The labor of love (& nostalgia) begins!! 1963 CA77 Dream

brewsky · Post by **brewsky** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 4:53 am

The repair looks great!

A friend is re-doing my crumpled front fender since I know better than to try it myself!

Haven't heard of the balsa wood trick, does it work better than the rubber block backing?

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Tue Oct 11, 2011 9:12 am

On my front fender I used a piece of 3/8" thick rubber which worked okay, but wasn't flexible enough for the sharper curve on the rear fender. A thinner piece of rubber might have worked okay, but I used what I had (the wing from a cheapie toy airplane for my granddaughter, luckily we have several.) I've got a rubber sanding block which works fine on flat surfaces or when there is a curve in only one direction.

I didn't get a picture of my front fender before. It had road rash on the front, was twisted some, had some dents and the rear was bent up on one side (the typical damage) with cracks that had to be welded. The rear bracket was broken loose from the fender as well. I spent a lot of time tweeking, welding, filling and such on it. I enjoy the challenge of it. I did a restore on a 65 Lincoln about 30 years ago that needed major body work, so I've been there before ( although I didn't do the painting, just the body work.) For that I used air tools for shaping and sanding (which I still have) but they're useless on the dream because of its size and the shapes.

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 4:05 pm

Painting is mostly complete. Rear fender flames are done. I still need to paint my flames on the tank, but the weather has cooled considerably so that will wait a while. I've installed the wiring harness and brake wiring, with new grommets in the frame wherever possible.

I'll let the paint cure for a while. I'm starting to work on cleaning and greasing wheel assemblies.

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:00 pm

I have the brakes all apart, working on cleaning up all the aluminum. Rear brake shoes were relined, fronts good. All the bearings are out and cleaned up. Any suggestions on the best type of grease to use? Is wheel bearing grease for roller bearings the right thing or would an all purpose grease be better?

LOUD MOUSE · Post by **LOUD MOUSE** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 1:03 pm

I use Black High Temp. ...............lm

OldStan wrote:I have the brakes all apart, working on cleaning up all the aluminum. Rear brake shoes were relined, fronts good. All the bearings are out and cleaned up. Any suggestions on the best type of grease to use? Is wheel bearing grease for roller bearings the right thing or would an all purpose grease be better?

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Wed Apr 18, 2012 10:24 am

In case anyones wondering, no I haven't dropped the project. I've been pretty much out of commission. I had surgery on the tendons in my ankle in January and hadn't done much until the last couple of weeks.

A belated thanks lm, I used black Hi Temp synthetic grease to pack the wheel bearings.

I did manage to get the painting completed on the tank, including a light flame job. The wheels are cleaned and polished as best they can be. There was some bubbling in the chrome, but overall they look pretty good, as long as you don't look too close.

There was an issue with the bolts holding on the rear sprocket. Apparently they had been run loose at some point. I installed a new sprocket and made retaining bolts, making sure the shoulder was well into the sprocket. I also use the trusty JB weld to tighten up the slighty eggshaped hole as well as some of the wear from the head of the stock bolt. The sprocket seems to run true, so it should be good.

I'm in the process of refurbishing the air filter. I've taken 2 4" diameter filters ( used for 12hp engines) and fit them side by side. I think it will be fine, if not I'll go for a reproduction.

I haven't been taking any pictures, but hope to rectify that this weekend when I start assembling the major components. That is provided I get my garden planted first. According to the wife other things have priority, darn it!

OldStan · Post by **OldStan** » Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:36 am

In spite of planting the garden with the "help" of my 6 year old granddaughter who I had for the weekend ( one of those priorities I spoke of) while my wife was out of town, I did manage to make progress before and after her visit.

I actually have some pictures as well. I think the air filter came out pretty good.

I was a little worried about the fit of the front fender. With the help of some cereal boxes I manage to get it into place without incident. To my amazement all the holes lined up perfectly. When I got it the rear brace was broken off, I had to weld it back in place. I think the key was all the measuring I did as I was putting it back in place.

With any luck I'll get enough time next weekend to start reworking the new handlebars to fit.