il Crustico - '73 Moto Guzzi Eldorado Basket case Restoration

[adventurco]

Got the tank cleaned out with a length of chain and evaporust. The tunnel is so tall on this tank I think I need another gallon, but it’s good enough for now. I got the paint stripped and rust all blasted off.

Started buffing out the rear fender, haven’t done a fine cut yet but it’s starting to look nice. I’m super happy with the paint, it has a ton of depth but hard to show in the photos.

Need to take the rear wheel off to get the fender in place but I wanted to at least see it on the bike. Definitely glad I went with the red.

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[Maritime]

I like it!

 

[Rider52]

I do too!

 

[adventurco]

Got the tank stripped and blasted, found a fracture where the front mounting piece is welded to the tank. Luckily the tank seam is all intact, so the sheet metal just cracked above the weld. There’s a small crack that goes toward the mounting boss and about 2” along the inside above the weld where the metal separated.

Welded it up with the MIG on the backside.

Last week I cleaned the tank with a chain and some evaporust. There’s a tiny bit of surface rust that remains but all the flaky shit and heavy rust was taken care of. I might could do another soak but probably not gonna worry about it. Didn’t grab pics but it was pretty rusty. Luckily these tanks are significantly thicker than the VJM bikes.

Need to give it a once over with the blaster then I will etch, fill and epoxy prime.



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[adventurco]

Polished up the distributor and cleaned everything in the parts washer. Reassembled everything wirh some moly grease. I threw the old points and condenser on there just for shits and giggles to see if they are still good. New cap but I forgot to buy the ends and rubber boots for the cap so I’ll order those this week.

One of the advance springs looks incorrect, I reinstalled it anyways but I’m adding a set of advance springs to the shopping list as well.

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[adventurco]

I got brave tonight and decided to have a go at the pinstriping on the rear fender. Talked to @Kanticoy a bit and at his recommendation grabbed a Mack #000 brush and 1 Shot lettering paint.

Watched a few videos on how to palette and load the brush, hold it and pull lines, did a couple practice runs and then went for it. Definitely room for improvement but I’m pleased with it so far. I’ll let this side dry overnight and then move on to the other side tomorrow.

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[doc_rot]

Dude… sick. I personally like it when the pinstripes arent perfect, it’s shows they’re hand painted. Wabi-sabi and all that. Plus how many people can say they pinstriped their own bike?

 

[ridesolo]

Plus how many people can say they pinstriped their own bike?

Absolutely correct! Great job, Nick!

 

[Maritime]

Nice job. I should have done that instead of the vinyl on my GL. next time I think I will try it.

 

[adventurco]

Thanks fellas. I’m happy with it. Still need to cut stencils for the eagle logos but I may try and get the rear fender mounted tomorrow so I can finalize the rear tire fit up once and for all.

Did some filling and sanding on the few pitted areas and dings on the tank and sealed it with 2 coats of epoxy primer this morning. Plan to go back over it with filler primer tonight.

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[adventurco]

Sprayed some high build. I really like this light primer, all the tiny dings I didn’t see before are glaring at me, makes getting the surface just right easy.

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[Maritime]

It's a good colour for under the red too.

 

[adventurco]

Mocked up the tank and fender so they’re out of the way while I head to Mid-Ohio, starting to look like a motorcycle.

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[Maritime]

looking great Nick, Say hi to all the riffraff at Mid-O. I was gonna try and make it but our F'ing Pilot needed nearly $2K in repairs and sucked all the fun money out of the account. There is a faint hope I get to Barber this year but very faint.

 

[adventurco]

Mid-Ohio was a great time as always. I had hoped to ride the Guzzi out, but ended up taking the BMW for obvious reasons.

@ridesolo hooked me up with a Wixom top case and good light bases and lenses for the saddlebags. I was lacking one lens, so this completes the set and I have a spare.

Picked a cool leather piece for $2 which I’ll probably end up using as a keychain.

Spotted a nice black Eldorado in the swap

And kicked myself for not buying this little
125 Stornello.

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[adventurco]

I visited the Guzzi Doctor’s shop this morning to grab a few things. I’ve been toying around with using the aftermarket ignition switch I bought since the bike didn’t come with the key.

The new switch doesn’t fit the original bezel and to use it would take more effort than I’m willing to go through right now. I picked up a lathe earlier this year but still acquiring tooling.

So we searched through the box of keys and switches and found the correct series key that fit in the ignition switch. It didn’t turn, but at least it was a start.

I got back to the house and pulled apart the ignition switch, taking care not to launch any springs or tumblers. I marked one of the tabs near the 30-30 terminal with a punch so I can ensure proper reassembly.

Pry open the 3 tabs and remove the plastic end cap.

Remove pressure plate and spring. Indexing plate comes off next exposing 3 ball bearings.

The lock mechanism housing has a retaining ring and the aluminum body is crimped over it. I pried one section with a screwdriver and was able to get this out. We will need to be sure to re-crimp when assembling. This was the PITA part of the job.

Once I got down to the core lock mechanism, you can see that when the key is inserted the tumblers are not level with the surface of the barrel.

Since I’m trying to match an already cut key, I swapped around a couple of the tumblers to get it close, and then ended up grinding down the top and bottom surface of the two middle tumblers.

The top of the tumblers affects if the lock turns in the barrel, and the bottom of the tumblers may need to be adjusted as well or the key will not go into the switch all the way when assembled.

Now that I have a good working ignition switch AND a key that works, I’ll zinc plate the housing tomorrow and paint or powder the cover.

Speaking of the cover, to remove the old trashed rubber bits, all you have to do is pry up on the metal disc, work your way around a couple times and eventually it will come off the post.

The surface is pretty rough so it will need to be blasted and maybe touched up a bit if the pitting is deep.

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[Maritime]

Nice work. Should be gtg when all re-assembled. The copper contact bits looked pretty clean and no corrosion or burn marks.

 

[adventurco]

Nice work. Should be gtg when all re-assembled. The copper contact bits looked pretty clean and no corrosion or burn marks.

Yep, I’m gonna give everything a once over polish and spray with DeOxit before I grease and assemble, so hopefully no issues.


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[ridesolo]

I'll admit that I'm still amazed at how you are turning a pile of junk that was just short of being rock bottom scrap into a real gem. Fortitude? Stubborn? Obsession? Who cares, keep it up, you're doing good!

 

[Rider52]

I don't know why you didn't take the Guzzi....Ohio is downhill form CHI town. Kudo's to Rideosolo for the luggage bits.