Petrol head thread!!!

[billy rubin]

the power wagons are quite valuable. my favorite truck was the somewhat earlier weapons carriers, but the power wagons are pretty nice.

the 441 victor is another cult machine. restored and original they sell for about $4700. runners can be found for $3500 occasionally. i have one that i dont ride because i cant start the damn thing.

NSUs themselves are a cult machine. i know of only one, a sifecar rig in california

[Icarus]

I sold a bunch of NSU Quickly (their model designation) mopeds in the  college town of Gainesville Florida.  They were 49 cc bikes that routinely blew off Cushmans at traffic light drags.. That was back in the dark ages. The little Quickly could still hold it's own as a town scooter. 

But what the hell, all the powered little bikes are now electric. They are quiet and they do not make smoke out the exhaust pipe.  They do make smoke when recharging batteries and burning down garages and apartment buildings.

I have a city with miles of paved bicycle and walking/running paths One of those runs along the side of my front yard. I see quite few young dudes riding a one wheeled electric skateboard sort of thing.  They go fast as a bandit and the riders appear to be in total control. Amazing!  I am too damned old to understand vehicles of that sort.

The Power wagons have six cylinder flathead engines that are believed to be most reliable.  The ultra motivated Power Wagon guys are likely to replace the flathead with a Cummins diesel. There are listings on the internet that offer refurbished diesel powered ones of those dinosaurs for incredible prices  like 75 to 100K. Sheesh! Most of the stock, operable ones, are priced in ranges of 15 to 40K if they are reasonably rust free and intact. There are wicked big winches on all of them. To pull them out of the mud I suppose.  I have zero interest in beasts of that sort.

There ought to be a LSR class for stock power wagons..........maybe 48 MPH ?

 

[Dark Lightning]

I sold a bunch of NSU Quickly (their model designation) mopeds in the  college town of Gainesville Florida.  They were 49 cc bikes that routinely blew off Cushmans at traffic light drags.. That was back in the dark ages. The little Quickly could still hold it's own as a town scooter. 

But what the hell, all the powered little bikes are now electric. They are quiet and they do not make smoke out the exhaust pipe.  They do make smoke when recharging batteries and burning down garages and apartment buildings.

I have a city with miles of paved bicycle and walking/running paths One of those runs along the side of my front yard. I see quite few young dudes riding a one wheeled electric skateboard sort of thing.  They go fast as a bandit and the riders appear to be in total control. Amazing!  I am too damned old to understand vehicles of that sort.

The Power wagons have six cylinder flathead engines that are believed to be most reliable.  The ultra motivated Power Wagon guys are likely to replace the flathead with a Cummins diesel. There are listings on the internet that offer refurbished diesel powered ones of those dinosaurs for incredible prices  like 75 to 100K. Sheesh! Most of the stock, operable ones, are priced in ranges of 15 to 40K if they are reasonably rust free and intact. There are wicked big winches on all of them. To pull them out of the mud I suppose.  I have zero interest in beasts of that sort.

There ought to be a LSR class for stock power wagons..........maybe 48 MPH ?

 

Power wagons could climb trees if they had traction, and I guess with a winch they wouldn't need traction.

[billy rubin]

Power wagons could climb trees if they had traction, and I guess with a winch they wouldn't need traction.

[billy rubin]

[Icarus]

Billy, to hell with those dirt buggys. We need two of these.....one for you and one for me. Maybe three of 'em so that Tank could have one too. It ain't a F1 but he/we could pretend.

What sort of engine do you suppose that is? I don't think that it is a Guzzi,Indian, Harley, or Ducati.

[billy rubin]

shit fire i would cut flesh for one of those. remember the three wheel morgans?  i last saw one of those for sale for thirty grand when thirty grand was more than it sounds like now. they ran with JAP V twins when i was looking at them.

if we are going to try to stay with personal automobiles for transportation--which i think is a mistake-- then these are the way to go

[billy rubin]

icarus, here's what somebody just said about TR5Ts acros the  pond at an autojumble

shepton mallet? dunno where that is

They are chromed but the chrome is too far gone. T140 panels with the square hole but i will be welding the hole up and removing the chrome then paint black with the new script. I also have to drill for the ignition switch but at £10 a pair i had to buy them. The new Michelin tube at £5 was good and its going on the front when i fit my replacement wheel with the stainless spokes and extended brake arms.
There were a lot of parts there this time for all makes. Two TR5Ts in one stall at £4200 and £4700 which seemed low priced. Needing a fair bit of work but most of these sell at near £7000 when built

4200 quid is currently 5200 dollars

these are brit prices, though. british machines are much cheaper outside britain.

[Icarus]

Thanks for the TR5 notations. 

I have speculated about the repair costs for the one I have in mind. Depends on how well the engine has been maintained and used.  I am thinking wheel bearings, fork head bearings, clutch springs and disks, tank repairs, all kinds of cleaning supplies (carb cleaners and such) and then the several things that I am not thinking of at the moment..........ring and valve job? Oh yeak rebuild the forks and the rear shocks and so on. I can do all the labor, with some degree of passion. I sold every damned piece of my headwork business, even little stuff like spring compressors.

New tires and tubes will wreck $250 or more....at least I have a pair of tire spoons in my toolbox. and the list goes on.  I will probably do the restore project in spite of my better judgement.

[billy rubin]

maybe just start out with an oily-rag resto?

get it running and then take renovation one subsystem at a time

if you set out to do it all at once it will take forever

[Icarus]

Oh no I would not even think of doing it all at once. I am a retired old dude who has nothing else to do other than wait for the grim reaper. I will take my sweet time while tinkering with this project.

In my youth I earned the admirable salary of 35 cents per hour. Later, much later, I was able to be paid as much as six dollars per hour for my professional engineering services. WHoopeee! I was in the big money.  Now if I earn a dollar per hour while messing with a motorcycle that I like, then all is good. No indeed I will not set out to do a concours-de-elegance sort of restoration.

But I do wonder if I could hope to buy a head gasket for a 1973 motorcycle.  If not, perish the thought, I do know how to anneal copper sheet.  I will have to consult my local dealers in order to find sticky stuff like Hondaseal or Yamaseal for places where the British kraft paper gaskets used to be.

[billy rubin]

you can buy every gasket,  nut, bolt, seal, and lockwasher for that machine. pistons, rings, valves, springs, shocks, chains, light bulbs, all of it.

the bad days of the 80s and 90s are over, and these things have gone from being out of date to being classic

https://steadfastcycles.com/products/triumph-500-t-100-unit-engine-gasket-set-kit-63-64-65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74?_pos=6&_sid=728a26590&_ss=r

the new gaskets and sealants are better than when the machine was built. its possible to put them together now so that they dont leak oil.

not mine, but i dont mind

[Icarus]

clever toys  with electric drills.......

[billy rubin]

my contribution

the inimitable colin furze

[billy rubin]

i waited all the way through for the button in the shifter lever