Lario rehab project begins. What we've learned..

[Morizzi]

The uni cross for the small block is a standard size, unlike the big block Tonti.

Should be available at any good engineering supply. 20mm cap x 44mm across.

As long as the shaft splines are good just change the cross. 

Cheers

Rod

[Chuck in Indiana]

Good info there, Rod. Isn't there some kind of steel sleeve that fits inside of the transmission casting in case of an exploded u joint? Any info on that?

[Morizzi]

Good info there, Rod. Isn't there some kind of steel sleeve that fits inside of the transmission casting in case of an exploded u joint? Any info on that?

Actually I do.

TLM used to sell the sleeve. Its just a mild steel tapered tube that you 'glue' into the output shaft casting.

I purchsed one from them but it didn't fit. Not having a lathe can be a PITA so it took me forever to file it down to even a near fit. In the end I got a piece of PVC pipe then filed it to fit and got a local machine shop to make me up a few. I used 2 and gave the others away as presents.

I got them made up slightly oversize as I noted there was a variance between the Monza and later V65GT, only small and probably just a slight variance in the casting. The taper is on the external face and you need to chew away a small section of the forward edge to fit around a casting protrusion in the gearbox casting. Look in and you will see it.

I'll drag out the drawing and send you the dimensions. These are my dimesions pattered by me so there is no 'intellectual property' issues with them.

Any goop of your choice will work really. I think I used RTV silicone gasket goop on one and polyurethane on the other. No problems with either as there isn't a lot of heat there and no wear. I did coat the insides with a bit of tectyl 506 just to stop the sleeve from rusting on the open internal face. Any similar product will work.

Cheers

Rod

[Chuck in Indiana]

Thanks for that, Rod.. I'll look around and see if I can find some heavy walled pipe to start with. Filing that much material?? You'd have to have the patience of a saint.. ;D :BEER:

[Don Ivey]

Who is the maker of that "Super Clean" degreaser you're using?  Thanks, enjoying the thread.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Who is the maker of that "Super Clean" degreaser you're using?  Thanks, enjoying the thread.

Thank you. Glad to see someone is getting some good out of it.  ;D All I can find on the can is Superclean Brands, inc. St. Paul. Tough task cleaner/degeaser. It also has a bunch of "don't get it on this kind of stuff" disclaimers, including paint, glass, aluminum, etc. etc. making it virtually worthless if you follow the directions.  ;D
So, I liberally sprayed it on the rear drive yesterday afternoon and let it sit overnight. The Lario paint is so poor that draining the carbs on it will damage the paint.  :o The Superclean didn't seem to hurt it, so I wouldn't worry too much.

[IceBlue]

Alrighty, back from lunch. Just pick up the back, hold the handlebar, and wheelbarrow it away. Have a saw horse waiting or you may end up laying it on it's side.. ;D How long did this all take? Considerably less than telling about it.

Here's what's left. A small block is considerably easier to work on than a big block, IMHO.

Beautiful motive unit, isn't it? A really elegant engineering solution. I love Guzzis.. ;-T

Amen, amen and amen  ;-T

I'll soon start rebuilding my 2nd Lario - can't wait. Your thread is teasing the heck out of me Chuck. I just bought an almost complete silver dress (tank, front fender, site panels, tanks spoilers) nicely repainted in the original silver color in Italy. Looks like it just left the Guzzi factory. Frame, mill and tranny are ready. Rear wheel will be powder repainted with the lower frame rails. I can hardly wait.

Great pic's Chuck - valuable info about one of the best and greatest looking SB's ever. Where ever you see one, it's eye candy.

A beauty taken apart, a piece of art all together  :drool


Brian

[Chuck in Indiana]

Upon further review.. as they say in the NFL.. after I did a good job of cleaning the rear drive, the Superclean had taken the gloss off the paint after sitting on it overnight. I also tried spraying it through my engine cleaning gun, and stopped immediately after breathing caustic fumes.
So.
This stuff is a little more powerful than I expected, and I probably *will* be able to paint over it. I cleaned up the swing arm, the toughest piece to get clean, blasted it with plain water, and it looks good. No pix, my camera's card just went belly up.  Probably wore it out on this thread.. ;D

[Chuck in Indiana]

I was talking to Brad, who besides being an airplane/helicopter mechanic, is a *really*good painter, and used to make a living at it. Ferinstance,

He said, "ya know, it's going to take a custom mix of a 2 part paint to match that engine color. It'll cost you $150 for chemicals."  :o If this was a true restoration, I wouldn't bat an eye, but it's not. I'm just trying to make it look presentable. I took a valve cover in to the auto paint place, and found this for $5 a can. I bought two.. ;D Supposedly good to 500 degrees, and a really close match.

This was probably the nastiest piece on the bike, so I cleaned it up first.

Here's the rear drive after cleaning.

Filed and sanded the worst spots off, masked.. neatness doesn't count.. prepped and rattle canned the black.

