D
Deleted member 10829
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Looks like progress to me! The exhaust should look good with the red.
One Man's Trash
- Thread starter skiroule
- Start date
skiroule
Well-known member
The red is classic Chaparral and I'm torn between going back to the red or duplicating the original "custom" color. Probably won't make a final call until both the pan and the hood are ready for paint.
In a week or so, we should be settled back into the "winter house" for good which will give me a lot more shop time....with all these relics, there's lots to do.
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skiroule
Well-known member
Well, the plan was that there would be more time for shop projects over the last 6 weeks but as the saying goes: "plans change".
Even so, the patching was completed on the pan and the tedious task of filling, sanding, priming, and then more sanding is underway. Actually, I think that the outside of the pan will only require one more sanding pass and a final primer coat. The inside of the pan can be a little rougher so should be a little less work.
Have a couple of other vintage machines that need a little maintenance so may have to break off and take care of those. Need to have at least one solid rider ready at all times.
ou
Even so, the patching was completed on the pan and the tedious task of filling, sanding, priming, and then more sanding is underway. Actually, I think that the outside of the pan will only require one more sanding pass and a final primer coat. The inside of the pan can be a little rougher so should be a little less work.
Have a couple of other vintage machines that need a little maintenance so may have to break off and take care of those. Need to have at least one solid rider ready at all times.
D
Deleted member 10829
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Making progress! The fire looks nice and warm. 
skiroule
Well-known member
Finding that the little stove cooks a great pizza.
Close to getting the pan prep finished up so decided to switch to some shiny objects (or stuff that should be shiny). Cleaned up the front bumper and removed the accent stripe decal, which was pretty chipped up. Stripe is painted on now so at least it can be touched up. Bumper looks OK but not great, lots of battle scars/nicks but at least it’s straight. Also polished up the steering post and handlebars. Chrome on the rear "bumpers" that I have is not good. Re-chroming is pricey (minimum $150) so decided to blast one and paint it to see how it looks. Priming is done so I just have to decide on a color. Black, grey, white, match the hood/pan? Not sure what would look the best - if I really don't like it, may have to buck up and get one re-chromed.
Close to getting the pan prep finished up so decided to switch to some shiny objects (or stuff that should be shiny). Cleaned up the front bumper and removed the accent stripe decal, which was pretty chipped up. Stripe is painted on now so at least it can be touched up. Bumper looks OK but not great, lots of battle scars/nicks but at least it’s straight. Also polished up the steering post and handlebars. Chrome on the rear "bumpers" that I have is not good. Re-chroming is pricey (minimum $150) so decided to blast one and paint it to see how it looks. Priming is done so I just have to decide on a color. Black, grey, white, match the hood/pan? Not sure what would look the best - if I really don't like it, may have to buck up and get one re-chromed.
D
Deleted member 10829
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Now if that stove could keep some beers cold, you are set!
T
Tracker
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you do realize that there is NANO SPRAY CHROME nowadays....even in a can peruse youtube for other films but heres one
more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK0VZXrV5kI
more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK0VZXrV5kI
skiroule
Well-known member
Thanks Big Z. Progress pace is slower than I'd like but I guess a person does what they can. Anyway, on to the hood work. Love the fact that the factory put a Thunderbird hood on this sled - very cool. The weathered exterior doesn't really give a very good representation of the original. The inside shows a better example. The color reminds me of the old Cadillac Firemist color - hoping I can come pretty close to duplicating it.
Now if that stove could keep some beers cold, you are set!
Now that would be something. Beer fridge is on the shop white board though.
The list of things I don't realize is pretty extensive so it's not surprising that the Nano Spray Chrome system is on it. A spray can version would be the only practical approach. A full-on system spray is way too expensive and couldn't be justified for my little projects. There may be vendors that would perform the process in the videos but I'd be curious about the cost comparison to re-chroming.
T
Tracker
Guest
Thanks Big Z. Progress pace is slower than I'd like but I guess a person does what they can. Anyway, on to the hood work. Love the fact that the factory put a Thunderbird hood on this sled - very cool. The weathered exterior doesn't really give a very good representation of the original. The inside shows a better example. The color reminds me of the old Cadillac Firemist color - hoping I can come pretty close to duplicating it.
Now that would be something. Beer fridge is on the shop white board though.
