Just a quick update this time and no pictures, sorry.
It's been 105+ for about two weeks now, which has made it far to hot in the garage to do any meaningful work on the cubbie. I did manage to spend enough time this morning out there to finish truing the wheels. I need to get the brakes relined and assembled and shod the rims with rubber to get to 100%. I hope to order the brake lining material and tires today. Thankfully, it's not too hot to shop on-line.
I've been trolling e-bay for some miscellaneous pits and pieces. I missed a steering head lock by about 13 bucks last weekend. I've started setting my max bid then forgetting about the auction until it's over so I don't get caught up in the last minute price escalations. That's working so far but I do miss out on some parts because I'm cheap. The steering lock went for about $40. The only other options I've seen out there are over $100. I don't really need the lock as I don't plan to commute on the bike or leave it out where someone is likely to ride it away.
Anyway, I hope to have more done and more pictures soon. I may have to start sleeping during the day and working at night.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Building Tools
It's been said, "you can never have too many tools", and for the most part I agree. It is possible to have too many to fit your tool box or available workspace, however. I'm not in that position but I was in the position of needing to true two Triumph Tiger Cub wheels so I decided to remedy that situation.
With only one trip to the building supply store for the necessary raw materials I pieced together a fairly sturdy wheel truing stand. Nothing fancy, as you'll see from the picture. Just some aluminum angle-stock and some fasteners (until I add a welder to my tool set). I think it could still use some additional lateral stability but it can be easily added. I've only two wheels to do so it doesn't have to be heavy duty. I don't think I'm going into the wheel-smithing business but if someone wanted a set I may be willing to entertain the idea. I've got all the pictures, and now tools, to do the job.
I started on the front wheel last night and have things pretty well finished. I'm not sure what the tension on the spokes should be so I'm going to do a bit more research before I call it 'done'. Starting with a new rim made the job very simple. There wasn't a lot of wobble to fix.
The rear wheel is another story. It was the old rim and it has a bit of a wobble currently. I ran around the rim putting even tension on the spokes, now it's just a matter of working out the bumps by tightening/loosening pairs of spokes on the appropriate side and place on the wheel. The process can be a bit tedious but very satisfying when the wheel is running true again.
I'm one rebuilt fork, one painted frame, and two rebuilt or new shocks away from a completed rolling chassis. If the fork and shocks don't take too long I'll have the chassis rolling, but not complete, in a few weeks. Not many things have gone as smoothly as expected so it may still be a while.
I'd better get the barrel and head sent off to the machine shop so I can start the engine work. I've started a list of the parts I'm going to need. It's a looooooong list.
With only one trip to the building supply store for the necessary raw materials I pieced together a fairly sturdy wheel truing stand. Nothing fancy, as you'll see from the picture. Just some aluminum angle-stock and some fasteners (until I add a welder to my tool set). I think it could still use some additional lateral stability but it can be easily added. I've only two wheels to do so it doesn't have to be heavy duty. I don't think I'm going into the wheel-smithing business but if someone wanted a set I may be willing to entertain the idea. I've got all the pictures, and now tools, to do the job.
I started on the front wheel last night and have things pretty well finished. I'm not sure what the tension on the spokes should be so I'm going to do a bit more research before I call it 'done'. Starting with a new rim made the job very simple. There wasn't a lot of wobble to fix.
The rear wheel is another story. It was the old rim and it has a bit of a wobble currently. I ran around the rim putting even tension on the spokes, now it's just a matter of working out the bumps by tightening/loosening pairs of spokes on the appropriate side and place on the wheel. The process can be a bit tedious but very satisfying when the wheel is running true again.
I'm one rebuilt fork, one painted frame, and two rebuilt or new shocks away from a completed rolling chassis. If the fork and shocks don't take too long I'll have the chassis rolling, but not complete, in a few weeks. Not many things have gone as smoothly as expected so it may still be a while.
I'd better get the barrel and head sent off to the machine shop so I can start the engine work. I've started a list of the parts I'm going to need. It's a looooooong list.
Monday, June 15, 2009
New Front Rim
My new front rim arrived today after a month of waiting. Not as bad as I had feared when the supplier told me it was back ordered and coming from his supplier. They told me it might be up to six weeks. Since they are in the UK, I feared it would take even longer, so I was quite pleased with a four week turnaround.
As you can see from the pictures below it's quite lovely. Straight and covered with a very bright, beautiful chrome. I had to polish up the old spokes a bit before I could consider putting them into the new wheel. I really should have purchased new shiny spokes but that would have meant ditching perfectly good parts from the original bike - which I said I didn't want to do. So, after some quality time with the spokes they are as shiny as 45 year old parts can be.
Armed with the pictures I took of the original wheel before dis assembly I made short work of lacing up one side. My hands couldn't take polishing all 40 spokes in one night so the other half must wait until tomorrow. I think I spent about 90 minutes getting one side of the week relaced. That includes the spoke polishing. The other side should be about the same, so if the garage isn't too hot tomorrow I should have a fully laced front wheel by this time tomorrow night.
Next, I need to build a truing stand to finish the wheels off. I've got a plan in mind as well as some picture of a stand another Cub enthusiast built. Looks like I'll be making a trip to the local home improvement store later this week for building materials. I'll be picking up some supplies to build my mini-paint booth too so I can get the frame sprayed and a rolling chassis... um, ... rolling.
