Retro Custom 67 T120 Project

[Cosmoline]

Very excited to have brought home this girl today from the back woods of Maine! Starts on the first kick, runs and drives fine, matching numbers, 11k miles, supposedly even has original tires and brakes. Quite a find! She'll be getting a full restoration and returning to her former glory very soon. Planning to do a fairly mild retro custom build while also restoring and preserving all the original parts should I ever want to go the concours route. Stay tuned for plenty of pics and progress reports. Now on to the photos!

Bought from this fine fellow (Coburn Benson) who used to own a Triumph dealership in the 60's & 70's in Haverhill, MA:


Here's a shot of his shop back in the day:


All loaded up and tucked in for the ride home:


Coburn included some extra parts he'd been hoarding as well and included a bunch of paperwork, documentation and manuals. Check out the red one, it seems to be a hand typed engine overhaul manual for the 650...


And some various shots of the 67...






Stay tuned as this project progresses!

[ul39sugar]

Nice find

[SpeedAndNoise]

Oh, man, I'd have a hard tome changing anything on that bike. I love that old original paint! How about getting another tank to paint, and keeping that one OG?

[Von Zacho]

Originally Posted by speedandnoise

oh, man, i'd have a hard tome changing anything on that bike. I love that old original paint! How about getting another tank to paint, and keeping that one og?

+ 1

[Cosmoline]

I'm not going to do anything to the original parts. Anything original will be removed, some of them will be restored to original spec and safely stored away. For example, the frame will be a new one, but I'll refurbish the old one and put it away. The engine will remain stock (but be rebuilt).

[need louvers ?]

X3! I'pack all of the stock tin away carefully, Then do what ever I wanted with replacement stuff.

[Cosmoline]

Basically, this project will consist of a new frame with a 4" stretch, 2" drop, full fenders, 19" x 4" rims/tires on the front and rear, custom made grey top solo seat, lowered headlight, stock engine, stock front end (lowered slightly), twin leading front brake hub from a 69, stock taillight, stock gauges, etc. It'll have a mix of 1967/68 paint colors - 67 Aubergine base but with the silver center stripe and gold pinstripes of the 1968 scheme. Fenders and oil bag will be straight Aubergine (no stripes). Frame will be black, rims black.

...or at least that's what I'm thinking today. Subject to change at a moment's notice as the build progresses.

[SpeedAndNoise]

Sounds like you got a plan! Are you only using the engine from that bike? Just pull it, and hang the chassy up in the rafters!

[skinthead]

DUDE! You got a prize! You bought a prize from a prize! i hope the old guy is willing to assist with information along your way. I could only hoe to have an old master to call on sometimes.....

[flatman]

Pic of that ol shop is neat. 5 vincents and a brough out front? I think they did a article in Cycle World on him years back and he had a bobber like vincent.

[rockett]

Glad you're not going to cut up the old parts. =) That man you bought it from has a truly epic beard. I have beard-envy.

[Bugsy]

MAn...I'm jelous!!! What a great find and thanks for sharing all of the pictures. I LOVE the shot of his shop and good of you to take the pic of him with the bike. You'll have to motor it up to show him when you finish it! Sounds like you have a good plan for it and like everyone has said...hang on to the chassis and tin!!!

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by SpeedAndNoise

Sounds like you got a plan! Are you only using the engine from that bike? Just pull it, and hang the chassy up in the rafters!

Yep, that's the plan. If I use anything from the original bike, it will not be altered in any way.

Originally Posted by skinthead

DUDE! You got a prize! You bought a prize from a prize! i hope the old guy is willing to assist with information along your way. I could only hoe to have an old master to call on sometimes.....

He absolutely is willing and has a HUGE wealth of info tucked away in his head. Very nice guy.

Originally Posted by flatman

Pic of that ol shop is neat. 5 vincents and a brough out front? I think they did a article in Cycle World on him years back and he had a bobber like vincent.

When I was buying the bike he told me stories about the shop. One of the more interesting things he mentioned is that his shop sold more Vincents than BSA's or Triumphs combined.

Originally Posted by rockett

That man you bought it from has a truly epic beard. I have beard-envy.

Me too. I immediately started growing mine out.

Originally Posted by Bugsy

MAn...I'm jelous!!! What a great find and thanks for sharing all of the pictures. I LOVE the shot of his shop and good of you to take the pic of him with the bike. You'll have to motor it up to show him when you finish it! Sounds like you have a good plan for it and like everyone has said...hang on to the chassis and tin!!!

Thanks man. The first bike I ever put together was a 68 Bonnie with my dad when I was 12 years old. It was a basket case (literally - it was in about a dozen milk crates and boxes) but the numbers matched. That was in the mid 80's and back then there was no internet and sourcing everything was a nightmare. We painstakingly restored that bike to concours condition over 2 years and won shows with it. It was the very first bike I ever rode, and is the one by which I have judged all others since. I owned an 05 Hinckley Bonnie Black a few years ago but it just wasn't the same.

