Summer Vintage Projects 2013

skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
Yeah, when it's done right, the finish is excellent. Unfortunately it wasn't consistent everywhere. The good thing about hardener is that it can be reworked fairly quickly. I'll knock it down with some 400-600 and have another whack at it as soon as the paint shows up.

Retreated back to smaller items tonight and sandblasted/painted (black) all of the pan hardware (hood hinge mounts, pan support braces, muffler supports, etc.)
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
It's a tiny item but it's one of the great things about bringing these old sleds back. With a few hours work, you can turn a bumper that looks like this:

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Into this:

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Impatiently waiting for more chassis paint to arrive. Any day now. In the meantime, there's still plenty to do. Brad sent me this excellent seat foam. Still very pliable and it has none of the foam breakdown you usually see. Now I can always start working on the seat assembly
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Bradzoo

Active member
Well its been a while since I've been able to work on mine, I been able to find the time lately I did get the belly pan on just bolted on riveted yet to see how every thing is gonna line up still have some work to do in that dept. but not as bad as I thought, and then I couldn't resist setting the hood on, sorry for the picture quality the high bay lights don't help.
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Bradzoo
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
Even though it's only a "test fit" for the hood, it's officially looking like a sled now. With the pan and the hood you really get a sense of how good it is going to look, especially against a nice white background. You're setting the pace and I suspect will continue to do so. Good work!
 
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snoluver1

Active member
Looking good Brad!!

Kelly, you better grab second gear! ;)Your pieces parts have arrived back in lovely IL. I'll pick them up this weekend and should have it back together by the end of the week.
 
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skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
"Grab second gear", that's a good one! :) Maybe if I would stop double-clutching it would go better. Thinking we're talking more like overdrive now.

Fact is, as a teammate I screwed up and gave you the wrong signal. I was supposed to tell you to intentionally spin out and bring out the yellow flag, thus preventing Brad from widening the gap even further. It didn't happen and now look what he is up to. The public hasn't even seen his latest releases. It's getting worse.

I'm still hoping that "Time is on My Side"(oh yes it is).
 
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Bradzoo

Active member
Well I did get a little further today, starting to run outta things to do that I have parts for, guess its time to start spending some money again
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Bradzoo
 
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Bradzoo

Active member
I got started on engine tear down today, have I mentioned how much I hate bead blasting? but it sure does make things clean up nice!
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I also got the primary torn down, cleaned up and reassembled minus the mouse nest that was in it.
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Things are starting to come together!!

Bradzooooo
 
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renten

New member
'78 TXL update

I haven't had as much time to invest as Kelly and Bradzoo, but still able to bite off little chunks from time to time. The blues are actually pretty close, but the flash reads them differently. The powder coated parts are a little lighter, but that was as close as the painter could match,(looked closer on the paint chip card), Oh well. DSCN3844.jpg DSCN3847.jpg DSCN3845.jpg DSCN3839.jpg
 
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Bradzoo

Active member
Looks great Jeff, I find that between the flash and the high bay lights I have in the barn its hard to tell the color in the pic, because it lookls totally different in person. I've got 3, 1 lb containers of powder coat blue paint each a different color and none of them seem dark enough so I haven't used them, and just when with high gloss black instead, I know its not orginal but this sled is a rider not a show piece and I would rather have the powder coat durability.

Bradzoo
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
I'm thinking that if I spent less time watching what you guys are doing, I'd get more done on mine. It's really fun to watch these sleds come together.

I'm sure Brad and I would both agree that there is never enough time to get done as much as one would like but make no mistake, Brad is not normal. The things he gets done with the time he has defies explanation.

Over time I've developed a lot of respect for the TX "Big Fin" 340 engines and I'm not surprised that Brad's is in pretty good shape. They seem remarkably durable as free-air engines go, at least it appears that way to me. All things, being equal, I think it is one of the best free-airs Polaris ever offered.

Jeff, really like that TX-L tunnel graphic! I'd agree that the flash seems to do strange things to the colors. Up close, it makes the Midnight Blue look way lighter than it really is. Seems like the only way to capture the true color is in natural light.
 
skiroule

skiroule

Well-known member
Hoping I can finally put the chassis painting behind me. The difference between this round of painting and the last isn't real obvious in photos but trust me, there is a big difference. Couldn't believe how much paint this thing took. I think I painted a Pinto with less paint.

This shot is under the flourescents.

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This one was taken under darker conditions but shows the actual color better.

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(Sorry about the messy garage)

With the chassis monkey off my back I can start thinking about moving on to other things, like the wiring harness. Replaced several wire nut repairs with soldered connections tonight. The nut-less version is much cleaner.
 
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snoluver1

Active member
I hope your paint is drying up nicely in these cooler temps Skiroule. You should have a new mill to drop into that freshly painted chassis soon enough!

I have everything in hand now. The wrist pin bearings showed up today and I was able to get everything cleaned up this week. I have a pretty busy weekend ahead of me, so not sure if I'll actually get to putting back together, but by some time next week you should have a bad a$$ 440 ready to rip!

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The Heads came out pretty good for the most part, but you can definitely see they have some age to them. Some pitting and bent/chipped fins here and there. People in the antique business like to call that patina. They say it adds character. We can go with that, eh?

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renten

New member
What is it about the TX and TXL sleds? I am a ski doo man but I fell in love with this era of Polaris sled. This sled I am restoring to ride and to keep. With the new shocks and rebuilt skid will ride as new or better. I can't wait. Next summer I start on the TX. Jeff
 
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snoluver1

Active member
renten said:
What is it about the TX and TXL sleds? I am a ski doo man but I fell in love with this era of Polaris sled. This sled I am restoring to ride and to keep. With the new shocks and rebuilt skid will ride as new or better. I can't wait. Next summer I start on the TX. Jeff
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I have to addmit, These sleds had never really been on my radar before. I was never a huge Polaris junkie and I always kind of glanced over the TX's as being one of those "dime a dozen" sleds. But the more I see your projects coming together and the more exposure I get to them, the more I fall in love. They really are a sharp looking machine! I may have to talk Skiroule into letting me take a test ride on his. For the sake of testing and tuning of course!!
 
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