Reluctant Project - Cooley Barn Find

[chuck hahn]

Russ..seeing that I have almost everything the bike needs as far as parts goes, and we can replace the dash lens, the most expensive things would be the mirrors and paint. He may leave the exhaust as is if its good enough for now.

The basis is to get it all mechanically sound and do the few cosmetic things as money and parts allow. I am giving him whats in the storage boxes, so thats not an out of pocket expense for him. The stuff is just taking up space anyways!!!

[Gregory]

The kerker pipe is a little rough looking, but I actually like it better than the V&H drag pipe that is on my skunk, and it is fairly new. (I had a kerker back in the 80's)

... so it may make sense to swap them and try to figure out how to paint the kerker black for my skunk.

[russr33]

Russ..seeing that I have almost everything the bike needs as far as parts goes, and we can replace the dash lens, the most expensive things would be the mirrors and paint. He may leave the exhaust as is if its good enough for now.

The basis is to get it all mechanically sound and do the few cosmetic things as money and parts allow. I am giving him whats in the storage boxes, so thats not an out of pocket expense for him. The stuff is just taking up space anyways!!!

That is damn nice of you Chuck; nice job!

[steveb922]

We all have different circumstances and requirements, but, to answer your original question - I would keep that one (given the necessary storage facilities) and treat it as a long-term project.

With friends like Chuck to help, it might not be quite so long-term.

[Gregory]

Chuck is a good egg... so I'm sure we can work something out that benefits us both.

I spent all day today getting the title stuff done... long story of several snafus but finally got through the bull and misinformed government people. In the end, it was only $155 total for all the bonded title stuff. I am glad it is done.

[chuck hahn]

Gregory brought the bike up to me to see if it was worthy of screwing with. Here is what i know for certain...

All the lights and gauges work ( clock, oil temp, all dash lights, etc etc ) in spite of the dash glass being shattered. Will have to repaint them all once I get into rehabbing the cluster.

The left side engine mount cavity where the tear drop goes up in has been snapped but we have the piece and,it can easily be rewelded on..no big deal.

The stator cover is split open but there is no damage to the rotor....far as i can tell. Will know more when i actually take it off.

Now here is the real kicker!! I wrapped then stator cover with duct tape to patch the hole so I could at least get oil in to see if it was a runner. So after some fiddling to get the ignition out so I could use a screw driver as a key ( we dont have keys for it yet ) and using a car battery for power....she has fired up and not one suspicious sound from the engine and absolutely NO SMOKING!!!! So, heres some not so flattering pics and a link to a video of it running. Click on the bottom pic ( linked ) and it will rediredt to the video.








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[Gregory]

You are the miracle man chuck, way to go!!!

[chuck hahn]

OH...This ones gonna require MANY MANY more miracles before its over!!!! Now that its verified a solid engine, the next step is disassembly down to the frame and start the reconditioning process.

Gotta go get sand paper, laquer thinner, paint and other supplies. Greg, download the pics into an album somewhere for your records.

[Ghostgs1]

Very creative Chuck/Greg. I never would have thought of the duct tape stator cover. This looks like a pretty big project, but I'm sure you can do it, good luck. Ray

[Frank Z.]

Nice start guys. Good to see another S model revived, and glad those junk carbs have a new home.

[Stahlgrau333]

Chuck, between the Cooley, my 550, and some of the other crap we've got laying around the shop, we should name it "Resurrection".

[chuck hahn]

As of 7:12 PM Oklahgoma time she is fully disassembled. Now its start sanding and getting the chassis redone. Then get the rims polished and repainted. Will make a roller and add things back on as they are rehabbed.

[chuck hahn]

Everything is cleaned and painted ( except the frame ). Being cycled thru my little oven to bake the enamel. Still have to rebuild the cash and clean and paint the gauge needles, but the bulk has been tackled. Just over 40 total hrs so far into rehabitation.

[Vmass]

Thanks Greg............and good luck with the project.


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[chuck hahn]

As it sits right now, I have everything repainted except the frame. I also need to rehab the dash..it needs a new glass, which i plan on replacing that with Plexiglass or Lexan.

All the lights, the clock, and all the gauges work. I will clean the gauges faces when i get them apart, repaint the needles, and it will be like nothing ever happened.

As I start the reassembly process I will start posting pictures to this thread.