The point is, I am very aware of the value of this bike having all original parts and will definitely respect that fact. While I may decide someday to go the concours route, for now I want to make this bike into a rider that is pure Triumph, but is longer, lower, and cleaner in appearance.

[dvrogers]

Originally Posted by von zacho

+ 1

+2!

[Cosmoline]

Scored a very nice condition twin leading shoe setup yesterday...

[Cris]

Great find/great story.
Mr. Benson has a HELL of a car collection...

Cris

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by Cris

Great find/great story.
Mr. Benson has a HELL of a car collection...

Cris

He sure does. Those steamers and coaches are amazing!
You live out that way?

[Cosmoline]

Also scored a nice little oil bag the other day. Probably will need to be expanded/modified to take 2 full quarts...

[takin-care-of-business]

damn, that's one fine Trumpet. you can't find them in that nice of stock trim anymore.

[wannaby]

I wonder why you would even tear it apart why not just find another .that thing is pristine and why bother even replacing or turning a bolt.just get it running and ride it as is. seems to me once parts come off it and it gets hung in the rafters then somebody else finds it with no motor or half parts missing then they will think its o.k. to hack it up ...and another original is gone....oh well...

[Rubone]

Basically, this project will consist of a new frame with a 4" stretch, 2" drop, full fenders, 19" x 4" rims/tires on the front and rear, custom made grey top solo seat, lowered headlight, stock engine, stock front end (lowered slightly), twin leading front brake hub from a 69, stock taillight, stock gauges, etc. It'll have a mix of 1967/68 paint colors - 67 Aubergine base but with the silver center stripe and gold pinstripes of the 1968 scheme. Fenders and oil bag will be straight Aubergine (no stripes). Frame will be black, rims black.

Wow, another cookie cutter Triumph "bobber"! How original! And another fine historical piece bites the dust.
What a pity!!

[flatman]

i would almost bet money that oil tank is a Indian vertical oil tank 1949-1952?

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by flatman

i would almost bet money that oil tank is a Indian vertical oil tank 1949-1952?

Yeah, that's right - I think it came off a scout.

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by takin-care-of-business

damn, that's one fine Trumpet. you can't find them in that nice of stock trim anymore.

Thanks, it's not pristine by any stretch - it has some issues, they all do. You can find them, you just gotta look and be ready when the deal is right.

[Cosmoline]

Finally got a chance to start disassembling today. More to come...

[tubby79]

I am doing a similar thing to my t100. Keep the pics coming please
H

[Cosmoline]

More disassembly today. The photobomber is Jake...

[Cosmoline]

Getting closer to bare bones...

[texas rattler]

i still think those mid-to late 60's triumph's are some of the best looking bikes ever produced. nice scoot ya got there.

[Cosmoline]

Still going. Mostly rear section disassembly this afternoon. This is taking a while since I've been wiping down all the removed parts, putting all the bolts back in, bagging/tagging, and packing everything away into plastic storage bins.

Also, the new hard tail arrived today from The Factory Metal Works, and I finally found the correct oil cap for the Indian oil bag so I don't have to machine one.

On to the progress pics...

[dvrogers]

i want this bike!

[Cosmoline]

Pulled off the rest of the back end and tried test fitting the new hardtail today. No go. Turns out I was shipped a hardtail for a 500, not a 650 by mistake. Lucas over at TFMW was very cool about it and is shipping me out a replacement loop today.

Now, where'd I put the other half of that bike?

[Basket Case]

Very sweet find, way better than the crap I run up on.

[servi53]

sweet find

[Cosmoline]

Back to work!

Finally got the right hardtail in the mail so I bolted it on to see how things sit. Also spent the day stripping the paint off the tank with my girlfriend. Pics...

This stuff is evil in a can, works great but damn is it horrible to work with...


Evil bubbling action...


Not bad for the first pass...


My amazing woman, jumping right in and cleaning out the underside of the tank with her much smaller hands. The tank came out great, some hacker painted over the original paint so I figured there would be dents and bondo galore but it turned out to be great underneath...


Tank all done and set on the newly bolted up hardtail roller just to see how things look. The forks haven't been lowered yet but things are looking good...


More to come soon!

[4444Design]

Originally Posted by Cosmoline

Back to work!

Finally got the right hardtail in the mail so I bolted it on to see how things sit. Also spent the day stripping the paint off the tank with my girlfriend. Pics...

This stuff is evil in a can, works great but damn is it horrible to work with...


Evil bubbling action...


Not bad for the first pass...


