1978 Mk1 Grifter Restoration

[markc]

Progress of my 1978 Mk1 Grifter.

As bought (Note: I'd already made a start on the rear calipers and seat before these photos were taken (I just couldn't wait!!) but you get the general idea of how she looks).




























Last weekend's work; (19/07/2014) completely stripped down the bike, started to clean up the chromework and got the frame and forks ready to be taken to my local blasters/enamellers.

Pics:

Components disassembled




Chainring, pedals:




Brake calipers:





Brake Levers:



Battered and bruised mudguards:





Tired (or tyred) Wheels:




Sorry looking rear hub/cog:







Frame, stripped:




One set of calipers polished up:




Tarnished badge polished:




This Weekend's work: (26/07/2014)

Front mudguard stripped/repainted...

Polished components laid out ready for the rebuild...



























Cheers.

[gingerrich76]

Excellent work.

[markc]

Jul 28, 2014 11:42:48 GMT gingerrich76 said:

Excellent work.

Thank you.

[grifterste]

looks like you're getting stuck right into it. always amazes me just how well these old parts clean up. keep up the good work

[4737carling]

Top work so far and like Steve says its amazing just how well old school parts clean up! (Shows you they were built to last in those days) Looks like you need to replace a few bits and pieces but not much. Looking forward to seeing the next stage of your resto.

[markc]

Thanks guys. Got the frame back from the blasters on monday; a few 'pits' in the frame (as to be expected) but nothing major, nothing a smidge of filler won't sort out.

Took some close-ups of the brazed joints too (don't know why, I was fascinated at the way this frame was put together, no lugs, just stitched together).

Started filling the 'pits' on the forks, a little do do on the main frame yet...






















Cheers. Mark.

[raleighdaz]

Looking good bud keep the pics coming

[markc]

Jul 30, 2014 8:38:11 GMT raleighdaz said:

Looking good bud keep the pics coming

Thanks pal, will do.

[4737carling]

Great work so far, looking forward to seeing this one progress.

[grifterste]

i agree with daz and wayne, from your pics it looks like you've not removed the stand though ? if you've gone this far with it i'd suggest removing it before you get it painted. after all it's no more tricky than what you've already done stripping it down but the end result will be just that little bit better

[markc]

Jul 31, 2014 19:19:01 GMT grifterste said:

i agree with daz and wayne, from your pics it looks like you've not removed the stand though ? if you've gone this far with it i'd suggest removing it before you get it painted. after all it's no more tricky than what you've already done stripping it down but the end result will be just that little bit better

Thanks for the advice grifterste, I had mixed views on removing the stand before getting it blasted/painted, I've seen a thread on a resto where the stand was masked up for painting so thought it'd be an adequate way to go about things, also do you not need a special 'sleeve' type tool to remove the spring etc..? I'm More than happy to remove the stand if it's a DIY task.

[gingerrich76]

I beleive there is a thread on stand removal. .... never done it myself.

Been awhile since we had a full restoration on the furum. Keep up the excellent work and pic's :-D

[markc]

Aug 1, 2014 4:53:36 GMT gingerrich76 said:

I beleive there is a thread on stand removal. .... never done it myself.

Been awhile since we had a full restoration on the furum. Keep up the excellent work and pic's :-D

I'll have a search for it. And thank you.

[markc]

So, I came across the problem of the mudguard flaps and how they aren't in the greatest condition (in fact the two on the front are half missing) and now I've repainted the actual mudguard, the flaps look worse against them.

So.....the idea:

I work in the Graphic Design trade, so I thought I'd put my profession to use. Instead of spending hours (and money) looking for a set of flaps (that probably wouldn't be much better than mine....unless I found NOS) I decided to recreate a set on the computer.

Step 1:

I scanned in one of the flaps (the best one of the three) then redrew the shape, design, and logo in Adobe Illustrator:




Step 2:

I sent the design through our software at work to the platemaking department (we make flexographic printing plates for the label/packaging industry) who then produced me a set of plates with the embossed design:







Step 3:

Use the raised outline to cut around the plate with scissors, then tidy up the edges:




Step 4:

Spray paint the plate with black paint (I lightly dusted the spray so as not to build up layers of paint which may crack when the flap is bent or twisted).




Original flap vs fabricated flap:




Step 5:

Get out the pot riveter and attach the flaps to the mudguard (the original rivets were rusted beyond repair so I used these alloy pot rivets, I thought about painting the rivets black but I actually like the 'retro riveted' look so I'll leave them unpainted).




Result:

Et voila!! Not an original part but a pretty close reproduction and a lot better looking than the original scuffed flaps:










Conclusion:

I'm pleased with the result, however I think I need to invest in some Plastidip flexible paint as the flap is quite flexible and I can foresee the paint flaking off with even a small amount of agitation, I'm not planning to give this bike any considerable amount of hammer once it's done so the flaps should remain safe, though for longevity I think I need to go down this route just to make a proper job of it.

Cheers. Mark.

[gingerrich76]

Ooo. You could make a small fortune with them.... but would of got yourself the proper rivetts. Easy to fine and about 5 quid inc post for 7/8 rivetts. And very easy to fit too.