Heres my first Vintage Project........TXL 340

[kirk600]

Hi all,
After seeing the posts on here of all your projects and old school rides, I finally picked this up.......
just in case I dont win the make-a-wish sled II. I have been helping a buddy with some of his old
sleds, and with the lack of snow the last month, I have been going crazy. So here is my project.....

 

[kirk600]

It runs, and it needs a bunch of stuff but hopefully I can get it rideable this winter.

 

[kirk600]

heres a few more pictures. if anyone has suggestions for a new belly pan, i'm going to need one along with the front bumper.

 

[skiroule]

Nice! Love the tuned pipes!

Good call on the TXL. Fast and reliable, plus parts are much easier to come by than a lot of vintage stuff.

Speaking of parts I have a plastic pan and a bumper you can have if the shipping isn't too brutal and you were willing to cover it. For some reason, shipping to the other side of the lake cost a lot more than shipping to WI/IL. They're not perfect but they are usable if you're just trying to make it into a rider this year.

If you're interested, I can post a couple of photos when I get home and see if I can get a shipping estimate based on the size. Think the parts only weigh about 10 lbs but the size is a killer. If it's not too bad, it might be worth it.

 

[kirk600]

Thanks for the offer Skiroule , if you can get me a price for shipping, i would appreciate it.
I had my eye on a couple other TXL indys, 1980 models which is what i really wanted but
They all needed alot more work or cost alot more money...so when this popped up i dragged
my feet for a couple weeks until the time came that i happened to be driving within an hour
Of his house.
Of course if your that close, you need to take a peek, right!!!! Its a little tattered and torn,
But the major parts are still useable for the time being.

 

[Deleted member 10829]

Good to see another project thread! I will look forward to your progress but I realize these can be time consuming. Good luck!

 

[kirk600]

Thats why i posted it here, you all seem to motivate
each other to keep putting one foot in front of the oher one

sometimes progress is just getting out to work on
these things. We all have hectic schedules
That we try and keep up with........

 

[skiroule]

You got that right - believe me, these threads can be very motivating. Just having someone appreciating your work progress is so important.

If I'm working on something I try to operate on the philosophy that if I do something every day, no matter how small, the laws of physics (or whatever) say it will get finished.

I'll try to get some pics and shipping no later than this weekend and let you know.

 

[kirk600]

thank you again Skiroule, I appreciate it.
I have been taking a few parts off to clean them, and trying to loosen up some of the rusted fasteners as well. I had to remove the caliper, the piston was frozen and so i got that off and disassembled last night. Hopefully the master cylinder is ok......it was bone dry.
I dropped off one of the pipes to the welder this morning so he can remove the big dent in it. I wire wheeled the remaining exhaust parts and painted them with hi-temp black paint.

 

[skiroule]

You're a restoration machine! That caliper assembly looks great. Like those Kelsey Hayes units with the bigger pads and they really work. By the way Mfg Supply out of WI is a good source for some stuff - very good company.

Here's a shot of the bumper. I think it needs a little tweaking/shaping but something I'm sure you could handle. Don't hold me to it because I just did some on-line shipping estimating based on weight guesses and the size of boxes but the estimates I got were about $40 for the bumper and $20 for the pan. Even if I'm off by quite a bit, I'm almost positive that both could be shipped for under $100.

 

[kirk600]

Thanks for the compliment, those little 3M roto-loc pads do a great job removing all of the oxidation and cleaning things up........

I thought i read on here those bumpers were supposed to be just one piece, and here is proof! I have one of the rare two piece
bumpers if anybody is looking........

 

[kirk600]

hi all,
Just got in from clearing the driveway, it looks like we are in for some cold temps for the next few days, so i will concentrate on cleaning up some rusted parts within the confines of my warm basement.
I am trying out something new, called "EVAPORUST" and so i will report on the results, with some pictures available if anybody wants me to post them.

Kelly thanks for the message, i hope that i dont pick up any more projects for a while, but these old ones sure take up less space than my switchbacks and rmk. I think
We could fit four txl's in my trailer. That reminds me of an old advertisement, in a motorcycle magazine.......it was something along the line that the view over the handlebars isnt any better if you spend 10k more.........which is true

 

[confusion_900]

Nice 79' TXL , I just picked one up myself about a month ago and I'm also in the process of tearing it down and making it a nice rider

 

[kirk600]

Thats a nice looking sled you have there Confusion, I wish mine was that nice to start with. any plans for updates? looks like yours is tore down farther than mine is already.....

 

[Bradzoo]

Looks like a good project, Kelly and I both have some good sources for parts. at least your on my side of the pond!!

Bradzoo

 

[kirk600]

Thanks Brad, i hope to get it half as nice as yours and Kelly's sleds turn out. I can not believe the quality of work alot of the folks on here put out.
I have mostly mechanical skills, so that helps........as a child i got good at taking things apart, now i'm much better at putting them back together
without having spare parts.
As i get further into the project, i am going to need to source some parts, and i may need assistance finding them.

 

[Bradzoo]

Just let me know and I will see what I can do, I'm about 50 miles east of you.

Bradzoo

 

[skiroule]

Pan?

Kirk, I cleaned the first layer of grime off the pan today. This is what she looks like. Definitely not perfect and some issues, most notably the 1" square hole that was cut in the side, presumably with the idea of running a stinger out the side. Pretty easy patch though, using epoxy and some of your current pan plastic as donor material.

Let me know if you think it's a possible replacement. If so, I'll find out shipping costs for sure next week. If it's more than $40 it's probably not worth it but I'll let you make that call. I guess worst case you could put in your back pocket in case something better comes along. If so, you could maybe part this one out for a few bucks.

 

[kirk600]

Kelly, it does look like I could make it work. If you want just go ahead and send it with the bumper.
I trust your opinion and it is better than what I currently have.
thanks again,
Kirk

 

[kirk600]

Hi all, a few days ago I mentioned I was going to be cleaning parts, and I tried a deruster called Evaporust. here are the before and after pictures. The stuff doesn't remove paint or grease, so i needed to give some of the parts a second application, after I cleaned them with some engine degreaser.. I also finished the brake caliper and re-assembled it.