My amazing woman, jumping right in and cleaning out the underside of the tank with her much smaller hands. The tank came out great, some hacker painted over the original paint so I figured there would be dents and bondo galore but it turned out to be great underneath...


Tank all done and set on the newly bolted up hardtail roller just to see how things look. The forks haven't been lowered yet but things are looking good...


More to come soon!

love those old trumps!

especially the easy hardtailing with just bolting a rigid rearend

cool project so far - would add a 16 inch rim with some classic avon rubber on the tail

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by 4444Design

cool project so far - would add a 16 inch rim with some classic avon rubber on the tail

Thank you. I'm going with the same size rim/tire combo on both the front and rear. Trying to decide between keeping the rear at 18 and getting a 18" front to replace the 19, or keeping the front and getting a 19 rear.

[Cosmoline]

A bit more progress after picking up a few items at a local swap meet...

[bdavanza]

Now, where'd I put the other half of that bike?



Big D Cycle used to have a rear loop shocks and swing arm setup like that in the showroom with a label that read "Chopper Repair Kit" back in the day.

[StumpJumper90]

Looking great!! Thats the way to do it start out with something that nice saves a lot of time and money

[S.G]

Sure looks good, gonna be great to following this build

[Infidel 3-7]

That's a sweet as find, I'm sure you will do it justice with you build you gonna put the tank pads back on?

[el diablo]

Originally Posted by Cosmoline

I'm not going to do anything to the original parts. Anything original will be removed, some of them will be restored to original spec and safely stored away. For example, the frame will be a new one, but I'll refurbish the old one and put it away. The engine will remain stock (but be rebuilt).

thanks for doing that ^^

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by el diablo

thanks for doing that ^^

I realize we don't really own these, we borrow em. I respect history and besides, if I ever sell it, it'll be far more valuable if I have all the original parts to go with it just in case the next owner wants to go the concours route.

[Cosmoline]

Not 100% bike related but I built myself a fairly badass 8 ft workbench today which will come in very handy for this build. I plan to mount up a vise and drill press on one end, bench grinder/polisher on the other, hang all my tools on the pegboard, and mount up an engine stand in the middle. Mig welder will mount on the bottom shelf and I'll be mounting a real fluorescent overhead light (that's just my shop light in there now) and power strip tomorrow...

[Cosmoline]

Clean up and test fit of the Revolator and mounting bracket...









Also just a quick look at the taillight and where it will sit on the fender...





Oh and the workbench has been all stocked up - that real estate goes fast!

[Tony the torch]

damn!... that work bench came out nice, oh... and the bike is looking pretty good too.
Good job.

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by Tony the torch

damn!... that work bench came out nice, oh... and the bike is looking pretty good too.
Good job.

Thanks Tony.

[knallert]

Cosmo: Nice work on the bike and the bench.. nothing beats having your stuff in one place when working. well done!

that speedo is super cool to.. looks "high tech". hehe

cheers // Kenneth

[Svenski]

Cosmo,

what kind of speedo is that?

thx,

Svenski

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by Svenski

Cosmo,

what kind of speedo is that?

thx,

Svenski

It's a Smiths Chronometric Revolator 6T S.647/107/N. It was used on pre-unit Triumph/BSA/Nortons from 1951-59. They are getting increasingly expensive and harder to find. Got mine for just over $400 USD but I've seen them go for as much as $800.

[Dan Boy]

Your tool bench is the tits, you should make and sell those

D.

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by Dan Boy

Your tool bench is the tits, you should make and sell those

Thanks Dan, it's been really useful. They are crazy simple and cheap to make, just google "simpson workbench".

[Cosmoline]

So today I chopped up two rear fenders and made them into one. I'm not the worlds greatest welder, but I'll be damned if I didn't get it right on the first try without any heat distortion or alignment problems. I consider myself lucky!

I also got a great deal on a lift table at Harbor Freight for $299. PM me if you want the coupon code. Here's some pix...

[rockett]

Your bike is an inspiriation.

That is not a 'fairly badass' workbench'.

That is a truly righteous workbench.

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by rockett

Your bike is an inspiriation.

That is not a 'fairly badass' workbench'.

That is a truly righteous workbench.

Thanks man, I'm having a ridiculous amount of fun building out this bike and everything in the shop that goes with it.

[Cosmoline]

Today I made a couple of inside brackets for the rear fender. It's amazing how long it can take to make parts that most people will never see...

[rockett]

Will you rivet those to the fender?

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by rockett

Will you rivet those to the fender?

No, they'll be plug welded. The inside holes are just for a place to weld. The outside holes will mate up to the fender struts.

[Jtw79]

Nice bench Cosmo! Wish I had built one like it instead of buying the one on sale at HF. When I saw you stripping the tank I was like NO!! then read it was shitty paint. Love those Triumph tanks, perfect size shape and trim. Can't wait to see the whole bike done.