The list of things I don't realize is pretty extensive so it's not surprising that the Nano Spray Chrome system is on it. A spray can version would be the only practical approach. A full-on system spray is way too expensive and couldn't be justified for my little projects. There may be vendors that would perform the process in the videos but I'd be curious about the cost comparison to re-chroming.
heres the can comparisons and to have a shop spray it aint much at all
skiroule
Well-known member
Thanks for digging this up. The comparison was pretty interesting. A number of products were reviewed as pretty good or at least OK but a chrome finish is a hard thing to truly replicate. I did notice that his disclaimer at the beginning was that: “This test is for model use only, not actual outside use on things like helmets or auto chrome parts.” Even so, there might be a couple sprays in the set that are worth trying out. I do plan to talk to the local body shop guy and see if he's done any work of this nature or knows someone who has.
Cleaned up the inside of the hood tonight so I could get a couple of photos for future color reference. Also cleaned up all of the cracks to prep them for repair, some of which can be seen at the rear corners of the hood.
I'm thinking that this might a good time to learn the skill of plastic welding (the Chaparral specs say the hood is ABS plastic). It would be a challenge and I like the idea of the plastic being fused rather than just connected with some type of adhesive. Someone had tried to repair one corner in the past with what looks like JB Weld. It didn't end well.
T
Tracker
Guest
i can help you with the ABS plastic also....I was a model maker for the museum of science and industry in Chicago making the displays of 6 foot buildings and such which needed to last 30 years or more and not crack and with stand a wind tunnel test....and what we found out is and this will work on abs plastic going outside as well.....on a molecular level the ABS is replastisized or remolded back into the structure with METHYL ETHYL KEYTONE or MEK....I think you can still get a gallon of sunny at ace hardware and car parts stores.....you clean the crack and area with ACETONE and be careful as the acetone will melt ABS also but not seal it molecularly as good and complete as MEK....then you wipe the crack and area with ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL or 200 PROOF ALCOHOL as acetone leaves a slight residue on the molecular level....now she is clean....and every second that goes by it starts getting dirty...molecularly of course so speed is good but not too fast so ya don't mess it up....take the MEK and put into a capillary bottle with needle so you can get it in the crack and on all surfaces good and solid....you can make an aquarium this way with lexan and see the mek flowing into the cracks for complete coverage....no bubbles can exist and must be filled with mek and the needle.....do the hood like this....take needle and run down each side of crack pretty fast watch over liquid as it will melt abs....then push together and you can see small melted plastic welded looking edge form...don't push to hard....try on 2 pieces of scrap plastic first to get an idea...try lexan and some abs if you have some....let dry 24 hours....should be new plastic next day with tiny ridge of melted plastic along crack....if any areas are not sealed take needle and fill with MEK it will remelt it back into pure plastic...walla....sand and paint.....but you do know that what ever you do to weld or reseal this things cracks that over time ABS deteriorates no matter what and there is no stopping it and it will crack and break easier and easier.....the paint does help some...good luck on project
PS...one other way I have done hood repair is bought the PLASTIC REPAIR KIT in the yellow box from dennis kirk....works also...prep it same way
PSs....for large areas that need bondo you mix bondo as per instructions and then ADD ONE DRIP OF SUPER GLUE and mix like crazy and apply...the super glue will turn the bondo into concrete FAST....the more drips you put in the faster and harder the bondo sets up...to much and it becomes brittle and will crack easily...so no more than 15 drops maybe....you can test this on sample piles and then bondo 2 pieces together again to see how fast and how many drips to setup....that way you can bondo and sand in 10 minutes as opposed to waiting hours for the bondo to set and to work with it...wait 24 hours to paint though....hope this all helps and gives you new avenues now....for a coffee cup amount of bondo maybe only 3 drips of super glue....roughly...maybe 5...try a test pile on card board or something
PS...one other way I have done hood repair is bought the PLASTIC REPAIR KIT in the yellow box from dennis kirk....works also...prep it same way
PSs....for large areas that need bondo you mix bondo as per instructions and then ADD ONE DRIP OF SUPER GLUE and mix like crazy and apply...the super glue will turn the bondo into concrete FAST....the more drips you put in the faster and harder the bondo sets up...to much and it becomes brittle and will crack easily...so no more than 15 drops maybe....you can test this on sample piles and then bondo 2 pieces together again to see how fast and how many drips to setup....that way you can bondo and sand in 10 minutes as opposed to waiting hours for the bondo to set and to work with it...wait 24 hours to paint though....hope this all helps and gives you new avenues now....for a coffee cup amount of bondo maybe only 3 drips of super glue....roughly...maybe 5...try a test pile on card board or something
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T
Tracker
Guest
if your thinking its not strong enough I made jet engine covers of ABS plastic for the fighter jets on a carrier deck so the salty sea spray did not go inside the engines while they were sitting on the deck....I made hundreds of them and used MEK to glue the handles on em all...for the navy....its equivalent to new molded plastic.....like these
https://www.jetbrella.com/
https://www.jetbrella.com/
skiroule
Well-known member
Really appreciate your doing your part
. I can still move around the shop without climbing over something so maybe I really could use more sleds. Starting to think I’m a hoarder thoughYou won’t get any argument from me about the toughness of ABS. It can handle a lot of crap, which is probably why it is a popular choice for household main drain systems. But seriously, if this hood could talk, I’m sure it would have some horror stories about what it went through over the years and is still basically intact.