We're now officially waiting for the paint to dry. Maybe tomorrow, I can rattle can the grey on the rear drive and swing arm to see how it looks. Normally, of course, a guy would paint all the same color at the same time, but with no gun or equipment to clean up, life is so much easier..

[mwrenn]

This thread rocks!  Krylon ftw!  LOL  That bike will be a blast to ride...

[kevdog3019]

We buffed the valve covers to a nice raw aluminum shine and I sprayed with a similar high-temp clear coat. Still look great. Testers orange/red for the GUZZI. Fill them and let them sit a couple days.
That project is really coming along. I might have to paint mine up some day just to keep up with you and Ice. Fun build to watch!
Kevin

[Chuck in Indiana]

Ok, time to paint some grey. One of the places to *not* cheap out when painting is masking tape. Get the good stuff, hand the paint store your credit card, and forget how much it costs. In another lifetime I was an engineering modelmaker and did a lot of paint masking. Here's the tools of the trade, a scalpel, some tweezers, a trimmed Popsicle stick, and scissors.  ;D Actually, there is some method to the madness. If you start at say the left side, and make your overlaps the same way, it will save a *lot* of time when pulling the tape.

Battery acid had done a number on the swing arm. Took some 320 wet or dry and sanded it out.

This is a "temporary" paint booth I made in '99 to paint the Great Lakes. Visqueen, 2X4s, a couple of furnace filters, and an "explosion proof" well, it hasn't so far.. fan. It's coming down after this job... my next (last) airplane project is too big to go in it.

So, wipe the stuff down with oil and wax remover,

Lightly tack it, and spray..

You do read the directions, right? This grey stuff is totally different than the black from the other manufacturer. It says 2 light tack coats at 10 minute intervals followed by a medium wet coat, all within one hour. They are not kidding. If you just sprayed it on, I think it would run right off onto the floor.  ;D
After it dried to the dust free state, I brought it into the shop to pull the tape. Nothing to it. ;)

I don't like the color, though.. it's much darker than the can lid. ~; I'll sleep on it and decide whether I''m going to continue with this color or not..

[balvenie]

        Nice work and a very good thread ;D ;-T

[Mark West]

I agree on the color being too dark. Looks like something you'd spray on some piece of industrial equipment.

having a great time following the thread. Can't wait to see the finished product.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I agree on the color being too dark. Looks like something you'd spray on some piece of industrial equipment.

having a great time following the thread. Can't wait to see the finished product.

I agree. I'm more than a little upset about it. It's about the same color as a Lycoming airplane engine, though.. I'm just trying to decide how it will look with the red. <sigh> I probably should have spent the big bucks and had the paint matched, in retrospect.
Looks like I'll have plenty of time to decide. The material I've been waiting on to make the oiler nozzles finally arrived this afternoon. No more playing with the Lario for a while..

[kevdog3019]

I'd have to see it next to something to know.  Doesn't look too bad as is.  I take it you're not clear-coating anything?
-Kevin

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'd have to see it next to something to know.  Doesn't look too bad as is.  I take it you're not clear-coating anything?
-Kevin

I laid some body work next to the swing arm and rear drive, looked at it off and on while making stuff, and it's growing on me.  ;D After all, the Centauro is a darker grey, and I like Lycomings...  ;)

[Stormtruck2]

Ok, time to paint some grey. One of the places to *not* cheap out when painting is masking tape. Get the good stuff, hand the paint store your credit card, and forget how much it costs. In another lifetime I was an engineering modelmaker and did a lot of paint masking. Here's the tools of the trade, a scalpel, some tweezers, a trimmed Popsicle stick, and scissors.  ;D Actually, there is some method to the madness. If you start at say the left side, and make your overlaps the same way, it will save a *lot* of time when pulling the tape.

Battery acid had done a number on the swing arm. Took some 320 wet or dry and sanded it out.

This is a "temporary" paint booth I made in '99 to paint the Great Lakes. Visqueen, 2X4s, a couple of furnace filters, and an "explosion proof" well, it hasn't so far.. fan. It's coming down after this job... my next (last) airplane project is too big to go in it.

So, wipe the stuff down with oil and wax remover,

Lightly tack it, and spray..

You do read the directions, right? This grey stuff is totally different than the black from the other manufacturer. It says 2 light tack coats at 10 minute intervals followed by a medium wet coat, all within one hour. They are not kidding. If you just sprayed it on, I think it would run right off onto the floor.  ;D
After it dried to the dust free state, I brought it into the shop to pull the tape. Nothing to it. ;)

I don't like the color, though.. it's much darker than the can lid. ~; I'll sleep on it and decide whether I''m going to continue with this color or not..

Haze Grey and underweigh! 

[Cal3Me]

I like the Krylon dull aluminum #1403 color . I have even used it on a engine barrel with good results. Dries fast and holds up well under a wrench. I spray it on nuts & bolts a lot too.
Keep plugging away there hoosier........... ;-T


,,,,,,Tim

[Chuck in Indiana]

I like the Krylon dull aluminum #1403 color . I have even used it on a engine barrel with good results. Dries fast and holds up well under a wrench. I spray it on nuts & bolts a lot too.
Keep plugging away there hoosier........... ;-T


,,,,,,Tim

Thanks for that, Tim.. I'll give it a look.

