Api di Ken

[kjjohnson]

Well my friends, my computer crashed and I've been out of this site for a couple of weeks. Lost a lot of files and much to do to get back up and running. Quite depressing, so I bought another P501 Vespacar to ease the pain. 1620km original mileage, from my friend Raymond. - Ken

[olandese volante]

molto bene , ma spero che non hai pagato troppo,l'ape ha fatto tanti chilometri, sicuramente devi fare un restauro totale del motore.....

[olandese volante]

good to see everything ok

[kjjohnson]

First thing to do is the brakes. When I pulled the front hub there were the original brake pads with faint lettering still on the pads. However, from sitting so long the brake cylinder was leaking and rusty inside where moisture had accumulated (bleed your brakes every Spring!) Put in a new brake cylinder and when I pulled the grease cup it looked like new inside, even the grease was clean! Even the paper sticker on the air filter box lid is in remarkably good condition. - Ken

[kjjohnson]

When I got the P501 it had wire wheel covers installed on it. Probably were intended for a scooter because the triangular attachment bar doesn't line up with the wheel nuts on the Ape. It was installed with wire under the nuts (not a good idea). Looked pretty good but not the best form of attachment. Ken

[olandese volante]

the eyes are the problem.......

[kjjohnson]

I was happy I'd talked Raymond into removing the smoke machine, but being Raymond he had to add the eyes. Being a part time optometrist I'll be removing the eyes and putting them on a large tree deep in a forest somewhere - Ken

[kjjohnson]

1982 Piaggio Vespacar P501 Pianale 1620km MPR2T+25088+. Here are some photos the day it arrived at Bayfield. Ken -

[kjjohnson]

A little power washing and everything cleaned up nicely. Did the right rear brake. Replaced the brake drum with another one I'd had turned and media blasted and I'd painted. Bled the brake, you can see the dirty fluid I'd cleaned out of the line in the container. Brake shoes were in excellent condition. I'd painted the spare tire rim (it had a new Michelin radial tire) and installed it and removed the fender (cracked), ready for a new one. Mudflap is FAR - made in Italy - probably from a scooter store, not an Ape mudflap. - Ken

[kjjohnson]

Here's the latest - MPR2T+25088+ 1982 P501 Vespacar with 1627km original. Here it is now that I've prepared it for it's new owner - Ken

[kjjohnson]

I've removed the rear fenders for replacement. Every time I pull rear fenders I've found cracks around the mounting bolt holes. The flat bracket is intended to stiffen the fender where it mounts. Better to place a thin rubber shim between the bracket and the fender so when mounted there's a bit of give to ease the strain on the plastic fender. Ken

[kjjohnson]

An Ape 50 pentaro - Ken

[kjjohnson]

P401 for sale in South Africa - hope all the missing parts come in a box - no papers - Ken

[olandese volante]

a very big box in which they put the original cassone?
shipping is more than the value of the ape

[kjjohnson]

I wondered when they had the chance they didn't fabricate a larger box, perhaps it was just pulled off something else. Quite the headlight system as well - Ken