[Cosmoline]

Today I finished up fabrication of the back fender and mounted the tail lamp which involved cutting out the ridge in the fender and re-welding in a flat piece so I could bolt down the tail lamp and gasket. Once that was done I cleaned up all the welds and shot some primer on the fender and brackets I made the other day to keep them from rusting. Very happy with how things are turning out...

[reverb]

...man your bike will look very good, however, I think that when you get it looked super good too
so inspire you and try to get the most of it to enhance that classic Bonnie look!

what s the distance from top of the seat to ground?

[Daddy Boy]

I reckon the guard's too long, thats only my opinion BUT depending where the weld you joined it with is for or aft (which pics dont show) and where you position the brackets, all the weight from it being so long will stress that weld. Not hangin shit just sayin mate.

[Daddy Boy]

Not sayin short short like most guys have em, 2 or3 inches would do it. JMO

[Cosmoline]

The joint weld is about 8 or 9 inches from the bottom of the inside part of the fender under the seat. As for the overall length, its modeled after pre-unit speed twins of the 50's - those fenders were about the same length or even longer. Also there will be four brace points, two coming off the frame and two struts on each side of the fender. I also left the fender a little long on the bottom in case I have to adjust later, better too much than too little.

[Cosmoline]

New headlight came in today. I wanted it to be a little smaller than stock and not so much chrome. This fits the bill nicely but I've gotta convert it over from 6v to 12v.



Mocked up with tape (high tech!) and roughly centered to the tank...


Try to imagine it without those dorky elephant-sized headlight mounting ears coming off the forks...



I think I want it to sit about an inch lower than the position you see here...



Later!

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by reverb

...man your bike will look very good, what's the distance from top of the seat to ground?

Thanks reverb, the seat height is about 26 inches.

[Cosmoline]

I'm getting ready to send the rims out to Buchanan's to be laced, balanced and trued but before I can do that I need to get the rims and hubs powder coated since I want them to be black and it makes no sense to try to do the powder coating once Buchanan's is done with them.

Anyway, before I can do ANY of that, I needed to disassemble the wheels/tires. Getting the tires off the rims was a huge chore. The tires were rotted out junk anyway so I decided to cut them off rather than risk harming the rims by prying them off. I went at them with the angle grinder w/a cut off wheel and a pail of water to keep the smoke to a minimum.

Getting the brake assemblies off was fairly easy, but getting the bearings out was another story altogether, the manual states that they make a special tool to get the wheel bearing lock off, but I decided that I wasn't going to pay a bunch of money and wait for a tool so I made my own.

I just took some 1.5" flat stock that I had laying around, cut a length about a foot long, drilled a couple holes the right distance apart, tapped the holes and put a couple of cap bolts in that were long enough to stick out the other side. Voila! An instant Triumph wheel bearing lock spanner tool!

Drilling...


Tapping...


Bolts in...


All done...


Worked like a charm!


Even works great to knock out the crush plates...


Once the bearing locks were out the rest was easy and I went to town degreasing and cleaning everything up...



Oh yeah, the seat I've been showing was temporary. Today the new seat pan came in and it has a much better shape - fills the area nicely...





Thats all for now!

[Cosmoline]

Last night I had myself a little spoke de-laceing party on my couch while watching TV...


Back wheel done...


Front wheel done...


Ready to be degreased and sent out for powder coating...


Today I degreased all the wheel parts and took everything down to the powder coating shop. I'm lucky, they're about a quarter mile from my house and do amazing work. I should have everything back in less than a couple weeks.

I also ordered the new shoes from Universal, a pair of Firestone ANS 4.00 x 18's for the front and back. Should be here before the powder coat is done, then I ship everything off to Buchanan's for final assembly...



That's all for now!

[Cosmoline]

I was going to start tearing down the forks today since that would be fun, but I decided that as boring as it is, I really needed to clean up and organize all the wheel parts that didn't go out for powder coat. And by clean up, I mean degrease, buff with the wire wheel, and oil. So that's what I did this morning...



And then this afternoon my doorbell rang and a nice girl dressed in brown handed me a box. Inside that box was my engine stand. I was going to weld one up myself but they're cheaper to buy. Anyway, I decided to spend the afternoon making a table for the stand. I made it 3' x 3' x 3' in the same fashion I made the workbench except with 4x4 legs since I plan to mount casters to it...



Forks tomorrow!

[Dan Boy]

Looks like good work on that bench, must be handy to work on the engine in a stand like that rather than on the bench top.

Cheers Dan.

[Cosmoline]

Got the new rubber today from Universal Tire...



Also finished cleaning up the front/rear axles and all the associated parts...



And I also had some time to pull off the front forks and got them mostly disassembled...



