And on to my next project...

[circa1968]

A 1961 Sears-Allstate Compact scooter (aka Puch DS 60).  A 60cc 2-stroke with a 3-speed gearbox.

I picked it up about a month ago.  Everything was seized up.  The motor, the wheels, the chain was rusted solid and the cables were all seized.  

It was about a 5 hour wrestling match to get the wheels off, open up the drum brakes, clean everything out and get them to the point that it now rolls! 

Chain has been soaking & getting regular 'massages'.  It now moves freely, but I may end up replacing it as not terribly expensive to do so.

Soaked the cables with penetrating oil, they are all free now, clutch works, gearbox will move through the gears (fresh oil to replace the gunk that was in there).

The last registration tag was from 1982, so I'm assuming its been sitting since then.  The piston was seized solid into the cylinder, assuming someone ran it w/ regular gas until it seized, then parked it.  After a couple hours of wrestling it, with the aid of a block of wood and mallet, was able to free the piston.

It did not come with a carb, the original was a Bing 17mm.  Rather than chasing the internet to the end to find one, I bought a repop chinese carb, which looks to be fairly good quality for the price, surprisingly.

With the engine free, I had no spark, so opened up the flywheel/magneto.  Heavily corroded points, cleaned those up and now have a strong spark!

Tried to fire it up the other day and nothing....got fuel, got spark...did a compression test and of course it was not good, less than 50psi.  Rings are shot, so managed to find some and they are on order.

Amazingly enough, there are groups and companies out there dedicated to keeping these old puch scoots running.  Many, many parts are available.  I don't plan to do a restoration, just a preservation.  Get it running, keep the patina and do some scooting on it!

Wish me luck! (please)

 

[Freebird]

Looking good.  I saw one of those for sale nearby recently.  Considered it briefly but decided that I just didn't have the time or energy to mess with it.

[Woody]

Now that's gonna be a head turner, getting around town should be a blast 😄

[ReinyRooster]

Sounds like the worst of it is already fixed....good job!

[ragtop69gs]

Love the look of those old classics.  Have fun with the refresh.

[Pasta Burner]

@circa1968 if you’re not familiar with it evaporust may be your friend.

[circa1968]

23 hours ago, Pasta Burner said:

@circa1968 if you’re not familiar with it evaporust may be your friend.

Thanks, I will look into that.  As expected, the inside of the tank is heavily rusted.  The rest of the rust I intend to leave as is.

[circa1968]

I appreciate the positive comments and encouragement.  About a week ago I was considering just selling it as-is and letting someone else take it over the finish line.  I've got a full head of steam now and looking forward to riding it someday.

[Dutch Navigator]

A classic beauty, nice!

[saddlebum]

On 2/23/2022 at 11:44 AM, circa1968 said:

I appreciate the positive comments and encouragement.  About a week ago I was considering just selling it as-is and letting someone else take it over the finish line.  I've got a full head of steam now and looking forward to riding it someday.

I agree! finish it and than make like a little Italian and zip in and out of traffic on narrow tight windy roads like a mad man.