1970 T350 Restoration

[mike1161]

Well, guess what showed up yesterday (finally!). See below. I have to do a bit of straightening on the tabs and one bracket on the front strut, since when they took it apart for plating, they left it bent So I'm hoping that bending them back a bit won't make the plating flake off, that would be a bummer. The rear fender was perfect! Hope to work on the front one tonight, so we'll see....

[Suzsmokeyallan]

Looking good Mike, try to be very careful on the tabs as if I need to tell you so, Work on straightening it in stages and if it does crack fill the void with some clearcoat to lock it from flaking off.

[mike1161]

Thanks, good idea on the clearcoat, Allan, I will do that. Got everything on the front fender back together last night, used some stainless steel M4 screws with self locking nuts, they look pretty good, not quite like the original rivets, but not really too noticeable.
OK, well now just waiting on the JEMCOs, and have to hook up fuel lines & put the airbox back in, and it will be done!
Rolled it out of the garage for some photos....

[Suzsmokeyallan]

Looking REALLY REALLY nice, all the hard work did pay off and your polishing on the aluminum pieces looks great. Who did your tank and side cover paint??
I believe we did talk about using the stainless cross head screws to replace the rivets backed up with stainless nylock nuts and washers from underneath.
I also find the button head Allen type screw in stainless look a bit better and dont show up their smaller Allen head fitting as easily as the big cross head fitting. You may want to try those for the fender brace saddles as an alternative.
Besides the list you need to complete, you will have some issues using the front brake like that, as I don't see a cable,,LOLOLOL.

[mike1161]

Well, thanks for saying that, yes I think it's finally all coming together. I sprayed the tank and covers myself, it's one of my favorite parts of doing any restoration, I love to paint! Actually, yes I did use the stainless button head allen type screws for everything on the fender; it seems the profile on those is a bit lower and they do blend in a bit better. Below is a photo, a bit blurry but I think you can see them.
And thanks for the tip on the brake cable, I wondered why the front brake wasn't working!! lol Actually just got that put on this afternoon, too. Boy, will I be happy when those pipes show up, I'm ready to fire this thing up!

[mike1161]

Well, it looks like it's going to be a bit longer before I'm done.... Talked with JEMCO late last week, and they still haven't started my pipes, and they said they were still really backlogged. Since I ordered them over 5 months ago, at this point, I told him to just send back my original pipes, and I'm now going to go for one of 2 options:
1) Try to get a set of good condition original pipes (mine are shot, I just sent them to JEMCO to use for developing a fixture, because he hadn't done any chambers for a T350 yet).
2) More likely, I will order a set of the Higgspeed pipes from the UK. They will end up being about $100 more than the JEMCOs were going to cost. But I guess in the big picture, it's not a big deal, considering all I've already spent on this restoration. I really love the look of the Higgspeeds, and the fact that are made of stainless steel. I hope I like the sound, most of what I've read about these, people love them.
Anyway, if I order the Higgspeeds, its another 6-8 weeks wait for those. I guess this will help me work on my patience.

[Sandman]

I like your solution of the allen heads instead of factory rivets for the front fender. I'm in the same situation with a fender I disassembled to refinish, and was wondering how to re-rivet for the original appearance. Maybe there's a kit to do this yourself, otherwise allen head fasteners it is.

[mike1161]

Look what showed up from UPS yesterday afternoon!
Will get them installed soon, and then try to get it started....

[Suzukidave]

I like your solution of the allen heads instead of factory rivets for the front fender. I'm in the same situation with a fender I disassembled to refinish, and was wondering how to re-rivet for the original appearance. Maybe there's a kit to do this yourself, otherwise allen head fasteners it is.

I was soo happy to find the local Ace Hardware store with a great selection of button head and other Stainless Steel metric screws , bolts and washer and nuts .

[ConnerVT]

Mine even carries JIS.

[mike1161]

Got the Higgspeeds mounted, they look & sound really awesome! Couldn't run it too much, though, had a concern about the oil pump (or lines) & some leaks around the float bowls to take care of first (I have another post over in the "repairs" section). Had to do a bit of adjusting & grinding on the rear pipe mounts, especially the LH side, to get them to fit.... a bit disappointing, but overall I really love the pipes. Also, they are a lot lighter than the stock pipes. Both Higgspeeds together weigh in at a total of 9.75 lbs, while the stockers weigh in at 16 lbs total! Savings = 6.25 lbs; not bad... Will try to get some photos soon.

[mike1161]

Well, got everything working today! Here are a couple of photos, youtube video coming soon!

[Alan H]

That's bloody gorgeous!!!!

[mike1161]

Thanks! I'm excited to be finished Here is a short YouTube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzeMSP8DIbI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mike1161]

Below is a photo of the finished bike, and there are more photos out at this location:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mlw61mlw/s ... 480995713/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;