dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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Sept 4, 2020 16:41:17 GMT
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So.. yeah.. half the wheels i normally go for but i cant turn down a cheap project. About 6 months ago i was browsing gumtree and came across a "Old moped" for £75, chap had cleared out a garage for somebody and just wanted rid, now i knew about as much about it as he did, but i figured i love tinkering and it takes up a quarter of the space of curse word i usually buy! So off i went to collect it. Easy fit in the back of the daily. A better look in the daylight of the condition as i got it. Quick wash Really no idea what the plan is, it doesn't run and didn't turn over so it will need looking at regardless, so i decided to strip it down. Left with this now. This would be the reason it doesn't run anymore, not sure how this happened.. but luckily found a brand new piston cheap enough, its the same as a lot of the Minarelli pistons. Thats been ordered as has a gasket set from Italy. Started cleaning up a few bits and dropped the painted parts off with a mate who's going to spray them for me. Should get the painted parts back on Monday, should a be a nice steady winter project, in no rush to complete it and really no idea what I'm doing with it when it is done! Friend sent me this of the tank painted, i was umming and ahhing over the colour choice for a while but decided to go white, its not the original colour but i always liked how the Vespas looked in white i think it suits a retro moped! There's a bit of information out there for them, found an exploded diagram of the engine alongside a maintenance manual available online. Link to the manual if anyone's interested - www.lucky2strokes.com/Free-Demm-Smily-Moped-Repair-Manual-p/z-demm-smily-manual.htmI'll try and update this as i go, I'm curse word at updating stuff but maybe somebody finds it of interest or knows about them!
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dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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Sept 8, 2020 15:50:28 GMT
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Little update, some bits arrived from Italy. Spent a bit of time in the garage this afternoon after work putting the engine back together. Should have all the painted parts back next week, big shout out to my friend for getting it painted free of charge just because his painter mate at work thought it was interesting! Top bloke. Discovered a new carb is readily available still so next month I'll treat it to one, they're only £40 ish new. discovered also I'm an idiot, the more I learn about them the more i notice is missing/fooked. Annoyingly one side of the engine cover has been cut at some point no idea why, and the other side is non existent. Original picture, never noticed at the time as I didn't know what it was supposed to look like. What its supposed to look like Might be difficult to source replacements, I will try however. Current plan is to slowly over winter get it as good as i can with what i have. I'm not really keen on having the bars, wheels etc re-chromed, it costs so much. So paint may be an option on them also, or polished metal and lacquered? Not sure what the best approach is. Once i get it as far as I can I guess it'll sit until i source replacement bits/find a way to resolve the left over jobs, it doesn't take up a lot of space and I quite like it really, it's interesting. Long term i imagine I'll either give it to a chap at work that collects motorbikes (If I finish it before he retires) or donate it to a museum if they're interested, I don't think there's any real great value to them and as much as I like it I wont have a use for it when its done.
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Rasc
Part of things
Posts: 47
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Sept 8, 2020 17:51:37 GMT
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Nice project and love that dinky little piston!
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It's better to burn out than fade away
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Sept 8, 2020 19:51:57 GMT
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This has got me scouring ebay
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That is a very strange thing. It's not a smiley I don't think, it's got a rigid frame, the smiley, toxy, andy and scout are all fitted with suspension front and rear (and are s25 model code I think). I seem to remember they stopped production in the late 70's too although that maybe an error on my part. I don't think your missing the clutch casing nor do I think the crack case is wrong but as I have no idea what it is, it's very hard to say, what it shouldn't look like is the smiley you've shown though, it's a different configuration with the pedal start run to the back wheel rather that though the fly wheel. the clutch basket may have had a plate over it, note that it's only got 2 bolts and there isn't a gasket surface for a full cover. There is a DEMM museum near Florence. it might be worth a google translate letter and a few pictures to them. www.discoveraltorenoterme.it/demm-museum/
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Sept 9, 2020 10:03:36 GMT
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Last Edit: Sept 9, 2020 10:06:20 GMT by novocaine
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Ritchie
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 765
Club RR Member Number: 12
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Sept 9, 2020 10:38:39 GMT
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That's a great wee project. Sorry if you're aware of this but did you make 100% sure that there's no bits of piston skirt in the crankcase before you put the barrel on, would hate for it to grenade on the first startup.
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Last Edit: Sept 9, 2020 10:39:28 GMT by Ritchie
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TessierAshpool
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 507
Club RR Member Number: 168
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Sept 9, 2020 11:11:21 GMT
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Love an old moped, following!
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Sept 11, 2020 7:41:15 GMT
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That's a great wee project. Sorry if you're aware of this but did you make 100% sure that there's no bits of piston skirt in the crankcase before you put the barrel on, would hate for it to grenade on the first startup. This is a really good tip, if it has been sat for a good long while you may as well fit new main bearings and oil seals unless it was run on a really oily mix which seems to stop them going hard over time.
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TessierAshpool
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 507
Club RR Member Number: 168
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Sept 11, 2020 8:48:05 GMT
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...if it has been sat for a good long while you may as well fit new main bearings and oil seals... I'd second this. The bearing is less essential as long as it seems sound and there is zero play on the end of the crank, but the seals are quite likely to be dried out now and it would be a shame if you got the engine assembled and back in the bike only to find it's hard to start and idles badly because of a seal leak. Am I right in thinking it's a wet auto clutch? If so, the seals on that side usually are fine as they are lubricated, the seal on the other side will be dry though so more likely to shrink and/or wear. Sometimes you can replace those seals without splitting the case. Edit: looking at manual at www.luckymopedmanuals.com/manuals/demm/DemmSmily.pdf it does seem the seals come out from the outside which is good. Looking at your pics, you have access now to the dry side seal so probably still worth doing now.
