2 Wheels Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 I say there Foamy,,,,,,,, what a great find,,,,,,, looks deadly(good nick),,,,,,,,and for the money its in good shape. Yes i know you are excited and are mad to get going at it to see whats what,,,,,,,,,,,,BUT ,,,,,,,Please please take your time. There will be many things wrong with it after lying up for so long. If i were you i would sit back, think how lovely and wonderfull this bike could be if i restored it to the best of my abbility. The bike would be great lookin if you did a full and propper restore. Knowing you now have the bike,,,,,and the summer is comming, why dont you enjoy the summer, have a laugh and be out ridin round on your XJ. Then when winter sets in you know you have a good project to start and your mind will be geared up to do the restore propperly. Again the bike will be a beaut when its finished,,,,,,,worth a lot of cash too. You can use the summer months to be quietly putting away a few quid now an again for the parts you will need,,,,this way it wont hurt your pocket as much. Long winter nights are perfect for workin on your bike, you wont feel as if your rushing to get something done..............................................Thats what i would do anyway !!! Whatever way you go about it,,,,,,make it a good en,,,,,,,,,,,and the best of luck with the old girl.
wild foamy Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 im away from the 12th of may until the end of july/early august, so i wont be working on the bike until i got back. this bike will be stripped down to the frame, re-powder coated, re chromed and all stainless hex bolts installed so as to look as original as possible but without rusting only number i can see is on the inside of the plastic housing... all it says is "8"
Moderator drewpy Posted May 4, 2011 Moderator Posted May 4, 2011 I'd start collecting parts for the bike when your on your travels. I personally wouldn't try and start the bike until at least I had the head off to check for rust. With the added ingredient of the turbo! those need a lot of tlc in my opinion and it might be worth checking the bearings (and pricing up for a refurb) good find though foams, the yam version of Top Gun
wild foamy Posted May 5, 2011 Author Posted May 5, 2011 i certaintly will do drewps, good thing is i have internet whilst im away so i can browse fleabay and order items that can be sent to my home address, may have to wait as because of a disagreement with paypal im overdrawn a fair bit... Update: Took the ignition barrell to my local branch of timpsons after ringing around my other local lockys to no avail, they agreed to send it away as none of the mployees in store had the skill to do it in-store, so it should be back by the end of next week unfortunately i will be away
wild foamy Posted May 5, 2011 Author Posted May 5, 2011 Fairings are mostly off and doesn't seem to be as bad as first thought, managed to rig up a temporary ignition switch and get power on, everything works but the horn and front sidelight, filled it with fresh oil, engine turns over but until I can find another plug cap I won't be running it, givi rack is off and will be repainted shortly, rear brake mechanism has been dismantled and freed, Standby for pics
Moderator mervin Posted May 5, 2011 Moderator Posted May 5, 2011 i certaintly will do drewps, good thing is i have internet whilst im away so i can browse fleabay and order items that can be sent to my home address, may have to wait as because of a disagreement with paypal im overdrawn a fair bit... Update: Took the ignition barrell to my local branch of timpsons after ringing around my other local lockys to no avail, they agreed to send it away as none of the mployees in store had the skill to do it in-store, so it should be back by the end of next week unfortunately i will be away Oops missed this Foamy you should have sent it too me, I mayhave been able to sort it too fit the key you have , i have worked out how to do em , I have doen some TDR ones recently Merv
wild foamy Posted May 5, 2011 Author Posted May 5, 2011 nah the key we were given was a different pattern to the lock set, but for the sake of £20 i had it sent off to be done, its a 50/50 chance they can do it but if they cant i wont be charged, i have bought a blank which fits the lock but no way of cutting it. anyhoo, ive just been polishing a few parts, rubbed the tank down and i think its just weeping at the corner of the tank so hopefully some sort of tank sealant will sort that out (petseal?)
Moderator Cynic Posted May 5, 2011 Moderator Posted May 5, 2011 nah the key we were given was a different pattern to the lock set, but for the sake of £20 i had it sent off to be done, its a 50/50 chance they can do it but if they cant i wont be charged, i have bought a blank which fits the lock but no way of cutting it. anyhoo, ive just been polishing a few parts, rubbed the tank down and i think its just weeping at the corner of the tank so hopefully some sort of tank sealant will sort that out (petseal?) Don't even go there, its no good for ethanol fuels which all pump fuel is now. Around 5 per cent but increacing all the time as its renewable, cheap and burns like (note like not the same as) petrol. These are the people i used, Clicky. Stuff looks like its done the biz on my TDR tank. Absoloutly NO external effects at all, all the seams are sealed, any rust neutralised and then the whole lot is coated in a resin that seals it tight.
