Rebirth of a Lightweight Panther. . 7, The Tinware

The mudguards as found were in a fairly poor condition with a few dents and some major splits and holes in the blades. The stays were generally rusty and bent or missing altogether so I junked most of those. I had no toolbox, chain guard.or headlamp.

Rear mudguard and seat frames.

Front mudguard.

I welded the splits and holes in the mudguard blades and made new straps to be bolted inside the guards to carry the stays. Lots of filler and rubbing down was followed by a coat of rust converter paint and several coats of primer. I am too impatient or inadequately skilled to achieve that factory-fresh finish but as long as the final result looks a bit shiny I can ignore the many imperfections. I prefer trying out these things such as welding and paint spraying myself rather than paying professional help although this approach often results in indifferent results. In the end I can live with it.

The stays were made from 1/2 inch diameter tube with the ends crushed cold in a vice using a shaped steel block to give the curved transition from tube to flat. The mudguard blades were set the correct distance from the wheel spindles to find the correct lengths for the stays. They were painted using the Teckaloid I used on the frame. The two saddles were taken apart but I found I had a better pillion seat on the shelf, identical to that on this bike but in better condition and with a good cover. The driver's seat was treated to a new cover.

Shaped block for forming stays.

I had made a rear chain guard and the battery carrier earlier in the restoration although the latter had to be modified as I had made it too wide. I cleaned up and sprayed a headlamp that I found amongst my junk but I later realised there was nowhere to fit an ignition switch. This machine has coil ignition. I found another headlamp shell which had openings for an ammeter, light switch and an ignition switch complete with key that I found in a box. Not original but hopefully functional. Spares Guru Ian Fox gave me a rusty tool box so everything was coming together.

With everything primed and cut back the tinware components were sprayed with several coats of black cellulose which was cut back and polished. It is at that stage that all the defects show up.

Front mudguard and headlamp.

Rear mudguard and toolbox.

The fuel tank needs work and will be attacked another day.

My thanks to Old Foxy.