Anyone know how to get the dust sleeve nut off the bottom member? I have the right spanner but keeping the fork stationary in the vice while applying enough pressure to the sleeve has me worried that I'm going to do bad things to the bottom member. I wonder if it's just really seized up and needs more time for the penetrating oil to work it's way in. Any advice appreciated.

Thats all for now!

[Cosmoline]

I got the sleeves off, just bored out a hole about the same OD of the member into a scrap piece of 4 x 4 I had, sliced it down the middle and used that to clamp both sides of the member into the vice so it was solid.

One of the sleeves came off easily, the other was locked up tight. Once I finally got it off I confirmed my suspicion about the left side - someone had previously cross threaded it on. The reason I thought that might be the case was because the right side sleeve was threaded all the way down and you could maybe see one thread. The left side had about 1/4" of thread showing.

Worse yet, the threads on both the sleeve and member seem to be dicked up. The left sleeve wont spin on the right member and the right sleeve wont spin on the left member. The right sleeve and member spin up fine though.

So I guess I'm shopping for a left sleeve and member unless my machinist can repair those threads.

The good news is that so far this and the hacker paint job on the gas & oil tank are the only things that seem to have been screwed up by previous owners (knock on wood).

Later.

[Cosmoline]

The good news is that I took the bad fork member and sleeve down to my machinist buddy, he said he'd get it fixed right up for me.

The bad news is that my back has been nagging at me for a week or so and seems to have decided that it's going on strike by taking the breath out of me whenever I twist. SO, it looks like I'll just be doing some reading and parts ordering until it feels a little better.

I've ordered some new upper fork covers that don't have the big headlight mounting ears off the 120TT since I'm going to be bottom (not side) mounting the new headlight (see below)...



I also ordered a couple of extra fork spacers so I can drop the front, new fork seals, new modern sealed bearings for the f/r axles, a roller bearing neck conversion kit, and all the hardware I needed to mount up the seat pan: biltwell hinge, weld-on perches, springs, etc.

My girlfriend bought me this big, gorgeous book for Father's Day and it's AMAZING, I highly recommend picking one up for inspiration...



So I'll be sitting here reading my book, watching tv, and waiting for parts to arrive until my back gets a little better.

You stay classy San Diego.

[Cosmoline]

Trying not to tweak my back any further, I'm just doing some small stuff today...

Getting close to the finish line on the speedometer refurb, primed and painted the instrument cup, indicator needle and mounting bracket plus I got the new glass and gasket installed in the refurbed chrome bezel...



And giving the fork tubes some wire wheel love - before/after below...

[Robik]

Nice project! Keep posting.

[Cosmoline]

Hello from lala land - my back still sucks, but the doc prescribed some vicodin which is helping. Finished up the speedometer today and got a shipment of goodies from Lowbrow...







Clockwise from top left - F/R brake shoe springs, F/R wheel bearings, Roller bearing neck conversion kit, weld-on seat spring perches, biltwell weld-on seat hinge, 4" seat springs, front fork seals, lowbrow free sticker & comb ...

[Cosmoline]

Hello from lala land - my back still sucks, but the doc prescribed some vicodin which is helping. Finished up the speedometer today and got a shipment of goodies from Lowbrow...







Clockwise from top left - F/R brake shoe springs, F/R wheel bearings, Roller bearing neck conversion kit, weld-on seat spring perches, biltwell weld-on seat hinge, 4" seat springs, front fork seals, lowbrow free sticker & comb ...

[Dan Boy]

Hey man, sorry to hear you have back trouble. I hope it will get better soon, I suffer from degenerative disc disease and my back has been hurting for 20 years. You kind of get used to it and just find different ways of doing things to avoid aggravating it.

Hopefully the parts from Lowbrow will give you some renewed drive and the pills from the doc will take some of the pain away. I know how you feel.

Cheers Dan.

[Cosmoline]

Thanks Dan. It will. I'm pretty sure I just tweaked it.

Anyway, got the wheel parts back from powder coating today. Came out nice...

[vintagespeed]

aww goddamnit, now i gotta tear my wheels apart... THANKS man!

[Cosmoline]

Slowly getting back to work. Welded up the solo seat perches and forward hinge today so I could mount the seat pan. I'm not the world's prettiest welder but at least they'll hold well. The 4" springs shown are too long, I'm going to switch them over to 2" springs instead.

[Cosmoline]

I decided that I hated the way the seat springs were set up so I changed everything up. I read that Chevy valve springs worked well so I got a pair of them for a whopping $4.36 and went to work re-tooling the setup. I'm not completely done yet but the pics below show things about 60% done...

First I had to thread the seat perch posts so out came the die...



All done...



Then I needed to weld a washer to the valve spring so I made some cuts in the washer to get it tacked on. I left one area open because the spring didn't hit there anyway...



