Another update!
Over the winter I have cleaned the engine bay and matt lacquered it
I ordered new engine bearing, oil seals, gaskets and clutch ready for the rebuild. The only parts I might still need are piston rings and a piston.
The engine is currently with a motor bike repair shop being rebuilt (It's taking a long time to do ...) While the engine is there I have cleaned up some of the parts with a buffing wheel (I also cleaned the coffee maker while I was at it!)
A friend of mine tests tires all over Europe, so when he was in Milano he got me some new tires and inner tubes. The tires are Mitas 4.00 x 8. The inner tubes didn't fit due to the valve diameter being too big.
Cost £ zero!
Getting the old tires off was really hard work. Once the rims were unbolted I over inflated them to separate the inner and out rim
Once I had done this I got the screwdrivers and hammer to break the bead
All done!
A brought a set of four inner tubes from Beed Speed
http://www.beedspeed.com £31.41 These have metal 90 degree valves which are smaller than 10mm (the value hole in the rim is 10mm)
One job I had been putting off for some time was a hole in the floor, sometime time ago a plate had been riveted over the top but with that removed you can see the size of the hole. This was also made worse by the rust pitting in the surrounding metal, this made welding challenging.
A friend of mine owns a car body shop in the town where I live, he mixed some paint for me based on a colour match from the starting handle....
Once the old plate was put down over it you can hardly tell its been repaired
While in Italy earlier in the year I tired to find a new battery for the Ape. The original was 6v 24AH, these are hard to find and are not cheap! So I bought a 6v 16AH along with some other bits
SIP Scooter Shop.
http://www.sip-scootershop.com
Battery 6v 16HA £83.19 (The first battery arrived damaged, the company were very quick to respond to emails and sort a replacement battery to be sent out)
Nut M12x1.5mm (Hub nut for front axle) £3.11
Rubber flywheel (The rubber bung which stops dirt getting in the points / coils) £2.02
Wing nut (For the battery clamp) £4.96
Shipping £19.50
Total £101.51
I took the Ape to the Smallwood Vintage Rally for the second time
https://www.smallwoodvintagerally.co.uk, a friend was also showing his VW Beetle which has been striped and rebuilt