THE LAST POST

This is my last post before I go into hospital for my operation and I've managed to reach a milestone.  It's out, the engine that is.  I've managed to remove the engine from the frame.  The target was self imposed but I feel it represents a significant point in the project.  I can now concentrate on all the other bits that are missing so that by the time the rebuilt engine returns I can start a full rebuild.  To this end I have just sent of my "WISH LIST No1" to Maude at Scooter Surgery.  I have so far identified about 40 items that I need to source, ranging from a protective cap to an exhaust system.  As Maude pointed out not all bits are available so she has offered to go through my list and identify the bits they can supply.  Hence why my missing parts list is actually a wish list.   I will produce further lists as I discover other missing bits, hopefully not too many more.

Working space has been a bit limited because I still have John's things stored in the garage.  This has meant negotiating four Scoots (used for moving the car), the TF and finally squeezing past the end of the lift bench to get to the far side of the scooter.  I felt that Torsie's wedding bouquet hanging above the scooter would probably bring me luck.

As I had thought, it was necessary to remove the fuel tank prior to removing the engine.  This proved easy and I guess it's one of the advantages of buying a part finished project, someone else had been there before me.  With the tank out of the way and the bottom engine mounting bolt removed (again this was easier than I had expected considering its location under the bike) it was a question of lifting the engine up and twisting it to the off side and with only minimum paint damage the engine was on the bench.

After all the deliberation over the torsion bar and associated tooling it seemed so simple in the end. An anti-climax?  A bit, but a good feeling that the link was uncoupled and the engine was out.  In one way it marked the beginning of "my Scooter", the point where from now on I feel that I can do things my way and remove any traces of the previous owner.

Engine Space

The frame looks good with no obvious signs of excessive corrosion.  My "half empty glass" says may be there's a lot of filler been used but hopefully we shall never know.  A quick inspection of the torsion bar leaver showed that there is a washer missing which prevents the arm moving back and forth across the frame.  There is also a joint protection sealing ring and two end caps missing.  So what's new?




 

Frame Serial Number

With the engine removed the Scooter looked strangely empty but it does allow easy access to the frame number.  I had tried previously to photograph it for my records but it had proved difficult.  It's situated on the offside of the rear vertical tube  Although I had read this before it was good to finally have photographic evidence that the number ties up with the log book.  This is the only justification of spending all the money on rebuilding the original engine.  (apart from the fact that the other one has a broken engine mounting lug)

Engine Serial Number

 With the damaged engine out I took a series of pictures just to record what it was.  I will ask Patrick if he can recognise the model.  It looks like an LD 125 but I have no idea of the date.

These shows the broken lug and damaged casting to the flywheel cowling mount.  Perhaps they were done at the same time removing the link pin.

This is the kick start and gear change leaver.  Patrick had seen pictures of this and said he was confused by the configuration.  It would be just my luck it it was a rare example and it had a damaged lug.
I actually not worried because I have no intention of using it and it it sells for a pint of beer it will be the least of my worries.






So here I am waiting for my operation and having no real idea of when I will be able to get back to the project.  It will give me time to reflect on how to play the next phase.  I have started to think that I may strip everything down to make any alterations necessary.  I have noticed a number of thin steel clips that are welded to the frame that have broken.  These would be good to replace as they are involved in securing such things as the rubber seal that protects the side panels where they meet the frame.  If I'm to do this I think I will have to first build up the complete scooter to ensure that I miss nothing and that I have all the bits available for assembly post painting.  I will need time to think about just how far I go.  Watch this space.

AN END TO THE TORSION BAR

I'm afraid it's back to the torsion bar again, but take heart it should be the last entry on the subject for some time.

Having looked at three different tools for releasing the tension on the torsion bar I found myself reconsidering the "bodge clamp method".  The more I thought of it the more I liked it.  It was simple, quick and above all didn't involve me having to make a special tool.  The draw back was that i didn't have a clamp that was large enough and that would fit in the space available.  I would have to buy one (you can never have too many clamps I say).  Despite not finding one in the Tillgear catalog I drove over to Cuffley to see what they had available.  Much to my delight they had one which I thought would do the job.  I was so excited I bought a couple of files just in case I had to revert to making a tool.

As with the "bodge" method I used wood blocks to provide the pressure points.  I then realised that I didn't know what pressure to apply to overcome the torsion bar force.  I made a guess, i.e. I tightened the clamp. Hoping this might be right I started to drift the link pin through the engine mount.  It wasn't long before I noticed that the washers either side of the link were missing.  this enabled the link to move between the engine lugs.  Having driven the link pin back I was able to fit a spacer to replace the missing washer.  Just another mystery, why weren't they fitted during assembly?

With the spacer fitted I could now drift the link pin fully out.  At the Lambretta Club forum there a number of references to the dire consequences of not retaining the needle roller bearings during the removal of the pin.  I cut a short length of tube to replace the pin as I drove it out so at to retain the bearings.  I can't remember exactly when the glued lug fell off but needless to say it did not survive the removal of the pin.  It wasn't even glued over the full face of the break!

