I had bought a reproduction pipe from someone in Spain. Quality's not too bad but the bend's not produced as good as the original. Why is it that with all the modern machinery available, that tubing is bent with so many kinks nowadays, but 45 years ago it could be bent nice and smooth ?
Worst of all when it was tightened into the cylinder head it pulled too far over towards the carburettor to allow the silencer box to be installed. After considering different fixes, I decided to just try bending it with a bit of heat. I got it clamped up with a vee block in the vice and was able to get enough heat into it with just a blowlamp to get it cherry red. Then a good pull made it move a bit. Of course it turned a bit bluey brown but I was able to polish that back out on the polishing mop.
It fits better now, so all's left is to re-weld the bracket lug on the silencer box into it's final position.
So far I have done all the restoration in the upstairs loft of my shed and now the time had come to take her downstairs. I lifted the engine out and took off the bars and mudguards then my son and I lowered the bike down the narrow stairs.
The rest of the afternoon was spent putting things back on and tightening them up.
I had to make up a throttle cable from a universal kit to suit the new "old style" grip.
At long last I got the tank over to Clifford who didn't take long to give it a nice coat of paint. It's as glossy as a billiard ball and the pin stripes are painted in not just tape.
It really sets the bike off well and makes her look fantastic.
The colours I went for where Ford Sunburst Red and Ford Silver Fox.