I'd like to keep up the progress I'm starting to make. My original goal, which is still my current goal, was to have a running bike by November. I think it's still attainable but I can't afford any more long lapses in progress.
Enjoy the pictures.
As you can see from the pictures below it's quite lovely. Straight and covered with a very bright, beautiful chrome. I had to polish up the old spokes a bit before I could consider putting them into the new wheel. I really should have purchased new shiny spokes but that would have meant ditching perfectly good parts from the original bike - which I said I didn't want to do. So, after some quality time with the spokes they are as shiny as 45 year old parts can be.
Armed with the pictures I took of the original wheel before dis assembly I made short work of lacing up one side. My hands couldn't take polishing all 40 spokes in one night so the other half must wait until tomorrow. I think I spent about 90 minutes getting one side of the week relaced. That includes the spoke polishing. The other side should be about the same, so if the garage isn't too hot tomorrow I should have a fully laced front wheel by this time tomorrow night.
Next, I need to build a truing stand to finish the wheels off. I've got a plan in mind as well as some picture of a stand another Cub enthusiast built. Looks like I'll be making a trip to the local home improvement store later this week for building materials. I'll be picking up some supplies to build my mini-paint booth too so I can get the frame sprayed and a rolling chassis... um, ... rolling.
I'd like to keep up the progress I'm starting to make. My original goal, which is still my current goal, was to have a running bike by November. I think it's still attainable but I can't afford any more long lapses in progress.
Enjoy the pictures.
 |  |
| The newly arrived rim | Very shiny chrome |
 |  |
| Ready for nipples | One side laced |
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Waiting
Well, in order to finish off the rolling chassis I had to order a new front rim. I tried to straighten the old one but wasn't making any real progress - no progress at all. It was warped and twisted and not cooperating so it had to go. I've got a new shiny chrome one on back-order. It should be here in another 4 to 6 weeks.
In the mean time I'm starting to take inventory of the parts I'm going to need for the engine work. I shudder to think about how much they're going to cost. I'm hoping for a bulk discount from one of the friendly suppliers I've been researching but I'm not holding my breath.
I've also located someone to bore the cylinder, provide a matching piston, and re-work the head/valve seats. All I need to do is box the parts up and send them off. I hope to get than feat accomplished this week or this weekend.
The other item I've started on is the gas tank. I put a bunch of screws inside and shook it for about 20 minutes to knock the rust out of it. It'll probably take another hour of shaking, rattling, sloshing to clean it. I'm shocked at the noise a few screws inside a metal gas tank can make. I wrapped it in a thick blanket but it was still unbearable after 20 minutes of rattling. I'm going to use ear plugs the next time.
Once the cleaning is done I've got the tank sealer ready to go. I ordered the 2-part mix from Casewll Plating. Their 'kit' has good reviews and seems to be just what the rusty tank needs. There are a few small holes as well that will be filled/sealed by the epoxy sealer.
Things left to do in order to have a rolling chassis...
1) front wheel rebuild (lace, true, install bearings, axle and brakes)
2) finish rear wheel (true, install brakes)
3) paint frame, swingarm, and sub-frame
4) install wheels
Seems like such a small list but it does represent quite a bit of time and work. With the temps in the low 100's (F) here in Phoenix this time of year I was looking at swamp coolers at the Home Depot this evening. A swamp cooler is something we use in hot, low-humidity conditions to cool the air. They don't work once the humidity rises but here it's about 10% until late in the summer.
That'll cut into the parts budget but I think, if I'm going to make any progress this summer, I'm going to have to get something.
I promise pictures with my next post. I could show a picture of myself waiting for my new rim to arrive, but nobody wants to see that.
In the mean time I'm starting to take inventory of the parts I'm going to need for the engine work. I shudder to think about how much they're going to cost. I'm hoping for a bulk discount from one of the friendly suppliers I've been researching but I'm not holding my breath.
I've also located someone to bore the cylinder, provide a matching piston, and re-work the head/valve seats. All I need to do is box the parts up and send them off. I hope to get than feat accomplished this week or this weekend.
The other item I've started on is the gas tank. I put a bunch of screws inside and shook it for about 20 minutes to knock the rust out of it. It'll probably take another hour of shaking, rattling, sloshing to clean it. I'm shocked at the noise a few screws inside a metal gas tank can make. I wrapped it in a thick blanket but it was still unbearable after 20 minutes of rattling. I'm going to use ear plugs the next time.
Once the cleaning is done I've got the tank sealer ready to go. I ordered the 2-part mix from Casewll Plating. Their 'kit' has good reviews and seems to be just what the rusty tank needs. There are a few small holes as well that will be filled/sealed by the epoxy sealer.
Things left to do in order to have a rolling chassis...
1) front wheel rebuild (lace, true, install bearings, axle and brakes)
2) finish rear wheel (true, install brakes)
3) paint frame, swingarm, and sub-frame
4) install wheels
Seems like such a small list but it does represent quite a bit of time and work. With the temps in the low 100's (F) here in Phoenix this time of year I was looking at swamp coolers at the Home Depot this evening. A swamp cooler is something we use in hot, low-humidity conditions to cool the air. They don't work once the humidity rises but here it's about 10% until late in the summer.
That'll cut into the parts budget but I think, if I'm going to make any progress this summer, I'm going to have to get something.
I promise pictures with my next post. I could show a picture of myself waiting for my new rim to arrive, but nobody wants to see that.
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