Yes, it's been quite a while since I updated my blog. I do prefer keeping here up to date, as soon as I make some progress but unfortunately as it comes to the dirty jobs, I have to keep things slow. It's really difficult to pay attention to not doing anything stupid, especially when it comes to the filthy stuff. Anyway I know I have to find a reasonable balance between doing and typing, I'll learn that.
I suffered from a big sinus infection the entire week. Strange, I was not sick at all, I was just having my brains flowing out - rather unusually. It took me a while to get why: I was spending my evenings with my nose stuck in all that dust, rust, oil, gas and whatever else there is. Even Superman would have gotten allergic in here! So I headed to the pharmacy and got myself a couple of cheapo masks to be added to my work outfit. Already feeling better...
I didn't have any surprises while removing the rear suspension. As I explained before, it took me a few simple hits to the center rods from bottom, so that the entire suspension block got loose- The right side, which is integrated with the final drive is waiting yet, as I don't want to open it up before getting a new set of gaskets. As a matter of fact, it is inevitable to renew all the gaskets in the engine block, transmission and the final drive. Need to go buy them as soon as possible.
Speaking of the transmission, to avoid the vibration and hits reaching and any related damage, the shaft is driven through a rubber joint - so called Hardyscheibe. The transmission output fits the two opposing holes, and the driveshaft fits the other two so that the rotation is transmitted - very simple and smart. It does not look unusable, but as I already have it out, why not get a new one?
The seat looked much better from above. Underneath, the view is way more discouraging. Dust collected in decades, lots of broken and lost springs, a rusty skeleton and a rotten foam.
Here is the close-up view. No wonder why I became so allergic...
Actually I still didn't change my mind regarding the seat. I find this much more comfy and practical than the single seats. The manufacurers
Denfeld and Schorch-Meier produced very similar looking seats and this one must be from one of those. If only I could find an expert to replace the springs, foam and cover... There are potential alternatives, I'll check them.
Yet, I couldn't help poking the engine block. Removing the exhaust manifold, I found nothing but lots of soot. The exhaust pipe should wait its turn until I remove the crashbar, it cannot be taken out before.
It is not any better inside the engine. I guess, as it hasn't been regularly used and taken care of, the carburetor is not properly adjusted. It must be burning rich mixture for ages, that is, more fuel vapour and less air.
If I'm interpreting how the spark plug looks, it supports the rich mixture theory. I will open the cylinder and make a thorough cleaning anyway, so this is not of concern anymore, but it is obviously vital to have a healthy and well adjusted carb. I wonder if I can find a good resource to learn how to do that.
But I'm more and more impressed with the German engineering, as even in this condition, I saw the engine ticking like a clock before my eyes!
The tank is next. As I attempted to remove it, I noticed a problem that I didn't notice before. The tank has two halves extending downwards at the two sides of the chassis extending through the center. In order to enable the full capacity, two halves are connected with a hose at the very bottom of the tank, below the chassis. I can't remove the tank without removing the hose. That is, I should empty the tank first - but how? Or where? The tank is not full, but there must be plenty of fuel, considering the maximum capacity of 13 litres.
As we all know, gas is extremely caustic and you can't simply fill it in a random plastic bottle. For my personal health and safety (I'm a married man) I don't want litres of gasoline spilled around in my house.
I have a plastic jerry can of 5 litres. The best way to do the job is to use the petcock to empty the tank. After removing the hose and the filter connecting the carburetor, I held the jerry can under the petcock and started watching the dripping gasoline for hours - or it felt so. Finally, the jerry can was filled up, but the tank was not yet empty. I had no other way to reuse the jerry can, I went out and emptied it up into my car's tank. I hope the fuel was not too bad.
It's child's play to remove the empty tank; two bolts and there it goes. But I must admit that I still spilled some gasoline while removing the hose at the very bottom.
Here's the tank on the floor, with the proud jerry can next to it.
After the tank, I got rid of the battery, perfectly fitted into an Asus power supply case. The power supply rack is pretty rusty but can be used after painting. The fixing belt is missing, I'll have to find and buy one.
Here's my first casualty. That's (or was) the bolt securing the speedometer wire in the transmission. I realized that only after seeing the head of the bolt in my hand - I was pushing it in the wrong direction! I should practice recalling my left and right more often.
Let's have a break with wrenching. I made a few experiments for cleaning up the parts, and the filthy left rear suspension was just staring at me. As I read here and there, aprt from WD40, regular detergents and household grease cleaners are quite handy. So I went shopping!
Here's my dish soap, oven cleaner, cleaning gloves, dishwashing brush, Scotch-Brite and WD40. Although I "borrowed" the cleaning bucket, considering the dirt inside, it has just become another victim.
I started the attack with all the chemicals, against all the dirt and grease collected in more than half a century. It's all about patience, but I have a feeling that the result will be nice. I brushed like crazy, soaked it up with WD40, oven cleaner and detergent, and sorted it out quite a lot. I'll leave the parts in the water a few days to solve the remainings. By the way, the water in the photo is the third round of rinsing - this may give you a good idea how it was at the beginning.
Here's how the beemer looks now. Next stop: The Engine!
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