Final Assembly

I have worked all winter with one goal in mind – to make the Gilmore Bike show on June 14. It has been difficult fitting the necessary time into a busy schedule as well as saving enough money to buy the remaining parts I need. Purchasing items for my 69 Interceptor & 64 Lightning Rocket, which are next on my restoration list, are part of the problem. A total lack of will power according to my wife and I agree.  The final assembly was completed after the wiring was finished. One problem set of parts was the herringbone oil hose which I had a hard time finding. Three different sizes were purchased from three different sources. Two of them were not exactly correct but will work alright. The original hoses were in pretty bad shape or I would have used them.

Overall things went about as expected. I had hunted down most of the parts I needed, such as; cables, a new exhaust pipe set, hardware, and I made spacers along with other missing bits. As usual things did not just go together exactly as planned. The clutch cable was too long by about 3/8 of an inch and the throttle cables were also a bit long. Spacers were made to take up the slack although I need to learn how to move cable ends for adjustment as this is a problem I have run into before.  

The rear brake return spring I received from a source on eBay turned out to be a kick start spring so the correct one was ordered. The bike did not have one when I tore it down as my original pictures revealed. The toggle pin for the brake rod was too short so I had to locate another. The foot peg rubbers were too long for folding pegs but I found the correct ones. The incorrect ones are a match for my Lightning Rocket and moved to its spares pile on the shelf.

The exhaust pipes looked good and fit close to the originals but mounting spacers had to be reduced, brackets re-bent, and the tie bar holes extended. The final fit looks good. 

I decided to build up fuel lines and purchased aluminum ferrules with a crimp tool. This system worked well and I am pleased with the final result. I also added a balance pipe between lines, although I didn't have much room. It all fit and will be a good feature to have, especially with such a small fuel tank.

After everything was assembled I cleaned off all of the finger prints, polished the aluminum, waxed painted parts and Armor All’d rubber & vinyl bits. Ready for the show.