Tecate Restoration--UPDATE-Tearing Apart--UNREAL

[ATCT]

OK guys, I've been asking enough questions about wheels, plastic, etc, that I guess it's about time I started this. I'll post some pic as she looks when I picked her up and some of the work I've done thus far. I just purchased a bunch of new Kawasaki OEM parts, a few old parts, and and moving on from there. I plan on getting new rear tires and rims, getting a bunch of items powder coated, the seat recovered in the proper 1984 black by the Moshmans, and restore the plastics to the best of my ability along with new stickers that I'm working with Harlan on at the moment. Provided The Tecate Kid still has a set when I have the dough, I'll be getting a set of the Tecate Maier white plastics as well. Might as well have a spare set, I say.

Anyhoo, here's the pics. I'll keep updating as I go along.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/aff20_1.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/addff_1.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/a0987_1.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/a05cd_1.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/a02d2_1.jpg

[ATCT]

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00179.jpg

rusty bars...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00183.jpg

rusty wheels....
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00175.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00180.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00182.jpg

sweet hole in the airbox...nice pipework, guys....
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00176.jpg

broken, rusty radiator guard...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00174.jpg

[ATCT]

I forgot to take a photo at the very beginning, but you can see that the plastic was out in the sun so long that it was actually more of a shade of purple/pink/mauve than red.... These are during and after scraping off the top layer of dead plastic.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00188.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00189.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00190.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00192.jpg

Here's a quick photo of the rear fenders which are also now burnt mauve, along with a nice crack that has been riveted. If I'm able to pull that resto off, I'll be impressed. The front fender is not going to be perfect. It has several spots that are white-ish even after scraping--how plastic looks when you've bent it really far. Not sure why this has happened, as it's nowhere near any bend marks.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/DSC00178.jpg

That's all for now. More when the Kawi OEM stuff arrives and I finish the front fender (perhaps).

[evand]

looking good, love them red t3's

[pickleweasel_00]

looks like a good base to start with. How does the rear suspension ride o the kawis? always looked like a strange setup to me... Oh, and if you're feeling adventurous, might look into some of the krylon fusion paint for the fenders. Only drawback is it isn't as shiny (but waxing once it's cured helps) and it looks like it might scuff easier than plastic (but can be easily touched up. But good luck :beer

[hadar]

She don't look too bad, Just needs some TLC.

[tecat-z]

Seems like you have the project well sorted. I like. Keep us posted.

[Bryan Raffa]

that plastic should come out mint! I can tell allready.. dont burn yourself out trying to do it in one shot..lots of sanding ...but worth it !

[cr480r]

That bike looks very intact... it shouldnt take much to get her dialed in..

[OZQUAD44]

Good luck on the resto buddy, don't give up.

There is a photo of a red T3 with a white frame on this site somewhere. That red machine looks awsome. Black seat, white extended swingarm, low profile rear tyres and number plate. Hottest looking 84/5 T3 I've seen.

Your motivating me to go to the next level with my 87.

[ATCT]

that plastic should come out mint! I can tell allready.. dont burn yourself out trying to do it in one shot..lots of sanding ...but worth it !

Oh man, I learned that last night. I found myself rushing, and had to stop so I didn't ruin anything. The sections where I couldn't fit the scraper are going to take a while. I actually am bringing the fenders to my apartment (which should be interesting when I start the rear fenders) so I can work on them at my leisure.

Thanks to everyone else for the comments. I was pretty much going to ride it as is, but saw all the rust and wanted to preserve what was there, so the restoration started. I think I just like restoring things. :lol:

[Meat-BoX]

Thats Ange's Red Tecate. That Tecate is one of the Cleanest and Hottest looking Red T-3's ive ever seen. I miss that trike. Someone post her up for ATCT to drool on his keyboard.:beer :drool:

[ATCT]

I'd like to see pics of it.

[chris200x]

So what happend to finding a big red or 250sx? :lol:

Take your time and do everthing correctly. (no redneck rigging) and in the end you'll be very pleased with the outcome. sometimes these makeovers take years.. (ask meatbox) :beer

[ATCT]

So what happend to finding a big red or 250sx? :lol:

Take your time and do everthing correctly. (no redneck rigging) and in the end you'll be very pleased with the outcome. sometimes these makeovers take years.. (ask meatbox) :beer

LOL. Well, I did bid on an '86 SX on eBay last week, but lost. I figured it was a sign to just work with what I've got for the time being.:lol:

I will try to be as thorough as possible. At the moment, I'm collecting all the parts I need it to be complete. Once that is done, I will send the seat off to the Moshmans to be recovered and all the parts I want PCd to the powder coater. As I said, this isn't going to be perfect--mainly because I'm not sure how nice I'm going to be able to get the plastic looking, but it'll be pretty darn nice when I'm done, I think. Luckily I have my R to ride, so there's no huge rush.