wild foamy Posted May 5, 2011 Author Posted May 5, 2011 cheers Cynic, looks like just the job that stuff, its now on my shopping list, i reckon it should be roadworthy by the end of august
Moderator drewpy Posted May 5, 2011 Moderator Posted May 5, 2011 used that stuff on me tracker tank, stinks a bit (still does) but sorted!
wild foamy Posted May 5, 2011 Author Posted May 5, 2011 Cynic and Drewps: did you send the tank off or do it yourself? and what did you use? just the sealant or the pre-treat stuff aswell? to sum the day up, ive established the engine turns over and most of the electrics work (will change the front sidelight and figure out why the horns dont work tomorrow), the tank and tank surrounding fairings have been removed, the ignition has been sent off with a 50/50 chance of a usefull key being produced for the sum of £20, the rear brake mechanism has been freed and established the fact i may need new rear brake shoes, the seat has been removed and various restoration companies contacted within the oxford area to see if they can menufacture/repair my existing seat pan, seat cover has been sourced, various alluminium and chrome parts restored to shiny condition, front tyre sourced, LH riders footpeg sourced, Givi rack removed for refurbishment, rear fairings and light removed and battery replaced. a rather a productive day, hopefully tomorrow: more ally/chrome restored to shiny condition, rest of fairings removed for refinishing /repainting, engine check and run, headlight surround source, airbox removed, components and turbo removed for examination pre-engine run, silencers(whats left of) removed and evaluated, front brake system removed ready for evaluation and reconditioning, not to mention a few other bits and pieces to do
Moderator drewpy Posted May 6, 2011 Moderator Posted May 6, 2011 I had a new tank but got it professionally stripped of rust etc here I then did the coating myself, its easy enough and you can do a better job.
Moderator mervin Posted May 6, 2011 Moderator Posted May 6, 2011 Definitely get the whole kit and do it properly once, i did my red 400 tank with petseal then had buy that kit with petseal remover to get it out when it started peeling
wild foamy Posted May 6, 2011 Author Posted May 6, 2011 fair one lads, its on my list have removed the front brake system now and the calipers are quite different to the Jawas' which were a piece of p*ss to get apart, the rebuild kits arrived this morning and are waiting to go in along with the new oil filter, foot peg is on its way, currently in negotiations for a seat and im just getting ready to fire it up. Calipers are now stripped down, just gotta clean them up when im ready to start painting stuff and jobs a good'un, pistons have no major signs of corrosion and have cleaned up nicely
wild foamy Posted May 12, 2011 Author Posted May 12, 2011 Work on the XJ will continue in a couple of months when im back in the UK, watch this space and progress will alsobe going up on my blog
Moderator Cynic Posted May 12, 2011 Moderator Posted May 12, 2011 I had a new tank but got it professionally stripped of rust etc here I then did the coating myself, its easy enough and you can do a better job. +1 for the full kit. The TDR is worse because its 2 tanks linked together with the oil tank in the middle so making sure you get it all takes patience, half an hour in the oven on low as in as low as it will go (while the wife's out) and a heat gun to keep it hot while you do it.
wild foamy Posted May 18, 2011 Author Posted May 18, 2011 Cheers for the tip cynic, have just been told that my local Timpsons branch have been able to make a key to work the ignition barrel, so thats one less job out the way. got another seat on its way from the US, footpeg, goodridge braided hoses and stainless hex fasteners from eBay aswell as a few other bits and bobs, will hopefully be able to find a place that can powdercoat the frame cheaply and locally, im wondering if it would be worth powdercoating the swingarm aswell in a similar colour scheme to the original paint, any thoughts? - foameh x
Moderator drewpy Posted May 21, 2011 Moderator Posted May 21, 2011 swingarms can be done with the frame and may be free (is at triple s) so its worth getting all your stuff done at the same time, especially if its the same colour
wild foamy Posted May 21, 2011 Author Posted May 21, 2011 So far cheapest quote ive had for the frame only is £230 to be shotblasted and powdercoated, is this a decent price or a ripoff?.
Knight3179 Posted May 21, 2011 Posted May 21, 2011 i Shotblasted my own, glass bead does it fine,Got a five kilo bucket from machine mart, a cheapy blasting hopper, can't live without one now, sandpaper and paintstripper is a thing of the past Well worth the investment, though the compressor will run you a bit, a company in shetland will powdercoat a frame for about 150, but they dip the frame in acid to strip it, so 230 for blasting and stripping is about right I soda blasted the engine, amazing finish, needs nothing but a wash down and some turps for repaint And for your tail pipes undercoat in Simoniz heat dipersant paint, topcoat in PJ1 gloss back they come out just as good as original, works on headers too, turn gloss with heat
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