Clamped the spring to the washer and welded it up...



Ground down the welds and test fit it on the perch. Perfect!



View from top looking down into bolted on spring...



Did the same procedure for the other spring...



Shots with the seat down...







Next, I need to machine a four 1/2" deep cups to capture the top and bottom of each spring and weld some angle iron at the correct angle to the seat pan so the springs hit at the proper angle and can be mounted from the top as well. I'll post more pictures when that's done.

[Dan Boy]

Nice work, how does the valve springs ride when you sit on it? Comfy?

D.

[Metalman123]

nice work cosmoline

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by Dan Boy

Nice work, how does the valve springs ride when you sit on it? Comfy?

D.

Hi Dan, They seem surprisingly good, but I haven't finished mounting them to the seat yet, my machinist is milling me some cups to the following specs...



Once those are on I'll have a better idea.

[Dan Boy]

Looks nice, will they be aluminium?

D.

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by Dan Boy

Looks nice, will they be aluminium?

D.

No, steel since I may wind up wanting to weld them to the seat pan and/or perches, not 100% sure yet. I don't want to call much attention to them since I'm trying to keep this bike looking somewhat stock so whatever I do will eventually be powder coated black anyway.

[Cosmoline]

OK, back is feeling better and lots of parts have come in. Decided to get the front end all buttoned up. The TLS front setup that I bought cascaded the need for a whole bunch of other parts since it's about 1/4" wider - so I needed newer upper and lower triple trees. I also decided that the fork tubes were too far gone and installed a new set. I was able to get the bunged up fork slider threads sorted out myself with a small needle file, a loupe and some patience. My machinist was just too busy and I'd rather have him spend time machining my seat spring cups.

Anyway, I seated the fork seals in the dust sleeves with a big ol 34mm socket. No problems...



I also added an extra black plastic spacer on each fork tube, cut down the springs an inch and a half, heated, bent and ground down the ends for a flat surface, bead blasted, primed and painted them up.



Turned out pretty great I think. Shown here during a test fit...



I also needed to fit the TT style upper fork covers. Comparing them with the stock elephant ears it's easy to see that the TT's are longer by about a half inch or so below the tabs that the lower tree bolts through (marked in blue tape)...





So I put a cutoff wheel in the dremel and lopped the extra off, filed the bottom perfectly flat and chamfered the edges slightly. I also needed to elongate the mounting tab bolt hole so the bolt wouldn't catch but just slightly. Here's a shot of the finished TT cover...



And below are a couple of shots of the whole fork assembly put together. The lower members and trees have yet to be powder coated black. I'm going to leave the dust sleeves stainless. Basically, everything will be black except the tube itself and dust sleeves...





Oh and my custom spoke order from Buchanans showed up today so I can finally drop everything off to be laced, trued, tires mounted, etc. More on that next time.



Have a great 4th everyone!

[Cosmoline]

Dropped off my hubs, rims, spokes, tires with Brittech to be laced, trued, mounted, balanced, etc. It'll be a couple of weeks beIn the meantime, I figured I'd rebuild the brakes. Front /rear shots of both. I think I've done it correctly but if anyone spots anything out of place, please let me know - thanks...

Front inner:



Front outer:



Back inner:



Back outer:



Also, I'm leaving tomorrow for a week of much needed vacation at the beach. Later!

[Cosmoline]

I'm back from vacation and back to work. Back feels good too.

I still have a bunch of stuff out to various places - machinist is STILL working on those spring cups (what a lazy dude) and my wheels should be all set by mid next week.

In the meantime I figure I might as well start surgery on the old Indian oil tank I want to use. It has a bunch of mounting brackets and clearance indentations that wont be necessary on this build, plus I need to expand it's capacity so I can put at least a couple full quarts in her. I bet I'll have at least 20 hours into this component alone by the time I'm done but the shape fits the area so perfectly that I fell like it's worth it.

Here's what I'm starting with, an early 50's Indian Scout tank in good condition...







I figured out which areas I needed to keep and which I didn't, and marked it off with some tape as a cut guide, broke out the dremel with a cut-off wheel and started cutting...







Now I have two halves. The front filler side and tubes I'm keeping and the other goes into the scrap metal bin...





Degreasing 60+ years of old engine oil...



Once that's done, I'll strip off any remaining paint and start forming the back half out of 16 ga sheet metal. More pics on that later.

A couple other things of note - my awesome girlfriend bought me a cool shop clock...



And I think I've decided on a paint scheme, here's a mocked-up preview - paint will be gloss, not flat...

[S.G]

Some great fabrication going on, keep it up

[Cosmoline]

Thanks SG. Not much of an update today but I did strip the paint off the oil tank and started mocking up where I'll mount it on the bike to get a better idea of the pieces I'll need to fabricate for it.

