'64 LI125 series3

[dickie]

As I bought it in August



I'm a Lambretta novice (had a few vespas in the 80s, but sports bikes ever since). I bought this for something to tinker with in the garage and have ended up doing a full rebuild. I'm not really restoring it as I'm not a purist, so fasteners will be plated to my liking and the final colour won't necessarily be original Lambretta, but to the untrained eye it will look original.

The day after I got it:



A couple of days later:



A terrible photo, but gives a general idea of the state of the engine:



The start of its resurrection:



Don't buy cheap chain guides if you want them to fit:



Ready to go into the frame:

[Jazzy b]

Cracking job looked nice before the strip tho

[dickie]

Cracking job looked nice before the strip tho

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but it was a wreck before I stripped it:

Seized top end, snapped exhaust, bent forks and frame, splits in every panel, rear hub rubbing on engine case etc etc

The only thing that 'worked' was the rear brake and the hub was full of gearbox oil!

[Jazzy b]

Cracking job looked nice before the strip tho

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but it was a wreck before I stripped it:

Seized top end, snapped exhaust, bent forks and frame, splits in every panel, rear hub rubbing on engine case etc etc

The only thing that 'worked' was the rear brake and the hub was full of gearbox oil!

Not being sarcastic at all m8 looks ok on the first pic that's why I said it

[Captain Pugwash]

Cracking job looked nice before the strip tho

Not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but it was a wreck before I stripped it:

Seized top end, snapped exhaust, bent forks and frame, splits in every panel, rear hub rubbing on engine case etc etc

The only thing that 'worked' was the rear brake and the hub was full of gearbox oil!

Not being sarcastic at all m8 looks ok on the first pic that's why I said it

Was what I thought, it looks much better in that photo than my rally going series 2 does on a good day when it's had a good clean and polish. Honest

[Adam_Winstone]

True and agreed.... but that's the great thing about our scene... do exactly what you want and don't worry too much about what others think

[dave411]

how did you clean the casings?

[dickie]

how did you clean the casings?

I spent hours chipping off what seemed to be a combination of oil and dust caked hard onto the casings, then when they were reasonable, I had them vapour blasted at North East vapour blasting.

He's a decent chap (his brother is a Lambretta enthusiast/painter/blaster/panel beater/frame jigger)

Cost £65 for all 3 casings as he charged me extra as they were so filthy. Normally £50

[pazwaa]

Great progress there and the engine is looking lovely

matt

[dave411]

how did you clean the casings?

I spent hours chipping off what seemed to be a combination of oil and dust caked hard onto the casings, then when they were reasonable, I had them vapour blasted at North East vapour blasting.

He's a decent chap (his brother is a Lambretta enthusiast/painter/blaster/panel beater/frame jigger)

Cost £65 for all 3 casings as he charged me extra as they were so filthy. Normally £50

They look great.

[dickie]

Pulling the bearing cups and chrome ring (actually a stainless aftermarket one) into the frame tube.

I started by using M10 studding, but to be honest it wasn't really up to the job and I could feel it beginning to yield, so I finished the job with a 3lb hammer and drift. M10 studding is good for 6tonnes, so I was surprised that it wasn't strong enough. Anyway, brute force and ignorance won the day



And now it's starting to look like a Lambretta.



Hardest job since I started to the chassis build has been the plastic drip tray! It must have taken 3 hours to get the little bastard in place!

Anyway, onwards and upwards.

[Jazzy b]

Coming along nice keep the pics coming

[68Sxandy]

Well done mate, looking good. Always remember as long as you're happy with it, that's what counts. We're all different and a fickle bunch us Lambretta owners. Enjoy.

[Toddy]

Agree it looked good before but as said each to their own and its looking better now, casings came up very well great job

[dickie]

As mentioned earlier, I had a real nightmare trying to get the drip tray in.

I ended up trimming quite a lot from the top of it to make it fit, but it's in now and neat.

However, I just fitted the fuel flap and I can't get it closed as the drip tray stops the 'springs' from entering the square hole for the fuel cap.

I'm now wondering whether or not I should have a drip tray; as far as I'm aware, series 2s didn't have one and I'm wondering if early series 3s are supposed to have them.

Or maybe I've just got a poorly fitting one?

If it's any help, the drip dray is made by Atomic

[Rich Oswald]

Great work, very well done

Rich'

[mickey c]

That engine does look great, have you done anything fancy inside it?
I also find jobs that I think will take 10 minutes end up taking weeks but you are making great progress.
Keep the photos and updates coming please, it's making me think I need to get some jobs attempted tonight.

[dickie]

That engine does look great, have you done anything fancy inside it?
I also find jobs that I think will take 10 minutes end up taking weeks but you are making great progress.
Keep the photos and updates coming please, it's making me think I need to get some jobs attempted tonight.

Nowt special, just an Indian 190 barrel with a mild tune and blueprint. I spent a LOT of time shimming everything, matching ports/manifolds etc. It's got some mildly interesting stuff like lightweight rear sprocket, gp crank, varitronic but broadly speaking it's been built using quality components and been well set up.

I was after reliability and low down torque more than power. That said, I wish I'd bought a quality cylinder kit like mb195 or mugello as the rest of the motor is top quality but with a cheap top end!

[Storkfoot]

I used to have a lovely road tune on an SR barrel. Ended up a 193. At the same time I had a mugello 186 in another scoot. The SR barrel was a much nicer ride.

Keep up the good work.

[Wack]

Buy the drip tray from Restorations as they do one that fits well. http://www.scooterrestorations.com/lamb ... ash-cover/