[John Ulrich]

It looks 100% better now then the white.  The gloss will repell oil better.   You gonna polish that drain plug?      ;-T

[Ronkom]

Chuck,
Awesome thread, beautiful work and a VERY nice neat shop! (Remind me to never let you see mine!)LOL
Noticed that the Lario switchgear appears to be the same as what's on my LeMans IV project. In your info exchanges, did you happen to hear from anyone with a right side switch assembly they'd be willing to sell? The kill switch on mine was melted into a lump. I bought a NOS left side switch from Harpers, (eeoooch! not an inexpensive item). I really don't like the up/down turnsignal switch, but, as I've discovered my old arthritic joints can't handle riding the LeMans, I'm going to be selling it as soon as I get a few niggles taken care of. If I was keeping it i'd change out the controls & mount an "everything" switch on the left side, & something different than the stock item on the right. In fact, Curtis advised that course of action when I ordered the stock left switch, wish I'd listened. Ah well, 66 years young & still learning expensive lessons.
Ron Komoroski 

[Chuck in Indiana]

It looks 100% better now then the white.  The gloss will repell oil better.   You gonna polish that drain plug?      ;-T

Thanks for your opinion, JU. As I said, It's growing on me.  ;D One of the reasons that I'm doing this thread is for people to have an appreciation for the kind of work that *you* do. This Lario project isn't in the same league..

[Chuck in Indiana]

Chuck,
Awesome thread, beautiful work and a VERY nice neat shop! (Remind me to never let you see mine!)LOL
Noticed that the Lario switchgear appears to be the same as what's on my LeMans IV project. In your info exchanges, did you happen to hear from anyone with a right side switch assembly they'd be willing to sell? The kill switch on mine was melted into a lump. I bought a NOS left side switch from Harpers, (eeoooch! not an inexpensive item). I really don't like the up/down turnsignal switch, but, as I've discovered my old arthritic joints can't handle riding the LeMans, I'm going to be selling it as soon as I get a few niggles taken care of. If I was keeping it i'd change out the controls & mount an "everything" switch on the left side, & something different than the stock item on the right. In fact, Curtis advised that course of action when I ordered the stock left switch, wish I'd listened. Ah well, 66 years young & still learning expensive lessons.
Ron Komoroski 

Hiya Ron! Yeah, it's the same as the LM4. They are hard to come by, needless to say, and junk when you find them for the most part. Somebody beat me out on a set of switches with a spare right on the bay, but I'll bet he wouldn't sell it. If it were me, I'd wire around that kill switch, don't need no steenkin kill switch anyway, and put relays everywhere else. That's what I'm doing. Those switches are woefully under designed..
FWIW, there are complete sets of adjustable levers, switches, master cylinder that would *probably* be ok for one disc direct from China for about $115. They look nice, and I almost pulled the trigger until LeRoy made me a deal I couldn't refuse.

[lucky phil]

While we are on the subject of Guzzi paint color, does anyone know of a brand of engine enamel that is the same shade as the Centauro/Daytona RS engine grey?
Cant decide whether to go with the original grey which I like in the Daytona or the natural Aluminium after bead blasting for my V11 Sport Daytona engine swap.
Ciao

[IceBlue]

We buffed the valve covers to a nice raw aluminum shine and I sprayed with a similar high-temp clear coat. Still look great. Testers orange/red for the GUZZI. Fill them and let them sit a couple days.
That project is really coming along. I might have to paint mine up some day just to keep up with you and Ice. Fun build to watch!
Kevin

You'd need to gird up your loins Kevin  ;) just had the rear wheel, rear fork and lower rails back from glass blasting, now going to the painter for powder coating  ;D 

Any news from Ed?
Great thread Chuck ;-T ;-T ;-T :pop

[kevdog3019]

Ed is deciding on springs yet.  Heads are at Kibblewhite's.
Do show off your paint when you get it back.  I may go that route at some point.  Be fun to pull her apart and dress her up.
-Kevin

[IceBlue]

I'll lay out the parts in a separate thread when I got most of it ready. This is Chuck's thunder, so I'll just enjoy that for now  ;-T
I'm really keen to see ride reports of all  the Lario's being worked on just now, plus Mikes V7/8  8)

[Chuck in Indiana]

Beardog on this list saw the poor condition of the beater Lario's tailpiece, and dropped this one in the mail. Thanks, Derek! It's even red, but when I took it out of the box, I thought, "uh oh.. I'll bet it's a different color." It is. It's apparently off an LM4, and the red is different. So, in the same spirit of helping out a Guzzi Brother, if someone has a need for it, I'll pass it on.

Dorcia saw me coming in with the camera, and said, "Hey, you aren't playing with the motorcycle instead of working, are you?"  :wife: "Uh, no, boss, I'm making chips." ;D After all, she pays me $40 a week and three beers...

[kevdog3019]

WHat might she be weaving with that Chuck?  ;) 
-K