[supercrouton]

That scoot is coming along nicely. I also am curious how the valve springs work out. That oil tank looks good too.
Cheers, Dan.

[Cosmoline]

Thanks Dan. Finished up the seat pan and seat springs today.

My machinist came thru with the spring cups. Came out perfect...



Marking out the locations...



Because the top spring cups were going to sit right in the middle of the bend in the seat pan, I needed to create a flat surface to mount them to, so I cut up some angle iron and welded it to the seat pan...



Now that I had a flat surface I welded on the top spring cups...





Finished product mounted on bike...





Once I got the seat mounted up I was anxious to know how they would feel. Sitting on them compresses them about a half inch and there's at least another inch of travel left. The seat does not seem springy, in fact it's pretty stiff but hey, it's a hard tail after all and I didn't expect a miracle air ride. The verdict is that I'm happy with them.

That's all for now.

[Dan Boy]

Looks great and an innovative way to do seat springs.

D.

[4444Design]

good progress!

keep the pics comin' ...

[Cosmoline]

Thanks guys. Today I installed the tapered roller bearing kit in the neck and mounted the lowered front end. At this point I'm waiting for my wheels/tires to come back and I'll have it back in a roller so I can check the stance, mount everything, do the remaining fab work like the front fender, fender mounts, weld up various tab mounts etc. Once all that is done I'll disassemble everything, send it out for paint/powder coat, and start on the engine rebuild.

[Dan Boy]

This build is racing along, nice work.

Cheers Dan.

[Cosmoline]

Mounted the headlight today...

Here's a shot of the springer style headlight mounting post and terminals underneath...



Below is a shot of the hole underneath the bottom tree where I'll mount the bracket...



Below is a shot of the bracket I bent up and mounted to the headlight- I just have it functional for now, I'll make it pretty later on...



And here's some shots of the headlight all mounted up. I think it came out pretty damned sweet...









IMHO, perfect size and not too blinged out. Tucks in between the forks nicely, it has plenty of clearance from lock to lock and there's no way anything will hit it even if the suspension bottoms out. Happy with it.

Later.

[vintagespeed]

position looks perfect, but be wary of vibration using a single mounting bolt.

maybe a welded tab on that lower tree?

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by vintagespeed

position looks perfect, but be wary of vibration using a single mounting bolt.

maybe a welded tab on that lower tree?

I'm a little worried about that as well. I did mount the headlight using a big rubber washer sandwiched between two metal washers - I don't know how much that will help though. The bracket is 1/8' metal and it seems like theres really no flex in it and when everything is bolted up the whole unit does seem really solid. When I do the final assembly, there will be no expense spared on loctite and lock washers.

Not sure what you mean by a welded tab on the lower tree - are you saying to weld a tab to brace the bracket against the top of the lower tree or are you talking about a second tab to mount the headlight post to?

Also, does anyone know how HD mounted these headlights up to springer front ends as a point of reference?

[supercrouton]

I use this light alot! So I will pass on two things for you;

1) take the bulb out that it came with, and throw it away, It is rubbish. Replace it with a new one.

2) That mount will indeed vibrate like mad. Make your bracket as short as possible, and box the sides to eliminate all flex.

Hopefully this info will save you from re-doing stuff later, or getting caught in the dark without a head light.
Cheers, Dan.

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by supercrouton

1) take the bulb out that it came with, and throw it away, It is rubbish. Replace it with a new one.

Thanks for the advice. I need to convert it from 6v to 12v so I need to ditch the bulb anyway. Any advice on conversion? Also, I was thinking about going with an LED headlight - any thoughts there?

[supercrouton]

Originally Posted by Cosmoline

I was thinking about going with an LED headlight - any thoughts there?

Yes. Don't.

Led headlight elements, that go in place of a traditional bulb, are not to the point they need to be at this time. Maybe in a few more years.... I have tried this type (below), the lighting output was dismal, at best, and the pattern looked like a bullseye target. Don't waste your money on them.

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by supercrouton

Yes. Don't.

Led headlight elements, that go in place of a traditional bulb, are not to the point they need to be at this time. Maybe in a few more years.... I have tried this type (below), the lighting output was dismal, at best, and the pattern looked like a bullseye target. Don't waste your money on them.

Any suggestions for a reliable replacement 12v bulb? The one in mine seems to be stamped 111A and is 6V 25W.

[supercrouton]

The part number I use is: 6235Y-BP

[Rasmussen]

[QUOTE=Cosmoline;830284]I'm not the world's prettiest welder

You may not be too good looking, but at least the bike looks great

(sorry couldn't resist)

[bigredhawk]

What a great find,hard to come by these days

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by supercrouton

The part number I use is: 6235Y-BP

Thanks for that, I was considering converting over to H4 bulbs until I realized my no battery setup probably won't like the draw of a halogen. Hoping the 12v equivalent bulb is easier on the wattage.

