Modern Vespa

Bodywork time !

Used metal bondo (Al Si 12, hard as a rock) first on areas where the metal is thin and subjet to vibrations, then a thin coat of regular bondo.
It looks a lot but these are very thin layers. It would probably look ok even without but I want to be the closest to perfect body lines and details.

I could have gone with some coats of very thick filler primer, but I prefer a solid base and a thin coat of primer.

























Then a coat of anticorrosion primer















When you think it's done, it's not The primer is a nice way to spot some defects ! On this area I had to correct the surface



Next step is a light coat of semi thick filler, then block sand, then the final thin primer, light sand and paint, finally.

Nice work! Lots of steps, worth the effort to do it now

My scoot did not have the wing decorations, which are specific to VNB6 (shorter), it was a nightmare to find some, I finally bought some repros from Italy (expensive !) and not in the best finish...

On one side the shape is ok'ish, on the other no



It is not easy to shape without deforming everything so I 3d printed a jig



Sanded



Polished



Drilled the holes





I don't like the finish of the part, lots of defects and way too shiny



After sanding and polishing to my liking, not too shiny



That all process took quite a lot of time to be done properly !

Excellent job on that trim! Seems like everything new needs fitting on our old scoots.

So true !

I did the same with the mudguard ornament, it was pained in black...
Chemically stripped



Then a lot of sanding to eliminate defects



Polished in the same finish as the wing trims

Bit of progress

Coat of primer



No it is not pink Infra red light reflexion. Best way to dry before block sanding

I'm fed up with block sanding for now, time to move to something else while motivation comes back...

The speedo !

It is looking like a 60 years old speedo



Plastic lens is not in the best shape



Don't ask how this is possible ! The fly must come from the factory !



There is a ding into the bezel



The bezel is hamered onto the speedo backplate



With a lot of patience I managed to remove the bezel without breaking or distoring it





I did hammer back the bezel into shape "ish", after a good polish it is presentable



I sourced a replacement window, but it is not super clear... I used polywatch compound on both faces and it is now almost cristal clear but I forgot to take a picture



To be able to hammer the bezel back I 3d printed a jig, as you can't do it on a flat surface because the bezel is lower than the glass and I have to put pressure down on the speedo while hammering for the gasket to sit tight



I was able to reuse the gasket as it is still in good shape (60's material quality !)




Hammering the lip back onto the backplate



Et voila !



Why people use the wrong screwdriver or wrong technique ?? This screw is use to fix the speedo bracket into the light housing



This was too much for my OCD
Not perfect but good enough



Finished ! I will order a new rubber bushing to replace the old crusty one

Sanding DONE ! I didn't count the hours... All that body work and prep was a first for me, I probably could have spent at least half of the time I spent, but learning takes time I guess. I'll be more efficient on the next one.

Now it is time for seam sealer masking, that also took quite a time to get an acceptable result











And finally, it is ready for the paint...









I'll bring all the parts to the paint shop tomorrow, they are fully booked for weeks so I hope they will find some time to spray paint in between 2 projects maybe

Beautiful!

Nice work. That speedo jig is one of the cleverest things I've seen in a while

https://imageshack.com/i/poEkJLGEj

+1

Amazing work on the speedo and the body work/paint prep.
Fun to watch this progress.

Excellent job!

really well documented and very nice use of 3d printing to help.

great to watch the progress.

I'm now waiting for the frame to be painted by the paint shop, the owner is a friend, he is giving me a great great deal but, he will paint my parts when he has time off, in between customer cars, means could be tomorrow, could be in 3 months...

So I decided to clean some parts, like the stator plate and the high voltage outside coil, this took 10 minutes. As I was bored I decided to renew the fixing screws of the high voltage coil on the engine...

I did one



And both



Hope I won't get bored for too long or I might restore all the screws... And the washers, and the nuts ? Noooo

I need a new projet.

Looks fabulous. I usually just hit mine with a wire wheel and call it good. Sometimes chase the threads if they are rough.

Crazy attention to detail getting them buffed to a show room shine!

