For those of you interested in Paul Miller's bodywork I got a GT750M Ebay "show quality" body set from him for $899 and I have to say I'm pretty happy. Is it perfect? no, there are some imperfections but you really have to look to find them. One of the radiator clips was broken on arrival but he says he'll send me another one(and I'm sure he will). You'll find the odd imperfection in terms of a pit or an unfilled scratch but it's very minor. It included a new fuel cap, emblems, keys and radiator door. I'm very happy overall. It's certainly something I couldn't have done on my own to this level of finish and probably better than what was stock. For the price it seems to be well worth it. He also threw in a NOS petcock free of charge. I have to say I've had very good luck getting stuff from him over the years.
Last edited by markj on Sun Dec 11, 2016 4:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
+1 on your assesment. Rather nice but not 100% perfect. Good value for the money, especially when you consider how hard it is to find good restorable parts.
I have two of his body sets. Here is one — sorry no pic of the other one until spring.
BAS (Bike Acquisition Syndrome) - too many bikes but have room for more
I bought a set for my T500M from Paul, very happy with the quality. The tank arrived with some dents in the top due to packaging. Paul replaced it with no fuss. Great service.
I'm interested in finding out. Paul says it's been clear coated in lacquer....I asked him if he was sure of that since lacquer and gas don't mix and he said yes, lacquer. It was the reason I didn't buy one from him. If they do stand up to gas, I may get one.
Smoketriples
current stable:
'75 Zooki GT750 (rider)
smoketriples wrote:I'm interested in finding out. Paul says it's been clear coated in lacquer....I asked him if he was sure of that since lacquer and gas don't mix and he said yes, lacquer. It was the reason I didn't buy one from him. If they do stand up to gas, I may get one.
Interesting. I'd just assume it was urethane all the way. I know the originals were lacquer so I'd imagine these would hold up about the same. We'll see. I'm sure going to be careful though.
I'm not at all confident that Paul is correct when he says lacquer, especially when he quotes house of kolor base coats. He's an old timer like a lot of us and 'lacquer clear coats' used to be the bees knees in custom paint.
Smoketriples
current stable:
'75 Zooki GT750 (rider)
smoketriples wrote:I'm not at all confident that Paul is correct when he says lacquer, especially when he quotes house of kolor base coats. He's an old timer like a lot of us and 'lacquer clear coats' used to be the bees knees in custom paint.
You may be very right about that. I hope so. It definitely doesn't have that same hard feel to it that lacquer has.
I almost bought the tank you have now. Paul was just selling the tank for at least a month, between the claimed lacquer and lack of matching side covers I passed on it.
Depending on how your's work out I may get the next set, or may take mine to a local painter.
Smoketriples
current stable:
'75 Zooki GT750 (rider)
You can order the exact color online....I'd think with prep yourself you could save a bit and get good results with a local shop and I did think of that too. I'm very happy though and don't have the time to put into the prep or I'd have given it a go myself.
When you think of it - I got new emblems, new cap(or re-chromed I can't tell), key and radiator door included(he threw in the NOS petcock just as a perk and I do appreciate that). You can pay $150+ on a rough tank and panels with none of that other stuff that might require a lot of body work. So in the end I do think it's pretty good deal when you factor all that stuff in. I have a buddy who had his triumph tiger tank painted and it cost over a grand just for the the repaint. Like I said it's not 100% perfect but it's really, really nice. He does advertise as show quality and certainly I wouldn't hesitate to put on a bike that was competing for a trophy of some sort. Hopefully mine will sometime ; )
smoketriples wrote:I might have if the side covers had been with, but was up there over a month without. Dunno. I may just spray myself too.
Cool - share pics if you do. I plan to do it sometime as I have a few more spares but just no time. I definitely want to try my hand at it sometime though. I think it would be very satisfying....or frustrating..lol.
I purchased a completely restored T305 from him a few years back. The inside of the tank had been sealed and whatever was used was now peeling off and floating around inside the tank. The petcock leaked and the paint dissolved from gasoline along the bottom of the tank. There were many other issues with the "show" quality restoration, I took it back to him and got my money back.