The Details

It is the little weird things that make me like this car every time I see it. After doing a mockup of the new taillight lenses I remembered the bulbs inside were patterned. I was able to get the details with the new camera. The bulb still works so I am just going to leave it.

Tail lights

There is still a couple of feet of snow on the ground, but I have been itching to get working on the car again. I purchased some taillight lenses from Microcarlot.  I had seen the lenses on some cars down at the World Meet and they looked to be pretty good. The whole lens is plastic, compared to the original, which had a lower glass reflector. The lens is also a bit thicker, so maybe it won't melt like the old ones. Below are the new and old lenses side-by-side. The rubber gasket is not available, so I will probably use the old cracked ones for now.

 

Winter Stall

I had the car running and driving before the snow fell. Now the car is stored away it its metal tomb. I think the clutch was slipping so I am going to try to get it into the shop and replace it. 

Coming together

It is nice when there are more empty bag parts than full ones. I am almost able to mount the transmission to the transaxle. Then I will be able to put the whole assembly in the car and get it on its wheels. Speaking of wheels I honed all of the brake cylinders and the master cylinder and have rebuilt the front left brake cylinder. I mounted it along with the brakes and the tire and wheel for a test fit. It is going to be tricky because I put the 8 brake drums in a pile along with the 16 brake shoes and picked out the best ones. I tried to get the same thickness brake shoes mounted, but it is rubbing a bit.

The bare transaxle waiting for the transmission

Brake cylinder in the top center, the brake shoes on the left and right sides

The front left wheel mounted

Garage Night

I sent up the bat signal for people to help me put the car back on 4 wheels and they came. After a night of talking and drinking a little bit got done, but no rolling car. Everyone has volunteered to come back and help when that time comes.

What was done:  Seals were replaced in the transmission. Brake hubs were installed on the rear axles.

Micros on Route 66

A group is planning on driving their microcars (under 500cc) from the Santa Monica Pier to the World Microcar Meet in Chicago. They have set up a Facebook page so that anyone can follow them on their journey.

Final Stretch

The car still doesn't look like much. But I have been getting a lot of things done to get the Vespa 400 back on the road for the World Microcar Meet. I haven't cut any corners in the restoration, but I have put off many things at this point in hopes of having a running and driving car this summer. The biggest item is no paint or bodywork.

The engine is finished, new pistons have been installed, the generator has been rebuilt and I put new bearings and seals in the fan cover. Oddly, the bearings in the fan are lubricated by oil in the shaft and has to be checked so the bearings don't become dry and fail.

This week has also been a lot of painting little bits that I haven't even been thinking of at all. Like the metal tube that runs from the oil tank to the gas tank. I have also cleaned and painted the axle shafts and plan on replacing the bearings tomorrow.