I have no shortage of broken Chaparral hoods for practice to see if I could make use of the MEK approach. I’ve seen cracks on these hoods where this looks like it would work well and others that could benefit from additional material that could be provided by the welding process.
I’ve been using a product called EVERCOAT MAXIM Multi-Fix as a body filler for non-metallic applications where the identity of the substrate is questionable. It’s fairly easy to apply, sands well, and will tolerate a certain amount of flexing. So far, I’ve been impressed.
skiroule
Well-known member
Well it's not the night before Christmas so creatures are stirring.
I've been on the lookout for these beauties for several months and out of blue an NOS set shows up on ebay. Believe it or not, these little items are a hang-up for ski assembly because the ski slides need to be in place when you attach the leaf spring to the ski. You can go without them but it seems like a bad idea to not have a lubricating plate between the spring and the ski.
The ski sets are back together now (sort of). I need to fabricate a rubber bumper for the rear of one ski and come up with a set of replacement shocks. Also need to re-order the wear bars. Tried to order them last summer and received an email stating that I should order them "at a much later date". Hopefully that is now.
I've been on the lookout for these beauties for several months and out of blue an NOS set shows up on ebay. Believe it or not, these little items are a hang-up for ski assembly because the ski slides need to be in place when you attach the leaf spring to the ski. You can go without them but it seems like a bad idea to not have a lubricating plate between the spring and the ski.
The ski sets are back together now (sort of). I need to fabricate a rubber bumper for the rear of one ski and come up with a set of replacement shocks. Also need to re-order the wear bars. Tried to order them last summer and received an email stating that I should order them "at a much later date". Hopefully that is now.
skiroule
Well-known member
Happy Christmas Eve everyone!
Apologies in advance for the lengthy post but I’ve started messing with the engine a little and would welcome advice from some real-world mechanics.
I was a little uncomfortable with the compression reading on the mag side so it seemed like a good idea to pull the cylinder and assess the situation. For sure, the rings are partially stuck, which is probably not unusual when these engines sit for multiple decades. I would think this would have a big impact on compression.
The piston has quite a bit of carbon build-up and looks pretty nasty. Pistons and rings are next to impossible to find for the 650 axial (280R) motor so I will have to at least try to save the piston and the bottom ring. I did find a set of top “L” rings on ebay and as far as I can tell they are the correct rings.
Any suggestions on how to clean it up and clean out the ring groves, once I get the rings off? I'd prefer to not have to pull the wrist pin and just leave the piston attached. Less chance of breaking some irreplaceable part.
It’s hard to capture the condition but the cylinder actually looks pretty good. There is some very minor scratching (seems to pass the "fingernail test") and some carbon build-up from the blow-by but I’m wondering if it can be freshened up with just a honing.
Apologies in advance for the lengthy post but I’ve started messing with the engine a little and would welcome advice from some real-world mechanics.
I was a little uncomfortable with the compression reading on the mag side so it seemed like a good idea to pull the cylinder and assess the situation. For sure, the rings are partially stuck, which is probably not unusual when these engines sit for multiple decades. I would think this would have a big impact on compression.
The piston has quite a bit of carbon build-up and looks pretty nasty. Pistons and rings are next to impossible to find for the 650 axial (280R) motor so I will have to at least try to save the piston and the bottom ring. I did find a set of top “L” rings on ebay and as far as I can tell they are the correct rings.
Any suggestions on how to clean it up and clean out the ring groves, once I get the rings off? I'd prefer to not have to pull the wrist pin and just leave the piston attached. Less chance of breaking some irreplaceable part.
