Frame Painted

I've got several coats of beautiful glossy black paint on the frame, swingarm, sub-frame, side stand, foot rests, and a few other miscellaneous parts. I’ve got the wheels assembled with their old brake shoes – new ones on order. Forks are painted and assembled minus their oil, which I’ll add when I’m closer to having a running engine. Here’s a shot of the rolling chassis. I’m pretty happy with her so far. I chose to paint the frame myself, rather than powder-coating, because: a) I wanted to do as much of the work myself as possible and b) it’ll be easier to touch up, although probably easier to chip in the first place.

I’m sealing the tank next. Get the caustic chemicals over with before putting on a nice coat of paint so as not to wreck it when they leak all over, which they’re sure to do. With that, and some fort gaiters I’ll be in pretty good shape.

I’ve started making a list of engine parts I MUST have and those I would probably replace if money were no object. I really don’t want to do an engine rebuild a few months after getting it all back together so I’m trying to achieve a balance between expenses and long-term investment/rework. I suppose this is the classic struggle between the wallet and the wrench.

I’ll get some parts ordered and use the time it takes them to arrive to build myself an engine stand, polish up the side covers, and brighten up the cases, head, and barrel. I can’t get the barrel to look as nice as I’d like so I’ll likely paint it. I’ve seen a lot of Cubs with black barrels and I like the way they look. I hesitate to give myself any sort of schedule because I seem to miss every deadline I set for myself but I’m shooting for an assembled engine by the end of May. We’ll see how that plays out.