Good on ya.

i don't think they ever came out of the show room that nice

Not much done, slowly is better than nothing !







Cleaned, thick primer, sand (few times ), last finishing primer before paint



Painted in grey aluminio 1.268.0983 like original and black for the carb cover



Next step is clear coat, soon...

Side panel hook



Brushed finished

Beauty! You're inspiring me to finish painting my last silver bits on the GS.

Lookin Good. nice attention to detail

Inspiring refurb effort of those parts!
Love to see this. Two thumbs up. (Three if I had an extra to give.)

Thanks for your kind words guys, that motivates me !

Today I cleared the parts, this is not easy as I do that into my garage (or shop as there is no more space for a car or things, tools only ).

Because of space available I clear parts in 2 parts, side A and B separately, doing side A, waiting for the part to be dry enough to turn it on side B. This takes time and organisation. I've used Spraymax 2k clear (there is a pin at the bottom of the can you have to press to mix the hardener to the clear), this product is pro level, if that was done into a spray booth to avoid dust, you would never guess it came from a can !

It went surprisingly well ! No drama, few runs on wheels but on the inside part, where no one will see because it will be covered by the tire







A few dust particles and a bit of orange peel, nothing that can't be corrected with a 2000 sand and polish











While I had some waiting time I took my chance on the hook



The rusty plate goes inside the body to reinforce.

Looking better



It has been a while since I wanted to try cold bluing technique. I purchased some quick bluing from Ballistol

First remove the rust to start fresh



Apply the product, the metal changes color immediately, wait for 15 minutes



Rince with water, dry the part and soak it into mineral oil for an hour or so



And that's it, the part has a dark blueish color and becomes rust proof



I may use this technique on some bolts also...

WOW, seriously nice job Colin!

Man that looks good

Great work so far!

very inspirational since I'm just embarking on a new Rally project with lots of rust!

Selector cover, 60 years of grease
I already removed quite a lot



I thought this cover was made in aluminium, but no, this is steel. Despite the grease, it rusted underneath... So back to bare metal






A light grey coat of Zinc-Alu primer to protect. I think but not sure that this part had a coat of grey paint, or a grey coating. I could spot a grey layer while I was sanding the part, especially on the inside as it was more protected from everything

I will leave this one like this



I assembled the fork, I'm still waiting for a new brake drum to be delivered, restoring the old one would be criminal...





All the M7 bolt used for the tank and the seat are in bad shape. I purchased an M7 die (M7 never comes into common tap and die kits)





I also assembled the wheels



I used plastic washers temporary, I'll swap with the right one when I'll get my order delivered. I tried to get the nipple properly out of the rim but could not, I destroyed one tube trying to... These are cheap tubes, I may replace with Michelin or Continental later.

Progress

Nice result, all that bodywork pays off.
Still needs a 2000 grit sand and polish to perfect finish but I need to wait till the paint has fully cured (1 week minimum)









Masking prep before Raptor Liner to protect the underside





I'll spray maybe tomorrow or the day after

Forgot a little update...

I ordered the right front brake drum but SIP made a mistake sending a wrong one (FA Italia had some labelling wrong from the factory)

It touches the support plate



That's the original



To apologize they sent me for free a performance one, way more expensive, but black



I don't like that it shows when mounted, I want to stick to OG look as much as possible



Masked off, scuffed





Zinc alu primer + paint





Now looks good

That drum looks a lot better painted to match. Good work!

Preparation is the key !

2k raptor liner cans can make a terrible mess if you are not prepared for, it sprays really strong, nothing to compare with spray paint cans

Paint scuffed with a red pad and degreased



Shop well protected



Done !







Happy

That looks really nice!

The mudguard had a similar treatment today



I purchased a new sip complete replacement steering bearing kit.

This dust cap was not included, it is not even showing onto sip diagrams !
It is rusty





20 min bath into the DIY rust remover, like new again !



Now it is in place for 61 more years (at least)

This week started well !

