Meet Old Yeller. The 1978 242. I acquired this car from an old time Volvo mechanic in Georgia. Old Yeller is a fully functioning road worthy car that was driven under his own power back to Nashville.
Some favorite tidbits...
4 speed manual transmission with overdrive
working/charged R-12 A/C system dead as of Summer '14
I drew up one of the designs I've been discussing with Crazy Wayne today and started testing it in LTspice. By playing around with the circuit, I should be able to adapt this to any ignition system on any bike and fit any curve. By increasing the voltage (as if the motor were spinning up) the ignition circuitry is retarding the timing like it should. Pretty exciting y'all. Vespa prototypes in the near future for testing I hope.
Many times, you'll find yourself with a crusty part that you either don't want to or can't use. In this instance we-re talking about a crankshaft. I've cleaned up several cranks using this method, and it's far better than acid or abrasive - it requires no removal of material. I've used it on many tanks as well - I just finally decided I should do a writeup.
You'll need:
An inert non-metallic container
A 12v power source
leads
water
baking soda
ventilation
sacrificial iron anode (do not use stainless or alloys - use only plain steel)
A crusty part
Simply fill the container you are using with warm water and dissolve in about 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda per gallon of water. Attach the negative side of your power source to the part you are cleaning (cathode). Attach the positive side to the sacrificial metal (anode). Make sure that the lead is not exposed and that current is only flowing through the part and the sacrificial anode - not through your connectors to the anode and cathode. In this case, I wrapped wire around the threads of the crank, then insulated it in electrical tape. For the sacrificial anode, choose something long enough so you don't have to put your lead into the solution (rebar and angle iron work well).
It is IMPERATIVE you get the polarity correct or you will rust your part and clean the worthless piece of metal. Also make sure that the two metal objects do not touch.
Plug in your power source and let er rip. Even with the worst things, I find 12 hours does about as much as is going to be done with a strong 12v power source. Please be aware that this setup will produce hydrogen and oxygen gas (it dissociates water) which is flammable. As such you should do it in a ventilated area or better yet outdoors.
The same setup can be used in gas tanks, but the anode cannot touch the tank wall (the tank is the cathode). Once again, electrical tape works well. I've wrapped the end of a piece of rebar in tape and stuck it into tanks before.
Before
The setup
After
Here are some pics of the first crank I ever did... this was 5 years ago.
All you need is a paper clip.
The seal on these tanks is spring loaded, so here's what you do. Press
down on the lid - you'll feel the spring depress and the back side of
the cap will get closer to the tank (the end with the lock in it). Look
under there and you'll see a little hooked lever - that's what you have
to move forward, out of the way with the paper clip. You'll be pushing it forward
towards the front end of the bike - this little hook is spring loaded too. Once you have the little clip pushed
past the bar (see the pic below) you can release pressure from the
whole cap and it should come open.
This is what the top of the tank bung looks like just to give you a feel for what you're working with:
Here is the build progression of the PucHonda motorcycle... Copied from my build thread on another site.
SPECS:
1974 CT70 Engine
1978 Puch Moped frame
1970's Range Rover Green
Magnum Swingarm
ATC70 4 speed transmission
88cc cylinder kit
Honda HOT cam w/ 5.1mm lift
19mm Dellorto Carb
Puch Exhaust Header intake manifold
CR80 forks
General 5 star moped tank
Yamaha FS1 reproduction seat
17" rims front and back
12v rectified/regulated electrical system
Halogen up front
LED in rear
egay clip ons
New japanese valves
New gaskets
New seals
All new NTN bearings only
New cam chain
New points
this was a super f'd pinto with no wheels, no motor and a crusty tank.
It was $40 and had been sitting for months. The fellow mopeder I bought
it off of was thrilled to see it being used - even if four stroke.
I sold all the parts SUPER cheap off of it as a sacrifice to the moped gods.
I started this thing in november when I started rebuilding my $20 CL
motor (which has now got waaayyyyy more than $20 in it), our welding shop
at school got shut down, I searched for a month for a place that would
let me weld and a redbull sponsored welder let me finish the fab at his
shop - Preston Farabow in knoxville. The general tank I pryed out of the
hands of an ebay seller trying to get insane monies for a v1 general,
the forks were pieced together from ebay, the magnum swingarm was
leftover from a variated magnum project from robert prichard in
nashville.
After I got it built it ran but didn't run right. I assumed timing was
set because I gapped the points but I assumed wrong. Trouble shot
compression and valve timing for a month when it was just timing -
gapping points is NOT timing on these motors. Timed it and it blasted,
then discovered a cracked exhaust valve, so I threw new japanese valves
in the head. Replaced valves, and then the clutch couldn't handle the
power so I had to throw race springs in that.
Rode it in richmond pretty much for the first time outside the neighborhood. It's a blast.
I love two stroke and I've got two stroke builds going on right now too - so hate on the bike but not me.
