My latest restoration project

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Greynomad
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Location: Rutherglen, Vic.

My latest restoration project

Post by Greynomad »

Last year, while visiting friends in the Western District of Victoria, we went shopping with them.
Passing a bric-a-brac shop, we spotted an old kiddie's scooter in the window. It looked very neglected & sad, so we popped in for a better look, and discovered that not only was the shop-owner an old school-friend of our friend's wife, but the scooter had belonged to the father of another schoolmate, and had been passed down through three generations, but the schoolmate's daughter had never married. When she passed away recently, the shop-owner did the house clearance for the surviving rellies, and put a lot of their stuff on sale in his shop on a 50/50 commission basis.
The scooter is over 100 years old! Apparently it was found leaning against the back wall of a shed, and had been out in the weather for an estimated 40 years! :(
As I had a similar scooter when I was a young child, we bought it, and I have restored it.
After I carefully disassembled it, we had all components powder-coated, and I then reassembled it... I even replaced the leather brake lining!
Wotcher think?
Scooter - original condition.jpeg
This is the condition when we found it.

The original handlebars had, at some stage, been replaced with a piece of broomstick.
I turned a new one with shaped handgrips.
I think they're pretty close to what I remember of mine.
After taking the pic below, I painted the handlebars to match the red frame.
Scooter.jpg
How it looked in near-final assembly.
Scooter handlebars.JPG
Detail of the new handlebars.
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Regards & God bless,
Ray
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"Insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
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"I refuse to drink water, because of the disgusting things fish do in it"
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Shirley
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Re: My latest restoration project

Post by Shirley »

Looks really good Ray, guess it brings back happy memories to you both.
Shirley & Bruce.
Shirley
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Joined: Sat Dec 29, 2012 4:06 pm
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Re: My latest restoration project

Post by Shirley »

Looks really good Ray, guess it brings back happy memories to you both.
Shirley & Bruce.
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Vik351
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Location: Adelaide SA

Re: My latest restoration project

Post by Vik351 »

Here is mine, the Premier version :lol: :D :P

Image

Had one in Nu Zulond as a tacker, no wonder my right knee is rooter now, kickin up dem hills ...

vik...
Merk 4x4 VF30 519 CDI 2020 LWB V6TD 3 ltr 6 wheeler ,Tenorite Grey ... yep, it's not white ...!!! 8-)
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Grandad
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Location: Bendigo

Re: My latest restoration project

Post by Grandad »

Well done Ray. Did you do anything about the rust prior to sending it to the powder coaters? Or did their sandblasting alone work?
Jim
There Comes a time in life, when you must walk away from all drama and the people who create it
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SteveW
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Re: My latest restoration project

Post by SteveW »

The trail angle looks but I'd give it a bit more rake! Would help with lean around corners.
Steve Williams
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Every absurdity has a champion to defend it.
Oliver Goldsmith. 1728 -1774
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Greynomad
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Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:16 pm
Location: Rutherglen, Vic.

Re: My latest restoration project

Post by Greynomad »

Jim,
It was handed to the powder coater exactly as photographed!
On the recommendation of a friend I did test-try soaking a couple of smaller parts in a molasses solution, without success.

Steve,
No way I’m messing with the steering!
It worked for me, and thousands of baby-boomer kids.
As Ron Tauranac (Jack Brabham’s mechanic) once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” 👍😁

Vik,
I can see yours also has the standard kickstand/ leather brake.
But with those mudguards in place, how did you apply the ‘emergency brake’? (Shoe on the back tyre) 😜
Regards & God bless,
Ray
--
"Insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
Isaac Asimov, "The Last Question"

"I refuse to drink water, because of the disgusting things fish do in it"
W.C.Fields
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BruceS
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Re: My latest restoration project

Post by BruceS »

On the other hand as Mark Webber used to say... "if it ain't broke I haven't driven it yet!"
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BruceS
Mannum, SA

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Greynomad
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Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 4:16 pm
Location: Rutherglen, Vic.

Re: My latest restoration project

Post by Greynomad »

The only thing missing from a complete restoration is pinstripes on the sides of the steering column. (Mine had them.)
No-one around advertising such a service, and we’ve already spent enough money on it.
Spent more on powder coating than we did buying the scooter! 😳🙄
Regards & God bless,
Ray
--
"Insufficient data for a meaningful answer."
Isaac Asimov, "The Last Question"

"I refuse to drink water, because of the disgusting things fish do in it"
W.C.Fields
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Vik351
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Location: Adelaide SA

Re: My latest restoration project

Post by Vik351 »

Greynomad wrote: Wed May 08, 2019 4:47 pm Jim,
It was handed to the powder coater exactly as photographed!
On the recommendation of a friend I did test-try soaking a couple of smaller parts in a molasses solution, without success.

Steve,
No way I’m messing with the steering!
It worked for me, and thousands of baby-boomer kids.
As Ron Tauranac (Jack Brabham’s mechanic) once said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” 👍😁

Vik,
I can see yours also has the standard kickstand/ leather brake.
But with those mudguards in place, how did you apply the ‘emergency brake’? (Shoe on the back tyre) 😜
At Cyclops they wer'nt one eyed about the way they went about stuff...!!! spot the diff... :lol: ;)

Image

Luxo barge scooter too...

vik... 8-)
Merk 4x4 VF30 519 CDI 2020 LWB V6TD 3 ltr 6 wheeler ,Tenorite Grey ... yep, it's not white ...!!! 8-)
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