Basket Cases

[BOGWHEEL]

Always wondered if those numbers are the same as the old chook raffle tickets?
Wanting to try the West System. What does one do when there is already Caswells in the tank?

Lashed out and purchased a new seat from prominent site in the UK - not happy with the fit. After conversing with them - "No more soup for them"

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[David Lahey]

Always wondered if those numbers are the same as the old chook raffle tickets?
Wanting to try the West System. What does one do when there is already Caswells in the tank?

Lashed out and purchased a new seat from prominent site in the UK - not happy with the fit. After conversing with them - "No more soup for them"

20220918_151542.jpg

I'm fitting a seat cover on the model 85 at the moment and will post photos when it's on. The seat foam and seat base were from Bultaco Parts Australia. I was planning to use the old cover but I discovered the vinyl was too stiff when I took it off the old seat so I'm trying a new cover from Thailand.
As far as I know, Caswells brand liner is also epoxy resin so if it is degreased properly, new epoxy will stick to it fine. If it is a mess inside and you want to tidy it up, these tanks can be disassembled at the join which allows you to tidy up the insides and rejoin the halves before you do the lining. A friend just did a 1970s fibreglass MAICO tank like that and it went very well.
As for the chook raffle numbers, what chook raffle number is on your tank?

[Gomey]

I also tried a new repop seat from the UK on a 158 Sherpa, wasn’t even close,,

[sherpa]

I would guess that's a seat for a 159. They would look the same but as the 158 and 159 have different frames I am pretty sure the seats would be different as well.

[BOGWHEEL]

I was just going for the cheap cover too, but foam was home made and seat base had been repaired three times in different places.
Went with outdoor carpet on my M158 seat for the above reason.
Had the same issues with Triumph parts from OS with the same resolution. Glad I'm done with restos.

[Rod]

I would guess that's a seat for a 159. They would look the same but as the 158 and 159 have different frames I am pretty sure the seats would be different as well.

Just looked up my parts manual, and yes, different part numbers for 158 and 159 complete seat assembly but part number for the seat cover are the same, go figure.

[Rod]

I also tried a new repop seat from the UK on a 158 Sherpa, wasn’t even close,,

The joys of dealing with someone on the other side of the globe, remember those Jumbo bashplates we bought, not a hope in hell they were ever going to fit. I also bought a Fantic 300 bashplate from the UK not long ago, beautifully made but no hope getting it to fit and he won't reply to any of my emails. No soup for him either. (Seinfeld fans understand).

[David Lahey]

So the seat base from Bultaco Parts Australia fitted the frame and tank well and the seat foam also from Bultaco Parts Australia fitted the seat base well after a little bit of adjustment underneath where the fibreglass that goes over the heads of the mounting bolts form mounds.
I finally glued the seat cover from Thailand on yesterday after hours of fiddling around with it trying different things out.
I ended up not adding any extra foam to the moulded foam. I did trim back the excess vinyl along all the seams to make it sit nicer. There are places at the side rear where there are five thicknesses of vinyl and one thickness of thin foam all sewn together and even after removing as much material outside the sewing line, it still forms a pucker/dimple that is not there on the original seat cover.
For some reason the main section of the Thai cover is made from two thicknesses of vinyl sandwiching a thin piece of foam and the two pieces of vinyl stuck together with heated bars melting the vinyl just enough(embossed?). The cover that came off which I think is the original is only single layer vinyl and single layer cotton with a thin foam layer between the two and held together with lines of stitching. The sewn seams on the original look much flatter from the outside. Perhaps with use, the new cover will soften and the seams will flatten out.
In the photos you will also see that there are creases in the main section of seat cover. These are from it being folded flat for postage and I hope these also flatten out over time.
I sat on it this morning and the seat feels great to sit on. The ergonomics of these things is excellent. I'm keenly anticipating having a ride.

[David Lahey]

About a week ago I cleaned out the model 85 Alpina tank to prepare it for being lined with brushing epoxy. I started by washing it out with turps, then dish-washing solution, then a clean water rinse. Previously when doing this, I've then given them a very quick final rinse with acetone but I found this tank very hard to get the last bit of water out and if acetone is left inside it would destroy the tank before it evaporates.
It took about 4 days for the last bit of water to fully dry out.
Today I blocked off the outlets and set up a spot to rest it while the excess epoxy was draining out.
I then mixed up 600 ml of West Systems brushing epoxy and coated all of the inside surfaces by carefully moving the tank around.
The three outlets underneath were then opened and I put the tank in position to drain.
After a couple of hours the epoxy had started setting and I was able to clean the outlets of epoxy. The fuel tap hole thread was cleaned with a thread file. Earlier I had put a thin smear of grease on this thread to stop the epoxy sticking and that worked well. On other tanks being lined I made a plug for the fuel tap hole from plasticene, but I couldn't find any plasticene today. The two 6mm steel fuel balance tubes were then cleared out with a drill.
Of the 600 ml of epoxy that went in, about 300 ml epoxy drained out. It was quite a challenge to coat the inside fully with the 600 ml. More would have made it easier, but I still think I'll use the 600 ml pack again next time I do one.

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Before

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While draining out the excess

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After

[Bully fanatic]

Very nicely done David!