Modern Vespa

New to the site, overwhelming amount of info to sift through. I was hoping I could get some help with the ideal order of disassembly for tearing down a complete but inoperable scooter in order to replace all cables, redo wiring, replace motor, replace spedo, strip off rattle can paint job and repaint entire scooter. I have a complete 1965 Allstate that I have owned since 2010. It was running until 2011 when I managed to drop a spring down the motor which is scored the cylinder and could not afford to fix it but replaced the motor with a three speed the shop head lying around. It's not working around 2012 and has been sitting in storage since then. I finally decided it's time to get it working again and get it working right. I plan on doing a complete yet amateur restoration, replacing anything beyond restoring and replacing the motor. I have seen multiple YouTube videos that address various parts of the restoration but never one that says "Start by dropping the motor ... or whatever..." Can someone point me in the direction of the most complete videos or instructions that would help me out before I screw this up too bad? . Thanks

Engine stuff

https://www.scootermercato.com/Garage/Tech-Tips

I'd start by pulling the tank. pop the cowl off. then yank out the motor and rear shock. followed by the headset and then drop the fork. from there you can tackle all the sub assemblies.

leave the harness and cables in it so that you can use them to chase new ones in.

bag and tag everything. throw NOTHING away, even if you think it's trash until you have completed the build.

good luck, and the search function is your friend. we'll help you along the way!

https://www.scooterwest.com/book-how-to-restore-classic-large-frame-vespa-scooters-bk02.html

https://scooterproducts.com/product/vespa-engine-rebuild-plus-running-maintenance-dvd-bundle/

those are indispensable.

for motors there is always good old Robot.

Thanks everyone, this is all very helpful. I would be working on it right now but its 15 degrees in my garage right now.

Get a bunch of hearty, various-sized clear tubs for related bits.

If it's still in the tub and not replaced it's not in the bike.

Solid advice so far, but I'd say take a ton of reference pics as you go. You'll never say "damn I wish I wouldn't have taken so many reference pics"...but you'll often say the opposite.

I have a pretty rough VNA All State & I felt best just taking the motor off, rear wheel & tire & all in one. That way I could digest either that section, or the body, then the front end came out.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Best of luck, the All States are pretty special!

If a heater is out, I guess Spring can't come fast enough. Seriously, it will make a fun project when it warms up enough. Between now and then, a lot of reading up can be done, especially if this is your first refresh/rebuild. And all on here are here to help out. Good luck.

Expert suggestions thus far...

You'll need the essential factory style Vespa tools and proper basic automotive shop tools.

If you have a vise mounted on a workbench, that'll be helpful. Esp. the swivelly kind. If you have an engine stand, you'll use it but you probably don't need one. Just have some short wooden 2"x4" and 4"x4" sections at hand at your bench and you can sort of manipulate the engine cases around on them as you strip/rebuild.

At risk of easily stripping these tiny metric fasteners, don't over-torque and refrain from hammer-whamming away at stuff.

Like SdJohn said, I like the blue UK book How to Restore classic largeframe xx .

Plus, Scooter Mercato tech tips on some specific jobs (clutch, gearstack yada yada), and also Scooterwest's Robot and Steve rebuild videos are helpful. Start with their P series vid but then for early motors like yours, the 2nd video will be more apt. You'll watch the hotplate and crank install part over and over in the coming years.

Where did Steve go to, btw?

Steve has been gone for a while. I don't know what happened, Robot and Steve seemed to work well together.

I'd be tempted to just leave the whole scooter assembled and just fix the engine and then go ride it around all summer and enjoy it. Since your scooter has been sitting since 2012, do you really have the passion and desire to "restore" it in a timely fashion? I'd just hate to see a stalled project that's completely disassembled in Rubbermaid bins.

...and the word restore is used very loosely these days. Seems as though utubers have a completely different definition of the word.

I am right in the middle of a project like this. It takes more time than expected. Stripping the paint to bare metal is really time consuming and incredibly messy.

Before pulling it all apart and going through that process, I would find out more about what's underneath. Maybe there is serviceable factory paint that you can touch up or at least use as a good base for a respray. If there are surprises like heaps of filler over chicken wire your time line until riding it will change significantly.

I would do some test removal of the respray. If it comes off easily, you might be miles ahead. I had to strip mine to bare metal because the respray was good quality paint that was applied after spotty prep, so I couldn't get that layer off by itself. If possible, I prefer to use factory paint as the base for further priming and top coat. It's bulletproof and so old that is chemically inert and unlikely to react with anything you put over it.

The more you can bag up and label, the easier reassembly will be. Even if a part is ruined, it will tell you why the new one doesn't fit. There are a lot of oddball widgets that will not make any sense when you look at them again a month from now.

Another pearl of wisdom…A nuts and bolts restoration is totally different when it's your only ride.

Since I have a first kick scooter ready to go, restoring my 200 is a lot less pressure. There are no temptations to cut corners or skimp on parts because of time or budget. These projects always expand for time and money.

100% this! Get it running - tank, fuel line, carb clean, tires, then one area at a time. That way it won't end up in the Rubbermaid bins for who knows how long....

It sat in a garage of a relative for 10 years as I did not have the time and did not have a garage of my own to work on it. Now I have a garage, I have the tools and, and look forward to getting it apart and putting it back together again.

This. Especially if you don't have another working scoot. I'm still not fully done my 58 Allstate, and it's been 2 yrs. But I'm slow and only have 2-3hrs a week to work on it. Ride it around first if possible. Sort the engine and brakes run new inners for the cables and see how she goes. If she don't go then tear her apart. That process should take a few hours your first time. Second time will be closer to 45 mins…

Ran a paint stripping test with the rear seat platform. Only takes off the spray and prep. The original red does appear indestructible. Anything anything better do remove the paint? A gallon of stripper was $60, seems i can get an orbital sander for that much. would that be better?

Since it is not the original engine and 3 speed rather than a 4 speed I will replace the engine rather than trying to rebuild myself. I definitely need to replace all the cables and wiring. I bought the replacement set from scooterworks.

Absolutely get these.

Searching Scooterwest's YouTube channel and this forum should be able to fill in the other blanks. And however long you think it'll take, multiply by 10 and that's a more realistic expectation

Keeping posting in one thread with your questions and folks here will be happy to help. Good luck!

If you are not set on a specific…like riding it this spring, then that makes a nuts and bolts restoration easier.

Hopefully ready by by summer, definitely not ready by spring. Doing it for the fun of the activity and learning about the scooter. No need for a time line.

That's a very ambitious goal.

That's kind of my point. Summer may very well be off the table with the kind of restoration you are describing. Ask me how I know.

A more realistic goal would be to get it mechanically sound by riding season. If you are dead set on a nuts and bolt restoration, be prepared for the possibility of it not being finished during riding season. My preference is always to pull it all apart if I am planning to restore it, but with the knowledge that the timeline is out the window.

The P200 I am working on is hoped to be ready by spring, but if I can't get it done, I'm ok with that. Getting it the way I want is more important than getting it in n the road by a particular time.

For the paint removal. Use citrus strip and coat it on pretty thick. Then cover the stripper with Saran Wrap (cling wrap or whatever the non brand name is) and let it sit for 24-36 hrs. It'll come off very easily that way. I just stripped a scoot to bare metal this way. The outer paint was very hard and was brushed on. Wire wheel did nothing, did a test on the headset top piece and let it sit for a day or so then the paint came off easily. The stripper doesn't work as well on paint that's over filler though. For that you'd have to use a heat gun or torch to remove the filler as well as the paint.

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