"Tangerine Dream" / Glemseck - KZ750

teazer said:

Beach, I just noticed you earlier comments about the source of that Weber. 1500 Cortina. I hope this bike makes a lot more power than a complete 1500 motor, let along half of one. ;-)

Much as we all loved Cortina GTs and Lotus Cortinas, things have moved on a bit since then. I think that the average POS grocery getter today makes more power than our old Ford motors of that era. Even my old RS2000 (long gone but not forgotten) would be looked down on by a Civic owner today.

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Hear you. The Weber bodies are all the same in any one series and I have a good selection of chokes, jets, venturis etc. The choice of the "1/2 of 1500cc" is merely to set a ballpark as being "somewhere near" - as opposed to "no idea at all" !!

In the early days I've set up Webers by seat of the pants methods and "knowledge gained" - but in later years I relied on a good pal to set my Webers up on a diagnostic rolling road. To be honest it's much simpler and potentially less destructive that way. He is retired now, but still has his equipment in his personal workshop. I contacted him last year and he's quite happy to do the deed for me when the time comes.

Deja-vu all over again ! :

In the scramble to get the project out of my damp shed and round to my pal's garage - the forks were thrown in to get the bike rolling, meaning to fit them "properly" at a later date. While putting the front wheel in last year [ !! ] I realised that I had not seated the new taper bearings and there was subsequent play in the yokes !!

So that was stripped down at the weekend and my pal made up a puller [ Kawasaki "special" tool £150 !! ] and snugged the cups down onto their seats. A PITA - but better now than when we [ eventually ] roll it out of the garage.

The new chassis plate has also been fixed over the OEM stamped item. When the powder coating was done they very dutifully taped over the chassis number - leaving it in raw steel !! Anyway, now sealed with clear lacquer and with the new plate installed. The OEM # is retained, so if there is any future "doubt" by officialdom, it only requires the removal of 2 x 3mm stainless screws to reveal the original number.

Once the forks are re-installed I'll get the Grimeca 4LS brake plates built up with their linkages. I'll also get the mild steel spacers plated - bright zinc probably.

Then it's on to the installation of the fuel cell and belly pan and finalising the "cosmetics", closure panels etc.

The mounting of the Manx tank cover and seat comes next so that the position of the footrests and mounting plates can also be finalised.

The headers are "next but one" on the welder's list. [ ??????? ]

Progress again at last.

Shiny parts going on for the last time is progress, good progress

NoRiders said:

Shiny parts going on for the last time is progress, good progress

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You betcha !!!!! After the past few years I've had, it's good to be making progress again. Amazing what a bit of good health and sunshine can do for the spirit.

I REALLY can see some progress at last - and the two bogey jobs [ welding fuel cell and headers ] are now at last nearly completed. That's the main two outsource jobs I couldn't tackle.

Funny enough - putting the chassis plate on seemed a symbolic step !!

Opinions - front wheel spindle and spacers - Gold passivate or bright Zinc ??

Another productive day.

Forks have been finalised and refitted ....... NO play, whooopee. : Just the manual dampener bracket to make up. Still need a fork brace, although I've now got some billet alloy if I have to get one made.

The modified fuel cell has now been re-fitted and is currently having mounting brackets made to locate everything, then we can start on the cosmetic repairs. Everything fits fine now.

After a bit of a panic when I couldn't locate all the Grimeca brake linkages !! Thankfully all found. Just dropped the parts in place to make sure everything is there, then a final strip and repaint Then they can beset up and refitted.

We also pre-fitted the fuel filler pipe, which will route along the inner frame tube on the right side and have the filler cap mounted in the rear of the bum stop. All the relevant silicone hoses have been ordered to join it all together.

Next job is to mount the seat and Manx tank "cover". After that the ergonomics of the footrest plates and pegs can be finalised.

Belly pan brackets made - 3" ground clearance. Just need to dress the brackets into the pan and glass them in then we can finish the mods we had to make to the pan itself. Wire mesh on the front to allow air through for cooling [ and cosmetics and ditto at the back. There's a bit of pattern making still required to get a homogenous look, especially at the rear.

