New Resto: 1965 CA77 Winter Project

[qwispichkn]

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.

[G-Man]

Excellent project and great pictures. Will look out for further updates. On the OCD front, you'll find that white bikes always had metal rear shock top covers...... :-)

G

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.

[qwispichkn]

Thanks for the info. As you can see, the front fender needs some attention. I have not done body work, but will give it a shot.

[Jims65CA77]

Looks like a great project!! Good Luck with it! Thanks for the pictures.

[qwispichkn]

Decided to go with a solo seat for a more classic look. Will be using a Lepera L-109 skirted solo. Found plans for the mount on this forum (thanks to whoever did those). Now off to be powder coated. Will post pics when completed. Still working on tear down.

[qwispichkn]

Solo seat mount is done and powder coated. Went with LePera L109 skirted solo. Also did some sanding/buffing the stator cover to get back in to it. Plan on pulling the motor and continuing tear down this week. Hoping to get parts to shop for blasting and painting soon.

[qwispichkn]

Got the engine out tonight. Starter clutch needs rebuilt, but other than that, I'm going to soda blast the engine and repaint the side cases.