Oh, and I decided to buy a set of white plastics from Tecate Kid for backups provided he still has them when I'm able to buy. I'm going to get a green tank and green radiator guard/grille and run the green set-up with the white from time to time so I can preserve the original fenders.

[chris200x]

The green and white will look sick! What color will you be doing the frame? Whose doing your PC'ing? I know a few guys on the forums do it. dredhead down in florida comes to mind immediatly.. the only thing with that is you'll end up paying a bit more with having to ship the parts out.

Usually if you take the frame omewwhere to get PC'd they only charge a few extra bucks to do the smaller parts as long as its the same color.

I use a local harley shop in town for my PC. he's a bit pricey... but his work is outta this world... so I dont mind spending some extra cash when I know its going to be done right.

good luck with your project!

[ATCT]

The green and white will look sick! What color will you be doing the frame? Whose doing your PC'ing? I know a few guys on the forums do it. dredhead down in florida comes to mind immediatly.. the only thing with that is you'll end up paying a bit more with having to ship the parts out.

Usually if you take the frame omewwhere to get PC'd they only charge a few extra bucks to do the smaller parts as long as its the same color.

I use a local harley shop in town for my PC. he's a bit pricey... but his work is outta this world... so I dont mind spending some extra cash when I know its going to be done right.

good luck with your project!

I think I'm going to stick with a satin finish black, so it will look good with the red or green set-up.

At the moment, I don't have anyone to do my PC. I've PM'd dredhead a few times but he's never responded. I put a post up about it but no one has answered. I guess I'll have to do some hunting for places around here.

You're not too far away from me, so I guess the Harley guy you speak of is always an option.

And thanks!

[OZQUAD44]

Black red and white, best looking 84/5 T3 out there.

Not mine unfortunately

[ATCT]

That's a nice one. Let's see how I do with this one. I now have something to shoot for.

[ATCT]

So today, seeing as it is close to 70 degrees here in NYC, I decided to play hooky from work and go out to my storage and tear apart the Tecate to ready it for powder coating. After I got into it a bit, I pulled the carb off and saw this.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00194.jpg

SO, i was like, hmm. What's that? I knew there was a hole in the airbox, but that was a bit much. So, I look towards the airbox. This is what I saw...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00196.jpg

Again, I'm thinking to myself, what the hell is going on here. I then finally open the side to the airbox, and I found THIS:
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00199.jpg

It looks like it was where some kind of rodent had been living. So, if this is the case, there's no way that Tecate was running prior to me purchasing it. That airbox was FULL of shredded cloth, paper, wood, and god knows what else. The carb--completely stuffed with it too.

So, I think it goes without saying that this is going to be a complete restoration. I'll get all the cosmetic and body stuff done first. Once that is done, the engine is going to be torn apart, repainted (I have questions about this but will start another thread about it), and rebuilt. The carb really isn't worth rebuilding, so I'm just going to get a new one. Man, and to think I bought this as a second vehicle for people to go riding with me. Now, once I'm done, I'm not going to let anyone ride it.

I'll post a few more pics of it torn down....

[ATCT]

It never ceases to amaze me how people just let their vehicles go. It's pretty clear this had been sitting outside for some time, uncovered. I think everything is going to shine up nicely, however, so all is good.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00200.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00197.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00198.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00195.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00203.jpg

[ATCT]

These hopefully will be going to Dreadhed for PCing....
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00206.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00212.jpg

Need an engine mount...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00210.jpg

REALLY need the inside of the airbox...
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh180/ATCT_250R/part%20II%20resto/DSC00211.jpg


This will probably be it for a bit. Next up, OEM parts and powder coating......

[hadar]

Looks a bit mousey, lol. My brothers snowmobile had an entire dead mouse in one of the carbs. I used to get acorns and sunflowner seeds in my old dirtbike exhuast pipe if it sat outside for too long. never had a problem with my trikes but they sit inside at all times.