Excellent....really, almost looking like a bike

Thanx for the encouragement - Yes it is getting there at long last ! At some stage it will be stripped back down for remedial paintwork before the final build.

Unfortunately the project took a couple of U turns along the way - Street Tracker, Blown, Turbo, then ultimately what I should have stuck with [ original plan ! ] - a Sixties Style Cafe Racer !

That meant various butchery on my nicely powder coated frame and components ! I have got a litre of the correct code paint [ for tank, belly pan and seat ] so there's enough to prep and blast the frame over.

Finally tracked down a fork brace. Fastec Engineering are the boys.

They are going to engrave it for me ....... pix when done !!

Re: "Tangerine Dream" / Glemseck - KZ750

Awesome. Looks like it is all coming together now. I love the brass ID tag.

Yup, I do like what I see...

Greg, Brodie - thanx for the kind words of encouragement ! The chassis tag - £3.90 on Chinabay !! I asked the guy [ local ] if he could do "machine engraving" ...... obviously not. The stamped OEM # is still intact under the plate if there's any future queries. I've ordered another plate ..... might use my chassis stamps on that one. - see which looks better

Not a very productive day yesterday - but I did get the belly pan attachment brackets primered ready for glassing in. Once the remedial glasswork had been done and the perforated screens pre-mounted - it's down to surfacing [ more ripples than the Atlantic Ocean ] and then painting.

Those who have followed will know I experimented with Satin Black and Manx Silver for the bodywork etc. The Silver was a big disappointment ..... no Manx I ever saw was that colour ! And the Black [ red pinstripe ] looked evil ... but not sixties ............................ 8)

Thoughts are now to go for Red with accent panels / pin striping ...... used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure. :

Beach,

You are right. Satin black is so last decade and doesn't work with a red frame. Silver should be the way to go with a decent size of metalflake in it and good clear coat on the top. After sanding it will look dull gray, but should sparkle with a decent clear coat.

teazer said:

Beach,

You are right. Satin black is so last decade and doesn't work with a red frame. Silver should be the way to go with a decent size of metalflake in it and good clear coat on the top. After sanding it will look dull gray, but should sparkle with a decent clear coat.

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I have a couple of packs of flake - One a pretty good match for the Manx Silver, the other more Gunmetal. I'll shoot a couple of sample panels to check them out. Haven't used Flake for nearly 20 years !!

It probably needs to be metallic or smallish flake to avoid a bass boat or very seventies look. Unless you want some of that funky lettering the beezumphs used. ;-)

teazer said:

It probably needs to be metallic or smallish flake to avoid a bass boat or very seventies look. Unless you want some of that funky lettering the beezumphs used. ;-)

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NO - trying to avoid the 70's look ! I managed to get a good selection of mini flake last year for silly cheap money. Already done a few bits and pieces for my girls. I even invested in a flake gun - good old Chinabay £20 !!

I saw a TVR last year in exactly the colour I wanted, but couldn't stop the bloke to ask him what the colour was. Plenty of time to experiment. Thanx for your input.

beachcomber said:

chassis stamps

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If you mean letter punches, make yourself a frame so the letters don't come out crooked and then just take your time. I had to mark all the parts I built for my sidecar and the guy at our local transportation office asked me, where he can get his own stuff lettered like that. (4mm letters on black is easy though...)

der_nanno said:

If you mean letter punches, make yourself a frame so the letters don't come out crooked and then just take your time. I had to mark all the parts I built for my sidecar and the guy at our local transportation office asked me, where he can get his own stuff lettered like that. (4mm letters on black is easy though...)

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The annoying thing is Greg that I had a frame specially made for just that ! When I was building my replica cars. We numbered all the chassis' and bodies [ hidden tags ] .... can I find it ...... NO !! I still have 3mm, 4mm and 6 mm punch sets.

An old instrument tech at Oak Ridge used to tape computer punch cards just below the lettering to use as a guide. His panels looked machine-made.

pidjones said:

An old instrument tech at Oak Ridge used to tape computer punch cards just below the lettering to use as a guide. His panels looked machine-made.

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yea - I had a guy worked for me that could produce that sort of result without the frame we had !