First Attempt At A Hybrid..On A Budget!!

[Shane]

This is my starting point..Very Doggy 350 F2. Where do I go from here??
As the fairings basically trashed thought I'd go for an N2 conversion.
On the plus side the motor runs after best part of 9 years in the shed! and it doesn't sound too bad.
Got some more pics to post ..When I can find them.
I'll be interested in any ideas.
Cheers,
Shane.

Attachments:

[chamber66]

I had a budget when I started mine as well ;D ;D ;D

[Fingermaus]

Hi Shane, welcome to the site.

My situation was not unlike yours.With mine, I got it after not being ridden for 12 years ( it just got started every so often)Got it through an MOT as cheap as i could and rode it all last year.Looked scabby but ran ace.I had the mindset that if any major problems occur a summer of riding will show them up, as I go through a hedge upside down.
I'm doing it up on a budget too and trying to send off as little as possible.If you do decide to rebuild on a budget, have a go at doing as much as you can.

Thats the best I can offer, nice find and good luck.

[raven13]

i'm working to a budget as well.
the budget being about 50% of my wages each month,lol.

[Deleted]

good luck shane, a week before i picked my bike up i thought i only needed a decal set,anyway near 18 months later and a lot of money im nearly finished, starting to wonder if i will even ride it incase a bug splats on it.

[captaincaveman]

A budget I had one of them.... For a couple of weeks was thinking maybe £500 getting close to 4 figures now and permanently skint

Budget = no such thing ;D

Dont look to bad through.

[shane2011]

welcome to the site shane, cool name ;D

im doing the same as you but a budget is so hard to keep too.
mines off at the sprayers at the moment will post pics when its down ;D

[adamp2006]

I think like everyone else here you will find that a budget when rebuilding any classic 2 stroke becomes a ver organic thing, it grows and grows, a new bearing here, a new bit there and soon the girlfriend / wife starts complaining lol, atleast your starting with a runner, so glad i didnt try to start mine once i saw the state of the crank bearings lol, will be good to see your progress :-)

[bigal1]

budget lol that will go out the window my old gpz was on a 2k budget but ended up at 4k so best of British with this ..
you never now what you will find when ripping it apart

[Shane]

Hi everyone and thanks for all the welcomes and comments
Now as promised some more pics and a bit of history, by the way I'm trying out the photobucket thing so if it all goes horribly wrong I apologise...Great tutorial by the way Butchers..I think!!

This is the old girl minutes after being dragged out of my shed where she had slumbered for about 9 years after I got it in exchange for an XL250 that was a little bent after an altercation with a transit van. The plan was always to restore but never found the time.

Anyway many years and one divorce later I had to clear the shed and found it at the back. As I remember the clutch was slipping and the power valve wasn't working so I guess I'll have to sort those little problems first

After installing it in its new home I was curious if it would still run. I drained the stale fuel from the tank, checked there was oil at the oil pump and put 1/2 a gallon of fresh petrol in the tank. it fired after 4 kicks and started on the 5th!!! not bad after 9 years ;D ;D ;D
The engine didn't sound bad at all..No nasty rattles so I guess I'll just have a look and probably give it a new set of rings, a good service and see how it goes.
I'm off work for the next couple of days so its time to start stripping it down and see what horrors I find. I'll post more when I've got a bit further in!!
Cheers
Shane

[Shane]

By the way..Loving your work Fingermaus..May need some info on painting..Your speedblock job is first class

[scott]

welcome shane..good luck with it m8 and the budget won't last long with these bikes dude ;D

[marsbar350]

great start there shane
are you restoring the trailer aswell ;D

[Shane]

Thanks Marsbar....Think the trailer may have to wait a while

[marsbar350]

i was close to my original budget on me rebuild
only £2500 over

[Shane]

So does anyone have an opinion on whether I should try to repair my considerably damaged fairing (Its all there just lots of cracks and stuff) try to source another one or go down the N2 route with all that that entails..Clock casings/new clocks, Headlight/clock mounting bracket? Bearing in mind the budget which ain't very big

[raven13]

if your budget is small then repair seems to the order of the day

[Norbo]

HI SHANE AND WELCOME TO THE SITE .
PERSONALY I LIKE THE F2 WITH A FARING THEY RUN FASTER AS WELL AS LOOK BETTER .

