C95 project

[Geoff Hastings]

As there is a lack of projects being posted here I’ll chip in with my latest project. I bought it as a pile of bits but from the photo I could see it was pretty complete.
I was in the process of rebuilding a triumph for a friend when it turned up so progress will be intermittent but, in between work on the triumph I’ve stripped and rebuilt the engine. It was locked up but had the carb had been left on and stored in the dry so I was hopeful that pouring some penetrating oil down the bores would free it off. After a couple of days I put a spanner on the crank and it released it’s grip. Once stripped the bores weren’t too bad and a light hone and some new rings would be sufficient. The valves were passed their best so a set were sourced from Thailand but the rest of the engine was ok. The only other problem was the kick start pawl was bent, possibly by someone trying to free off the engine. I did find one on the net but the asking price was crazy so I heated it up and tweaked it straight. I might regret that if it snaps but figured I’d be using the starter motor most so took the chance. The engine is now finished and sitting on the shelf while a bit more of the Triumph has turned up and needs my attention.

[brewsky]

Looking good!

Keep the photos coming as it progresses, it's motivational!

[Geoff Hastings]

A couple more pics of the restoration. I used the home chroming kit to sort the rusty gear lever out and the bike will need a few more parts re-chromed. This is absolutely the wrong way to go about chrome plating at home. The actual plating process takes about 10-15 minutes but the prep takes a long time especially if the parts are very pitted. Also, the chemicals need to be laid in a logical sequence and up to temperature. If I was sensible, I would gather all the parts that need plating, spend a day preparing them and get the electrolyte up to temperature and then do them together but I don’t.I tend to do them as and when I come across them in my pile of bits. The horn was not working but a strip down and cleaning the contacts brought it back to life.

[rpr851r]

Quite a transformation on the brake lever! Well done.

[Geoff Hastings]

As I’m still waiting for the triumph parts to arrive I’ve got on with restoring some of the small boring bits on the C95. The quick route would be send them off for blasting but a few hours with the rotary wire brush produces a reasonable result. Original footrest rubbers were available for £25, very similar cg125 Honda ones were available for £8, sorry guys but the difference was not worth the extra money.

[Geoff Hastings]

A few more parts refurbed, the chain guard took some work due to the corrosion and a hole that I think the centre stand had battered its way through. I cut the worst of the damage away and then fabricated a section to weld in. A bit of filler and some primer and it can sit with the other refurbed parts till I’m ready to start the rest of the bike.

Mean while, I’ve just dug out the loom and realised this is probably why the bike was taken off the road in 1978, it’s had a bit of a burn out right back to the fuse. I’ll be interested to see what, if any sort of fuse they’ve used.

[Geoff Hastings]

Wiring loom sorted, luckily only four wires were damaged and I had the right colours available. It had a 25amp fuse fitted which strangely hadn’t blown so perhaps this had been fitted after the burn out.