

Gosh, no one had any faith in the repair haha. It was many many years ago that I added that to try to find a weep that i could not pinpoint. It might still be the case gasket yet I believe it was just the base gasket that would not reseal.

On a side note, if you look at the electrical on the Stella, I did add a nice trailtech regulator and a ducati CDI that is actually moved off the engine. All nice and tucked into the right side cover behind the battery. Also a solid state blinker relay for the LED turn signals.

Lol, no offense intended. Just nice to check. I kind of agree with you, base gasket not sealing. An oil drip always finds its way to the lowest point of the engine.

And yes, I've noticed your improvements to the bike. Way too nice for a parts bike and probably a more lively runner than the 200. After a few touches to make it my own, I'm putting it back on the road.

This is fun.

Finally painted the tunnel. Might have missed a couple spots. It's hard to paint with a boroscope camera. Doesn't help that the paint is the same color as the metal.

Very nice! hard to tell what's painted, and what's not. If you want to be extra thorough, pour some o that paint into the tunnel, slosh it all around and around to work its way into all the tough spots; then dump out the extra. Messy, so you have to use the masking tape carefully, but can be effective.

I think it probably just needs a touch up here and there. It's much easier to see when it's all dry. I used foam brushes of different sizes attached to lengths of pvc pipe and sometimes my fingers with nitrile gloves. The foam brushes are great for squeezing the paint into the seams and tight spots.

The tunnel was probably the longest and most tedious part of the job, so it will be nice to move on to other stuff.

I'm not sure what kind of paint the factory used. I am guessing some kind of single stage 2k acrylic enamel, maybe baked on or maybe even laquer.

I doubt it it's urethane. I use urethane on my bus, but I think I will go with 2k acrylic enamel for this. I am only spot blasting sections of the floor boards and touching up. I usually use an airbrush or Preval spray canister.

Nothing all that exciting to report. Finished the touch ups on the tunnel and regrouped by cleaning up the garage and moving the Stella into place for cleaning and reassembly. But first, a couple evenings of sorting parts and tools and clearing the benches. I'm hoping to get the Stella back together by the end of the month.

The bus is already ready for the road. I can't remember the last time this was the case. Usually, some big project on it keeps it off the road until late June. It is a joy to drive for many of the same reasons as a scooter.

Slowly moving forward...Did a cleanup on the Stella; top, bottom, wheel well and tunnel. Everything is in great shape, even the center stand is rust free.

These bikes have mostly needed TLC and lots of widgets and odds and ends. The biggest expense has been the caliper and master cylinder for the Stella. I probably could have saved them if I was less ham handed. I totally butchered the master cylinder seals trying to jam them in. If I had to do it again, I would have put the piston with the seals on in the freezer to stiffen them up.

Either of these bikes could have been put back on the road with a lot less effort but it's nice to give them a refresh.

Hopefully more progress this weekend.

That's better...

how about white cowls with a blue and red stripe in the depression part?

or paint them red and run a white and blue stripe down the one side of the leg shield and along the cowls to tie it in.

I think any time you have more than two colors on the major components it starts to look a little goofy. like red and black or silver and black with a chrome horncast would be cool, but red and black and then with like a blue fender would look kinda odd.

I was thinking along the lines of your second idea.

The black and yellow first cav sticker isn't that big.

I'd tag that as a leg shield badge instead of the OE one, or throw it on the cowl at either the leading or tailing edge right at the belt line with the stripes.

Humble opinion:
You're juggling too many bikes.

Choose one and make it a solid first kick daily rider -- then the others become creme.

He's in Northern New York. He's got plenty of time to get one of them finished before it'll become an issue.

I just straight LOL'd and then was all: I has a sad. I should listen to ray.

Lol, the stripes and stickers and what-not are for after the bike is running.

The Stella shouldn't take that much longer and should be the first on the road. The 200 will take longer because of the paint touch ups. The vbb...whenever.

We're getting a snowstorm tomorrow. 7-12". We get a few nice days in mid April and then it goes to shit for another month. I got plenty of time.

Painting and body filler also have to wait for warmer weather, otherwise I'm stuck with running heaters at night to cure stuff. Sandblasting is best done outside too.

Anybody know for sure what kind of paint was used on p series Vespa's and Stella's?

My guess is single stage 2k acrylic enamel based on the way it dulls and fades and it's partial resistance to acetone. 2k Urethane doesn't fade much and is very resistant to acetone. Acetone tends to eat right through laquer.

They used single stage paint with lead. Sprayed on as the metal was given a positive charge so the lead paint would stick better. No gloss coat was added.

Take a clean painted part to a good paint store and have them duplicate but of course no lead paint. Single stage paint would work and I think Gascooter went a similar route.

The local painter matched the 62 Allstate with single stage acrylic enamel paint. It turned out fabulous.

62 Allstate Cruisaire - getting it back on the road (Page 3)

Thank you. That's probably the route I will go. I find acrylic enamel very forgiving and easy to use.

Oh, great...so I probably poisoned myself when I stripped my GL...