[Shane]

Thanks Norbo. Got to say I agree with you. Now here's a question for you all and I'll explain why later. Has anyone got a set of 350R headlights with bracket?? Just a plan I have forming in my mind

[peterlc2]

i have seen a f2 with a 350r top fairing on one was sold on ebay a while back too

[Shane]

Not quite what I was thinking of bud. I've heard about a Harris twin headlight YPVS fairing not far from me. Wondering if the R headlights could be mated to it.

[Norbo]

I have a R faring cradle with headlights in it so they can be fitted but no faring its self .

[Shane]

Hi all back again.. Managed to do a bit this weekend all bodywork off, removed the exhausts and brake calipers (makes it a lot easier to move ) They'll need a good rebuild..Looking forward to removing the bleed nipples..NOT!
The spannies aren't too bad should be good with a clean and polish. It's got a set of Microns on it but one of the cans is well dented.

I'll have to look for another one of them or part with some drinking vouchers for a set of Norbos ;D
Finally got the engine out and on the bench,


Can someone tell me what the best paint is for the barrels and head please?
Also what is the best way to get the paint off the engine casings and what is the best paint for them?
Sorry for all the questions but I'm a bit new to all this
Anyway better get on..I'll post more as we progress
Cheers
Shane.

[rdstars]

For me I did a bit of Wet Blasting to get my cases bare, vapour blasting local was crazy money. For paint I did my all by hand, Acid etch primer & Engine enamel, baked in the oven after each coat. Allot of people used to spray with PJ1 but getting your hands on it is not easy, senard mentioned his barrels had chipped after spraying them.

Budget,,,,,,,, My rebuild I promised myself was going to be £500, it's doubled so far and probably will have a few hundred more on top. Could have got my Powder coating done nearly half the price but decided to go the the best company local ( hopefully they do a good job )

[captaincaveman]

Ive used halfords ( I should be sponsored by them) black gloss from a rattle tin on mt head and barrels. Used this years ago on old motocross bikes without a problem.
Had the cases plastic coated and just used paint striper on the crank cases.

[kennyroberts]

shane, welcome and the best of luck. i cant help but smile at the budget,i agree with Captain caveman, i really thought i was working to one, but it really does eat up more than you expect, but to be honest,the more i do, the fussier i get on the final finish, but all on this forum will be happy to help with any pointers on saving ,I'm about half way through on an F2 rebuild,and it certainly looked a hell of a lot rougher than yours , seems like you have a great start!, i will watch with interest,

[daglad]

ha ha, the good old budget....... bought mine for £1500 and thought i would end up spending about £2500, not even close last purchase pushed me through the 3 grand mark and i need to spend about another 700 on bits, then the two last big lumps of cash £295 for a rear shock and i have put about £600 to one side for a spray job, and even then i am thinking there will be another 500 on things i have forgotten.

However, i wouldn't hesitate to do it again, you can't take it with you

[Shane]

Not much progress this week. Got this weekend earmarked for some more stripping down. Ordered a few bits just waiting for them to come I'm getting the feeling from you lot that this isn't going to be as cheap as I'd hoped but we'll have to see!!
Got a bargain this week but won't know how good it is until it arrives. I'll post some pics when it does and see what you all think.

[Shane]

Things not going to plan Project has had to take a back seat due to impending house move...Thats the bad news..Good news is new house has a workshop outside the back door with electic and lighting as opposed to my garage 100 yards away without either ;D ;D ;D So once in the project should be able to get going!!!!
Now back to my bargain purchase!! I'm quite pleased have to wait to see what you all think

Thats a Harris Performance Fairing!!
I think it'll look quite good with the right paint but time will tell..All I can say is it was a real bargain ;D ;D ;D

Let me know what you think.
Back when I've got sorted
Cheers, Shane

[kennyroberts]

was this the one on ebay, i was thinking of this one, but im finally opting for the 31K bikini look.