More Christmas money and parts!

So I got my Christmas bonus from my boss today, $400!  I consider it a gift (and I think all people who get bonuses...boni?  whatever...should.).  Because of that, I plan to use it on something frivolous, like a Lambretta!  Yay.

I've also found a gent who owns a shop called Scooters Bellissimo.  Take a second to check out his site, and look at the link called "Wildcat".  ME-OW.

Anyways, he has a bridge piece for me that is currently in transit.  Hopefully it will be here soon!

Slowly things are coming together.  :)

Lambrettamas part 3!

Today is a day full of yay.  Here's why:  I came into some Christmas money, all of which I plan on spending on the Lammy.  I also had two LCUSA members contact me today, one has a potential bridge piece and the other has a -cues drumroll- A POTENTIAL HORNCAST.  That would mean I would have all the body pieces, except for trim and lights and stuff.  

Lambrettamas part 3 has come.  Sweet.

Not a lot goin' on.

So the blog has been dead, I know...  Not a lot has really been going on with the lammy, though.  I'm still searching high and low for a horncast.  There seem to be some half decent repros out there, but of course I would much prefer something original.  There is still the one in Italy on eBay, but I'm just not sure it's worth what the final price with shipping would be.

I did get my headset bottom from the gent in Oregon.  It looks really good...  it doesn't *quite* match up with the top perfectly...I'm not sure how big a deal that's going to be.  I seem to remember this being a common theme, though.  I like to keep faith that everything will work out somehow eventually.  :D

The people on the LCUSA forums are super friendly though, so that's a plus.

Nothing much else goin' on...

MERRY LAMBRETTAMAS EVERYONE!

So as facebook has already heard, I got my awesome Lammy-swag in the mail yesterday.  This also grants me access into the members-only section of the LCUSA forums.  I'm part of the in-crowd!  Yeah!

I also got a notice in the mail today that something has arrived to be picked up.  Seeing as I already got the other package I was waiting for, this something can probably only be one thing.  I'm so effin excited.

Again, I'm still waiting for Christmas to pass in order to do some more substantial work, as that's when funds will be...well...more substantial :D.

Here's a pic of my swag, it includes some stickers, a patch, an issue of The Specialist, a membership directory, and some handbills for various lambretta/vintage scooter businesses.

That's all for now.  

This does what now?

The best part of bringing someone else who knows as little about the project you're working on as you do is that when you ask "Where the hell does this go?", "What the hell does this do?", "What is this even for?", or "is this supposed to do that?", there aren't any judgemental looks shot in your direction.

Shannon came out today and helped me poke around a bit in the lammy.  K, so really we stood in my very cold garage while I randomly pulled on things, took stuff off, and tried to just generally figure out where things went or what they did, and did a lot of talking.  The good news is, the more I look inside this thing, the more it makes sense. It may not sound like much either, but it really helps to have a second set of eyes tell you what they see while you're looking somewhere else.

Today we pulled off the top of the headset, the wires inside are just kind of randomly taped to whatever, and don't really seem to work.  I'm also pretty sure all that stuff will just end up getting gutted in the end anyways.  Here's hoping, because I totally took that bad boy apart.  I've been told that the speedo is worth a bit to have as it is, so I wanted to put it away for safe keeping for now.  I also took the battery out, just because I don't feel batteries should sit around in cold garages for no reason.  We also took apart the very suspicious looking throttle cable set up.    Now, I could be wrong, and saved all the parts from this set up, but it throttle cable went to where it attaches to the carb (I think it's called the carb slide, someone can correct me if I'm wrong).  After that point of connection, though, the cable went on to be connected to a long spring (it was tied in a knot to this spring, by the way)  which was connected to part of the frame by way of a funky looking bracket.  There is no word of these parts in the part book, I made  Shannon look.

Okay, so I wasn't smart enough to take a picture before I pulled the spring off, but basically the excessively long cable bit was tied (yes, in a knot)  to the spring, which ran over to that really awesome bracket that's on the frame side.  Opening the throttle didn't seem to change the action with or without the spring present.  I guess I'm just curious why it would be like that at all. 

Anyways, I guess that's about it for now.  With Christmas coming, unless I see a horncast for sale somewhere, I'm taking a break from buying parts for it until after the season.    I'm still really excited about the whole thing.  I like imaging how it will look when it's finished, and I'm really starting to enjoy reading about how it all works.    

I've recently been enjoying some of the restoration articles at The Lambretta Club of Great Britain/LCGB Workshop.  They're written in the simplest terms possible, which is perfect for me, with some decent pictures.  If you're in the same boat as myself experience wise, they've really made it understandable.

I also got a tracking number from the fellow in Oregon who is sending me a headset (hopefully).  So at this point, at least I know something is coming in the mail.  I've been reading his (the seller's)  scooter posts  around the interweb, he seems pretty honest and decent too.  I know, you never know, but it helps.

My friend Jamie and I discussed that really, most people are pretty honest.  He felt a leap of faith to buy a part like that wasn't a bad idea.  Hopefully it comes soon!  

Next Steps:  Gonna buy a copy of Sticky's Manual-second edition, from Motorsport Scooter/Scooter West.  Shannon is putting an order in there, so at least I'll save some on shipping.  I've been told this is THE book to own.  Then I'm just gonna do some studying and reading and researching until after Christmas.

The Damage So Far:  $1000 (the actual scooter), $200 (Legshield), $155ish (Head Set bottom),  $100 (Front fender), $40ish (LCUSA membership), Stolen paper and ink.

eBay and Leaps of Faith.

Today I'm sending off a bit of money to a guy in Portland, Oregon, which seems to be like the Lambretta capital of the world or something.  He, in return, is supposed to send me a bottom-half to my head-set.  He appears frequently on scootering forums across the internet, and seems to be well known on the Lambretta scene, so here's hoping he's honest, too.  I've been told the Lambretta scene in general is pretty tight and close, so I'm gonna put some faith into this.  Goooooo faith!

I also found the horncast on eBay, it's 55 euros...which really isn't bad, until you put another 60 euros on top of it for shipping.  As much as I would like to buy it just to have it, it's not in the immediate budget.  Hopefully something closer to home will pop up when I have some funds.  The easter egg hunt continues.

Not much other than that...just happy everyone has been pretty supportive and helpful at this point.  That is of course...except for my favourite Lambrettamist (like a pessimist who focuses on Lambrettas), who I would be truly disappointed in if he had said "wow, that's an awesome idea, way to buy a Lambretta!"

Also, my application to LCUSA has been sent in and paid for, I'm #749!  Just waiting for my swag and forum access now.  :)



 

Lambretta Club USA

I paid for my membership!  Yay!  Lots of the online stores offer discounts to members AAAAAND I get a patch.

I also contacted the guy about the headset bottom, so far we're still in communication at least, so maybe it will work out.  If not, apparently I can get the headset I have fixed anyways, so options are open at this point.

That's all.   :)

Next Step(s):  Gonna wait for my membership application to come through and then start ordering some books and parts and dealies and whatnot.  Shannon may come over this weekend to help me pick through things a bit too.  Sweet.

The Damage So Far: The Damage So Far:  $1000 (the actual scooter), $200 (Legshield), $100 (Front fender), $40ish (LCUSA membership), Stolen paper and ink.