[chris200x]

Ever delt with a live hornet's nest in a muffler? :(

Aah yes... the tearing down of a 20+year old machine...

Stipped and rusted bolts... standard bolts shoved into metric threads... hacked up weld jobs... The occasional rat and bee's nest... I wouldn't have it any other way. :w00t:

I can hardly wait to tear down my 350x and have to deal with some of these same issues.

[ATCT]

Oh, yours looks like it is in much better shape than mine, Chris. I'm sure you'll find a few, but this thing really is a mess (as you can see from the pics). Oddly, it looks as though the forks were rebuilt (springs look new), and had new bearings put in.

I'm actually excited to order my new bolt kit off eBay. I'm not sure if I should be distured by my excitement over this or not.:D

[ATCT]

By the way, I'm sore as hell today after pulling that thing apart.

[Meat-BoX]

Thats the Nice Red Tecate I was talking about that OZQUAD44 posted. Ange did a very nice job and she just looks so sweet. I guess its time you start to think about Bearing removal and all that. It looks like all those parts will need a long bath in WD-40. My builder made bearing pushers and pullers for when we did mine. My Tecate was in pretty bad shape. I can get pics of them to see how they were made. Have some pics of when we were using them. We busted them out last week for the 1st time in 3 years to do the Cal-Fab and it makes the job easy and safe for Powder Coated parts which you will have to do. I got my Tecate in 96 and that girl still isnt done. But in a few weeks she will be for awhile. I need a new Frame. Mines twisted and had some weak spots and no mount for the bottle. Check your Foot Peg mounts at the frame mine were cracked and the place where I had it powdercoated welded it up but it sagged so One peg leans down. I fixed that with a piece of flat stock welded to the bottom and flat of the peg where it meets the frame. Just things to look for that need doing before you spend alot of money like I did. I have lots of build pics, so if you need any info I might be able to help. Top priority is a bearing pusher/puller. I think Tecate Connection has Motor Mounts.

[ATCT]

Thats the Nice Red Tecate I was talking about that OZQUAD44 posted. Ange did a very nice job and she just looks so sweet. I guess its time you start to think about Bearing removal and all that. It looks like all those parts will need a long bath in WD-40. My builder made bearing pushers and pullers for when we did mine. My Tecate was in pretty bad shape. I can get pics of them to see how they were made. Have some pics of when we were using them. We busted them out last week for the 1st time in 3 years to do the Cal-Fab and it makes the job easy and safe for Powder Coated parts which you will have to do. I got my Tecate in 96 and that girl still isnt done. But in a few weeks she will be for awhile. I need a new Frame. Mines twisted and had some weak spots and no mount for the bottle. Check your Foot Peg mounts at the frame mine were cracked and the place where I had it powdercoated welded it up but it sagged so One peg leans down. I fixed that with a piece of flat stock welded to the bottom and flat of the peg where it meets the frame. Just things to look for that need doing before you spend alot of money like I did. I have lots of build pics, so if you need any info I might be able to help. Top priority is a bearing pusher/puller. I think Tecate Connection has Motor Mounts.

I'd be really interested in the bearing pusher/puller. I think the headstock bearings are fine--they actually look to be fairly new, but I'm guessing the swinger and wheel bearings all need replacing. I was going to probably take them to a shop to remove and press, but if I could do it myself fairly easily, I'd rather do that. I like being as self-sufficient as possible.

I'll make sure to check out the welds for the mounts. They appeared to be fine from what I saw. There didn't appear to be any cracks, amazingly enough. It's just kinda rusty.

Soaking rusty bolts in WD40 is the way to go? Was wondering about the best method for that. I'm getting a new stainless steel bolt kit, but I know it doesn't contain everything.

Another thing I need to do is have the rear shock checked. The spring needs to be painted. Things need to be sanded & polished, as they've been painted over. I've never removed a spring. It seems difficult.

I'd love to see pics of your rebuild.

[steven 250sx]

well you sure are on your way keep it up

[ceaserthethird]

Just take your time don't get burnt out so fast with the project !

Lot's and lot's of work to be done ...

[ATCT]

Yeah, no kidding. Well, luckily (or not) my bank account is not unlimited, so it's going to take some time for me to buy everything, PCing, and then start putting it together. And that all needs to be done before I even get to the motor. So, I'm looking at mid-late summer, at best, I'd suspect.