New Resto: 1965 CA77 Winter Project
Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2018 8:43 pm
Thought I would document my resto of my 1965 CA77, partially for myself to keep me motivated.
I usually pick a project in the summer for resto to keep me occupied on the cold nights, after work. Last year was a 2006 Kawasaki KLX250S, which I still have. The year before was a Polaris 4 wheeler.
This is by far my oldest and most ambitious to date. Picked the bike up locally for a decent price, not running. Literal barn find. But looked fairly complete (until I started working through the parts list.
Spent a night rebuilding carb, timing, points and valve gaps. Got it running, but has severe blowby from the crank case (someone actually put a vent valve in the oil filler top, which I figured there was an issue). Compression was 144 left, 146 right. Got it running but would surge and ran like crap.
So I had tried a leakdown test but not sure if I was doing it right, and according to my readings, failed miserably. So was looking at a rebuild, until a newer motor fell in to my lap.
Story goes husband and wife bought 2 Dreams in 1966, she wrecked hers and never road again. Husband parked his. Bikes sat for next 40+ years. One bike only had 260 miles on it when they both sold in an estate auction. I was told the motor I got was off the husbands. Nice story, no idea if true. So I snagged it for a good price.
Put the new motor in, and did all necessary adjustments and is runs like a champ! So now comes the tear down. Have been going through the parts list and ordered missing odds and ends. David Silver's warehouse is just a few miles down the road from me, and I just placed and order for a few hundred $. Also have been on eBay and Ohio cycle's site.
I plan on blasting and repainting white. Already has a white and black seat just recovered. I soaked the tank in vinegar and got flakes of rust out. Rebuild kits here for petcock. My problem is attention to detail, and if I don't have the exact part it drives me crazy. OCD when it comes to my projects.
Well, I have 2 service manuals, tools, a garage and looks like I will be busy this winter. May take me longer. I will post picks as I progress, and will probably ask lots of questions. This is a neat little bike that was actually 1 year old when I was born
Now if I can figure out how to post pics.
I usually pick a project in the summer for resto to keep me occupied on the cold nights, after work. Last year was a 2006 Kawasaki KLX250S, which I still have. The year before was a Polaris 4 wheeler.
This is by far my oldest and most ambitious to date. Picked the bike up locally for a decent price, not running. Literal barn find. But looked fairly complete (until I started working through the parts list.
Spent a night rebuilding carb, timing, points and valve gaps. Got it running, but has severe blowby from the crank case (someone actually put a vent valve in the oil filler top, which I figured there was an issue). Compression was 144 left, 146 right. Got it running but would surge and ran like crap.
So I had tried a leakdown test but not sure if I was doing it right, and according to my readings, failed miserably. So was looking at a rebuild, until a newer motor fell in to my lap.
Story goes husband and wife bought 2 Dreams in 1966, she wrecked hers and never road again. Husband parked his. Bikes sat for next 40+ years. One bike only had 260 miles on it when they both sold in an estate auction. I was told the motor I got was off the husbands. Nice story, no idea if true. So I snagged it for a good price.
Put the new motor in, and did all necessary adjustments and is runs like a champ! So now comes the tear down. Have been going through the parts list and ordered missing odds and ends. David Silver's warehouse is just a few miles down the road from me, and I just placed and order for a few hundred $. Also have been on eBay and Ohio cycle's site.
I plan on blasting and repainting white. Already has a white and black seat just recovered. I soaked the tank in vinegar and got flakes of rust out. Rebuild kits here for petcock. My problem is attention to detail, and if I don't have the exact part it drives me crazy. OCD when it comes to my projects.
Well, I have 2 service manuals, tools, a garage and looks like I will be busy this winter. May take me longer. I will post picks as I progress, and will probably ask lots of questions. This is a neat little bike that was actually 1 year old when I was born
Now if I can figure out how to post pics.