It’s hard to capture the condition but the cylinder actually looks pretty good. There is some very minor scratching (seems to pass the "fingernail test") and some carbon build-up from the blow-by but I’m wondering if it can be freshened up with just a honing.
skiroule
Well-known member
I’ve taken my share of ribbing from friends about having been a desktop engineer and not able to come up with simple, practical solutions to a problem. Maybe this is why.
I wanted to be able to soak at least the ring portion of the pistons to help loosen the rings while still attached to the rods but with the engine upright, the horizontal limit on the rod motion made it difficult to come up with a container that would allow the piston to be immersed in a solution while still attached to the rod.
After some hard thinking, it hit me. How about if I just rotate the engine so the piston can hang in the solution……pure genius, I’d say.
Who knows, maybe in Rev 2.0 of this idea I’ll rotate the engine another 90 degrees so I can soak both pistons at the same time.
I wanted to be able to soak at least the ring portion of the pistons to help loosen the rings while still attached to the rods but with the engine upright, the horizontal limit on the rod motion made it difficult to come up with a container that would allow the piston to be immersed in a solution while still attached to the rod.
After some hard thinking, it hit me. How about if I just rotate the engine so the piston can hang in the solution……pure genius, I’d say.
Who knows, maybe in Rev 2.0 of this idea I’ll rotate the engine another 90 degrees so I can soak both pistons at the same time.
skiroule, I will admit I have not dealt with stuck rings in a snowmobile engine but deal enough with them in the hand held power equipment side of my business and what works for me as I dont have alot of time to wait or set aside to soak is a little heat, sharp razor blade and penetrating oil, first i would take a sharp new razor blade and very carefully score the carbon between the piston groove and ring, then I take a propane torch and on low flame heat the piston to hopefully expand the piston being aluminum off of the piston ring a bit to give it a little movement and allow it to free up enough to get the ring to move by very carefully getting under the ring at gap and prying with light pressure, i will also use a good penetrating oil to help liquify and loosen carbon build up. Once you can get the ring freed and out clean skirt with a good brush (brass bristle or good firm nylon) and some solvent or penetrating oil, as far as ring groove a wood dowel sanded or cut to fit in groove to clean heavy carbon and follow up with brush. This has always worked for me in my shop. As far as cylinder goes I would get bore specs if you can find them and measure the cylinder at three points, top, center and bottom and see how much differential there is between the points and decide the best course of action. if there isnt enough wear or damage to justify boring I would just hone the cylinder using a ball hone NOT a stone hone to get a nice cross hatch pattern back into the cylinder. I hope this might help you, and I just want to tell you I really enjoy your post and step by step progress!
skiroule
Well-known member
Good info euphoric1, and thanks for the vote of confidence on progress.
I put the razor idea to use today and, with a little patience, did get the other top ring freed up without breaking it, as opposed to the other day when I decided to wiggle one of the stuck bottom rings and it snapped like a matchstick - Not good. Only through an incredible stroke of luck did I manage to find a guy in PA that had a set of NOS bottom rings. Anyway, I now have the top two rings loose but the remaining bottom rings will be a challenge.
From what I’ve been able to determine the cylinders are chrome plated and as you said, should not be honed with a stone. What grit do you use on your ball hones for your small engines? Sounds like silicon carbide is the way to go.
I’ve been soaking things in a product called Chem-Dip (never liked that word “Dip”, bad memories from high school). It does seem to have some effect but not something I would rave about. With a dose of elbow grease, it will clean things up - slowly. In all fairness though, the carbon is some tough stuff. Have one of the pistons pretty well cleaned up now.
I put the razor idea to use today and, with a little patience, did get the other top ring freed up without breaking it, as opposed to the other day when I decided to wiggle one of the stuck bottom rings and it snapped like a matchstick - Not good. Only through an incredible stroke of luck did I manage to find a guy in PA that had a set of NOS bottom rings. Anyway, I now have the top two rings loose but the remaining bottom rings will be a challenge.
From what I’ve been able to determine the cylinders are chrome plated and as you said, should not be honed with a stone. What grit do you use on your ball hones for your small engines? Sounds like silicon carbide is the way to go.
I’ve been soaking things in a product called Chem-Dip (never liked that word “Dip”, bad memories from high school). It does seem to have some effect but not something I would rave about. With a dose of elbow grease, it will clean things up - slowly. In all fairness though, the carbon is some tough stuff. Have one of the pistons pretty well cleaned up now.