Floor rails are in





Stand with a slight mod, a reinforcing plate. I want to stick to OG but a sagging floor on a Vespa because people sit on it when the stand is deployed is a massive no no



Wiring loom install was a fight but I finally won





My fear was to scratch the paint while installing, doing something stupid (as it usually happens to me) but with a lot of care, no drama, nothing, which does not sound right to me

But wait, what happened is worse, way worse...

Now comes the time for the aluminium leg shield trim.

Could you guess what happened ? Have you ever tried to install one ? No, you can't guess.

If you have followed this topic, you remember that I cut the floorboard and the leg shield for replacement, I brought the chassis and the new part to a welder, it all looked right, but suddenly went left

The leg shield is not the right one

I ordered from SIP, I checked on my order, I did order the right part ! Faithful restoration it says...



When I received it, it did not have any sticker for me check that this was the right part, I'm not pro enough to see by the look of it that there is an issue.

When I put the trim close to the border of the shield I quickly saw the issue ! I then checked my order and realized the leg shield is the same for VNB and VBA, I own a VBA ! let's compare

First make sure the trim is the right one, that could be the problem

No, if it fits the VBA, it must fit the VNB



Let's measure











Oops



The trim does not fit



The goal for me was to rebuild a vespa as close to OG as possible because I like the challenge, I enjoy the build, and when I sell, this pays off. Some collectors (in Europe) are willing to pay quite a lot for restored unmodified models. I chose a VNB6 because it is a little bit different from other VNB's, with specific parts (wing decorations, seat, color...). I decided to make this OG rebuilt to make a little profit to help me purchase my dream vespa, a Rally or a SS.

I already spend a lot of time (and money), I put so much effort into that build, I feel sad. Now the value of this Vespa has been cut in half. Any collector will notice that this Vespa has something wrong, and I refuse to sell it as a VNB6 because it is not anymore within specs.

This could be worse, I have a great family, I'm in good health, I enjoy my work and have food in my plate, but still, this is so frustrating...

So what now ? I sent a mail to the sip official reseller I ordered from.
Wait and see...

Grabor repro legshields are rounder. There is also a 'Premium' (probably Vietnamese) repro legshield which looks more squarish like the original. I'm pretty sure the trim for a P/PX will work and no one is going to notice the difference. Don't 'kill' yourself for something so insignificant…

'Premium' legshield…
https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/repair-sheet-legshield-floor-board-for-vespa-125-vna-vnb-150-vba-vbb-vgla-b_PV153482

P/PX Trim…
https://www.sip-scootershop.com/en/product/beading-piaggio-legshield-149943-sf520-1873-for-vespa-p80-150x-p150s-p200e-px80-200e-lusso-98-my_14994300

My 58 Allstate came with that set up as well.

Great build.
Pity about legshield but to be honest - it is just metal. And maybe money. There is much more worse things around in the world.
Enjoy your build and be happy, don't be upset.

Ain't that the sad truth

This is my original VNB6, and yes it's more square … but to be honest it's not a big deal, nobody will notice the difference, and if you want to sell it it will be bought by someone who will fall in love with the quality of the resto and the attention to the details

A bit of progress

As I have now a Rally/GTR leg shield, I installed a Rally/GTR trim





Wiring/cabling is done, cover installed





Brake pedal installed



Stainless steel rod, aluminum rod ends and nylon washers



Cut to size, had to sand the ends down to the proper diameter



Drops of 2 parts epoxy glue and voila, OEM+ look





Same treatment for the wing door hinge



Got a repro complete handlebar as the OG one was completely out of shape, bend tubes (both throttle and gears), got replacement tubes but did not fit right as the whole thing was bent..

Problem is that the bolt that goes through the handlebar does not line up with the steering, had to grind down the thing





I had to grind the pocket where the light command sits



Casting/surface finish is ugly, on both sides. Rough angles, not round enough compared to OG





It is a long process to achieve an acceptable (to me) result



Both sides done



Throttle/gear cables and speedo, light...





That's it for now !

Nice update Colin,

2 questions.

1, what is your rust removal juice recipe that you've previously mentioned?

2, You made a jig for bending those trims. How is it without the jig? I will have to do a bit of bending myself in the not so distant future.

Chief