Gettin My Hands Dirty

So it's time to get my hands dirty. The first thing I have to do is remove the engine block and rear wheel which is actually one apparatus along with the transmission and clutch. First, remove the brake cable and clutch cable where they attach to the block underneath the bike. Then, remove the choke cable and the throttle cable from the carburetor and the junction box/wiring harness on top of the flywheel.

The next step was to remove the carburetor from the engine block. When I bought her the carb/air filter box was missing the top and the carb was filthy and full of leaves, dirt and grease. The air filter was missing as were various rubber stoppers, grommets. 

Getting Started

So, I'm a genuine newbie at restoration and more or less at mechanical repair as well, but I figured a Vespa can't be a bad place to start as it's much simpler than a car! Maybe in a couple weeks I'll be regretting those words but not yet! Here's what she looked like when I picked her up in Grand Gorge, NY from a real wackjob at an Army/Navy Surplus store complete with tanks and everything:

$650 bucks later and I'm the proud owner of a 1964 VBB! Probably paid too much for her, but she's mostly complete, and the engine isn't seized.