Originally Posted by Rasmussen

You may not be too good looking, but at least the bike looks great

(sorry couldn't resist)

Huh? I've been told I look like a young Steve McQueen.

Originally Posted by bigredhawk

What a great find,hard to come by these days

It's all about patience (and a good Craigslist multi-city search engine) now.

[Cosmoline]

Not much to report since I'm still waiting on my wheels to come back but I did get the new handlebars in so I mounted them up along with the speedo just to get a sense of how everything would look...

[Dan Boy]

Loving that speedo.

D.

[Cosmoline]

My wheels are finished so I'm heading out to pick them up today. It's like Christmas! Pics later.

[supercrouton]

Originally Posted by Cosmoline

Thanks for that, I was considering converting over to H4 bulbs until I realized my no battery setup probably won't like the draw of a halogen. Hoping the 12v equivalent bulb is easier on the wattage.

It will definitely be easy on your electrical, it is 35w/35w. I have run this setup on many "no-battery" Triumphs with good results. You will want to run LED tail/stop lamps at the rear too, they draw very little amperage and the quality ones are super-bright.
Cheers, Dan.

[Cosmoline]

Wheels came out great, couldn't wait to mount them up. Back to a roller for now. First time she's been out of the shop in a couple months. I like the stance...

Shots without rear fender...





Shots with rear fender...







Up next I'll be making the front fender and all the stays front and rear as well as finishing up the oil tank and mounting tabs.

[Dan Boy]

I love that way this looks, good work.

D.

[luckydevil13]

just read the whole thing start to finish, looks great keep up the work, your bike and workshop are an inspiration to keep moving foward on mine.

[Cosmoline]

I had some problems getting my front wheel centered between the forks but I got that figured out.

Now that the front wheel madness is over with, I decided to mock up the front fender which involved making some cutouts in the fender to allow clearance between the front fork dust sleeves.

I just eyeballed the position, made a center mark where the dust sleeve would hit, and measured 1.25" out from center in each direction leaving me about .25" clearance left to right. Then I figured how much distance was between the forks and subtracted a half inch from that. I just split that number in half and measured out from the center of the fender for my depth.

Once I had my marks on one side I transferred them to the other and using a bottle of about the right diameter drew an arc that hit all 3 points on each side. Then I just dremeled along the line and cleaned it up with a small sanding tube.

Below are some shots of the mock-up. It's not positioned exactly where I want it yet (neither is the back) but it's close enough to give an idea of what it'll look like.

[Cosmoline]

Some better pics:

[96dragginsdime]

looks great!

[Cosmoline]

Oil Tank progress...

[S.G]

Looks like good progress, keep the good work and picures up...

[Cosmoline]

Thanks S.G. - made some more progress on the oil tank today. Internal windage box and lines all set, just need to weld everything up.





Also figured out how I want to mount the tank up. Basically there will be 4 tabs on the frame downtube under the seat which I'm making to this spec:



And then there will be 4 threaded bungs welded to the side of the tank which line up with the tab holes - in between the two I have some bonded rubber bushings with 1/4" thread on each end to mate the bungs on the oil tank to the brackets...



Oh and my internal spring kickstand also came in. Nice clean look.

[Cosmoline]

I did finish up the welding/brazing on the oil tank and pressure tested it successfully. I still need to weld on the bungs, hit it with some sanding sealer, and take some pics. Not much progress the last week or so due to a combination of incredibly nice weather and a new addition to the family...

[vintagespeed]

awww man, you're never gonna finish now!!

i dig the side stand, might need to find me one of them.

[Cosmoline]

I will finish! I'm just trying to get in every bit of riding before the snow hits. Once that happens, I'll be working on the bonnie in the basement all winter.

Here's the current state of the luxe which has seen quite a few mods since I got her...

[nigel]

Oh and my internal spring kickstand also came in. Nice clean look.[/QUOTE]


Is that a Hot Match stand? Looks like one

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by nigel

Oh and my internal spring kickstand also came in. Nice clean look.

Is that a Hot Match stand? Looks like one[/QUOTE]

They're from Led Sled Customs:
http://www.ledsledcustoms.com/produc..._section=Parts

[vintagespeed]

HEY, is it snowing yet! where's the update??

[Cosmoline]

Originally Posted by vintagespeed

HEY, is it snowing yet! where's the update??

I'm almost done moving everything down into my basement for the winter. Had to demo some existing stuff, build some new workbenches, put in some pegboard and lights, get the lift table and bike down there, bring all the tools down, etc. Should have a new update next week!

New shop name is Boiler Room Basement Customs.