I should be working on the Honda....haven;t done much to it for months....but this thing is kind of getting me hooked. If I am not careful I will be getting a flat cap, leather elbow patches and a pipe to poke at people while I tell them the shade of Polychroatic Blue on the petrol tank is all wrong for a 1947 Triumph Wombat when the total loss oil system was brought in after the Boer War.
Bike has had a total stripdown, and I am sorting out some issues with the rolling chassis before I start into the engine.
Found some of the 65 year old tinware wasn't perfect too. All sorts lurking under the paint! Nacelle top was the first thing
Holes pulled through and opened up. Welded them up and redrilled. A lot of the holes had been ovalled or slotted to make the thing fit. It's hidden under trim strips, so doesn;t show..but these had broken right through.
Fixed them all and painted it. Stuck with my Dad's choice of paint colour. Ford Cosmos Blue. Similat to the original..and ..well..it's how I remember it.
Front mudguard was next. A patch had been brazed in where the rear stay mounted. Should be a bracket rivetted to the mudguard. There was a bolt, and a horrid lashed up bracket on the inside. No. Not having that!
Ground off the braze and removed the patch. You can see what it was covering.
Chopped out the damaged area and welded a patch in. Needs cleaning up, but it's solid.
Have discovered the joy of welding 65 year old tinware. Knowing it's virtually irreplacaeble ... Did see one early front mudguard for sale. Rusty as anything...£95. One soundish one I saw went for £200. Always at the back of your mind when you blow a hole through....you aren;t going to easily find another.
So I practiced on the piece I chopped out to get the settings right, slowed it down and made tiny little stitch welds. No holes. Even in the freezing cold, I had a bit of a sweat on until it was done.