With the pin removed and the clamp released there was so little misalignment that I suspect I was overloading things.  Thinking about now (I should have done this earlier) the fact that the rear bump stop was missing had probably already released the tension.   
No bump stop, Why? 

The good news is that the link been uncoupled and the torsion bar unloaded.  As they say, "end of story".

There still remains a mystery!  Why weren't there any needle roller bearing in the link?  It is fitted with a plain bronze bearing.  It's a good fit on the pin and so should work but is it correct?  I will have to take advice.

It now remains to remove the engine from the frame.  I think I have to remove the fuel tank if I'm going to leave the barrel and head in place, more fun.  It would be nice if I can do this before I go into hospital because it will be some time before I will be allowed to start work again after the operation.

WAS I CONNED?

You know how it is when you see something and you turn a blind eye?  I've been experiencing this for a while now.  Because I have been spending so much time working on the engine and torsion bar link I have become very familiar with the parts.  Some time ago I, whilst working on the engine flange for the MK3 tool, I noticed what I thought was a casting mark.  The sort of flash produced when the mounds don't quite line up.  It was only small and I didn't take much notice of it at first.  As time went by I started looking more closely and discovered what I thought was signs of a repair.  This was the moment when I turned my blind eye.  

I couldn't help thinking about it because if it was in fact a repair it could right off the engine as a viable resale option.  I had hoped to put it on Ebay to recover some of the costs for the rebuild of the other engine.

My worst fears were realised later when the mounting lug fell off!  Oh bugger!!

Broken engine lug

What I had thought a molding line was actually a line of "glue".  I can only guess that it is some sort of "metal repair adhesive".  How could anyone actually think that a stressed part would survive after being glued together? It was a good job that I didn't go ahead with the MK3 tool because it relied on this lug to provide the engine clamp point.

When I bought the scooter Mark seemed a nice guy who had put in a lot of work on the bike with the intention of showing it.  I wouldn't have expected him necessarily to have said anything about the repair but it would have been nice.  Perhaps I'm upset because I miss judged him, my error.  I thought he was a nice guy with high standards.  I've been finding other things that are not quite right, this is just another one.  I ask myself, is there a reason why he has never replied to my Emails?  Was I conned?

So what to do now.  I can only press on and count my blessings that I don't actually need this engine.  I just hope that Patrick from Scooter Surgery doesn't find similar things on the unit he is rebuilding for me.  I did see a crankcase for sale on Ebay some time back for £30 odd so it might be possible to do something if I really have to.

Down, but not out -  yet.

IS IT WORTH THE EFFORT?

No, I haven't given up.  I've been busy on other things and nothing worth reporting has happened.  Well things have happened, but like everyone else reporting successes are more fun.  I can't wait to have one.

I have spent a lot of spare time researching unloading the torsion bar ready for engine removal.  I have had a lot of help from the Lambretta Club members especially "modelman093" who sent me pictures of his reassembly tool. 

Tool and collar

HOW IT WORKS
When reassembling the torsion bar link to the engine the hole in the link does not align with the holes in the engine.  
The link is positioned  between the two engine mount lugs. The tool is inserted from one side of the engine until the first shoulder buts up against the link . The off set pin on the tool is now engaged in the collar retaining the needle roller bearings.  The tool is rotated until the link and engine holes align.  The link pin is then driven through the assembly pushing the collar and tool out as it does so.  Neat?
I still think that's the easy bit to understand.  What I have been spending my time on is a tool to take the tension out of the torsion bar and thus protect the needle rollers.








To satisfy my need to come up with a great engineering solution I set about mocking up a tool.  I really went to town using wood rather than my usual cardboard, this was going to be good.  I had only just finished the first attempt when I thought of a better way.  This lead on to a third attempt, each one becoming more complex.

Marks 1, 2,and 3

MARK 1
The first one was intended to pull the top of the torsion bar arm forward reacting against the lower end of the arm.  A long leaver would have run forward below the rear apron mount.  I intended to  fit a bolt to the end of the leaver so that I could make fine adjustments.  
I discarded this design because it produced too much twist in the vertical section.

MARK 2
Similar to MK1 but this time the leaver runs towards the rear.  In this configuration it was possible to eliminate the twisting when under load.  I felt that I could make the forward reaction point sufficiently strong by adding bracing.
I discarded this design because it relied on the leaver at the rear being lifted and there was a possibility that it could turn the bike over.  Also fine adjustment might be diffiicullt.



MARK 3
I felt that a sort of small "G" clamp might be a better solution.  I could get the reaction where I wanted it and have control over the force applied.  I needed to apply the force between the engine and the top of the torsion arm.  My difficulty was to find somewhere on the engine where I could attach one end of the device.  I finally settled on flange surrounding the engine link pin.  This is some 5mm deep and providing I prevented the clamp slipping off I felt it would work.
 
At the end of this I asked myself did I really want to spend a couple of days making this tool when it appeared that it was possible to do the job with a large "G" clamp.