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dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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Sept 12, 2020 18:44:25 GMT
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Thanks for all the replys and feedback It is a rather interesting little thing i certainly like it. novocaine I have some French colleagues at work i may ask them to put something together for me and email/send a letter - Thanks for the info And thanks for letting me know its a Demm mofa smiley junior! Ritchie, don't worry, all checked and cleaned out! By no means an expert on these things but I'm a mechanical engineer by trade I cant find a source for seals anywhere however i had the seals out when rebuilding the engine, and they looked in good condition, not dry or perished, cleaned them off and rubber greased them. Not perfect but I'm confident they will be fine. There is little to no play in the crank, id imagine it hasn't covered many miles by the overall condition of the engine. Like i say, no expert in mopeds or even cars, but a keen hobbyist! I work as a mechanical engineer in the rail industry, looking at all sorts of rail equipment some of the knowledge is transferable, we deal with a lot of rubber on pneumatic equipment so very much used to seeing worn/degraded seals etc. Couple of pictures, thanks to Amazon i bought a mountain bike stand, figured it'd be ideal to rebuild it on! (Plus i wanted one for my mountain bike) Got the fuel tank and front forks back, should be getting the frame back painted next week, taking a while but he's doing it for free in his spare time as a favour! Glad i went with white, really like it! Also, bit of a question to everyone, in regards to the wheels, forks etc, they are rather rusty, no rot. The forks metal polished up nicely and i could probably do the same with the wheels but it'd take forever, very tempted to get them blasted and painted/lacquered in just a nice silver. Any suggestions on the best way to restore this?
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TessierAshpool
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 507
Club RR Member Number: 168
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Sept 12, 2020 23:51:44 GMT
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That tank looks lovely.
On the wheels, the centre and spokes certainly look salvageable. I'd be tempted to polish or at least scrub up the hub and spokes and just restore/paint the rims on some sort of metal hue.
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dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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Sept 13, 2020 6:38:10 GMT
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That tank looks lovely. On the wheels, the centre and spokes certainly look salvageable. I'd be tempted to polish or at least scrub up the hub and spokes and just restore/paint the rims on some sort of metal hue. Yeah he offered me cherry red or white as that's the paint he had spare and in glad I went white, certainly suits the era of the bike! And yeah I think I may end up painting a lot of the rusted metal stuff, not an original finish but will probably look the best.
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dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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Tiny update.. Got the frame back from paint, very happy with the outcome! I'll try to get another update soon may get some time to work on it this weekend! Just busy with other projects.
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dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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Little bit more progress today, terrible weather put me off working on the car so i got in the garage and did some work on the Smily. Got the painted frame in the garage on my mountain bike stand to work on it. Bolted up the tank, and front fork assembly. Refitted the springs with some fresh grease. Also fitted the pedals, however the pins that hold them in are fubar, well the M6 thread is, not sure how to tackle this yet, going to do some research, I'm hoping bikes of that era used the same style of pin to locate/lock the pedals on! If not ill get some made by somebody i suppose. Slow progress and have far too many 4 wheel related projects ongoing also Will update as and when i can.
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They look pretty standard bike style cotter pins - various ones easily bought on Ebay I would think. Great project!
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1968 Mini MkII, 1968 VW T1, 1967 VW T1, 1974 VW T1, 1974 VW T1 1303, 1975 Mini 1000 auto, 1979 Chevette, 1981 Cortina, 1978 Mini 1000 1981 Mini City, 1981 Mini van, 1974 Mini Clubman, 1982 Metro City, 1987 Escort, 1989 Lancia Y10, 1989 Cavalier, 1990 Sierra, 1990 Renault 19, 1993 Nova, 1990 Citroen BX, 1994 Ford Scorpio, 1990 Renault Clio, 2004 Citroen C3, 2006 Citroen C2, 2004 Citroen C4, 2013 Citroen DS5. 2017 DS3 130 Plenty of other scrappers!
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dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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They look pretty standard bike style cotter pins - various ones easily bought on Ebay I would think. Great project! Yup just found some on ebay for £3, worth a punt! And thanks, hopefully have it finished by the end of the year, don't wanna rush it perfect for the cold months in the garage.
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dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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Oct 14, 2020 15:36:46 GMT
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Took the tyres off of the wheels today as id like to tackle them next to get it rolling as i may need some space in the garage over winter. The plan is to clean them up and paint them a generic silver, it wont be the original finish but I'm sure itll look fine. Does anyone on here know of anywhere good in Wiltshire that can media blast these off? Even better if somebody on here has the equipment id much rather pay somebody in the community! Alternatively its a few long evenings with a wire brush attachment on the drill for me!
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dan91
Part of things
Posts: 414
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Nov 21, 2020 12:38:22 GMT
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Small bit of progress on the Smily this morning between other jobs. Motivation has been low for most things so currently have a fleet of cars needing work doing plus this project! Hoping to get this mostly done by the end of the year. Front wheel fully stripped/ cleaned up and reassembled today. A lot of the metalwork is corroded and pitted, not ideal and really beyond my capabilities in a small garage to get it all perfect, so sort of resigned to 'That'll do' for now. Plan is to give everything a good clean up best i can, get it all finished. Then hopefully seeing it all back together and running will give me added motivation to either replace parts where i can source them or get parts professionally re-done. Wheel before condition And after Far from a perfect job but its a lot better, all done with a wire wheel. You can see the extent of the pitting when its cleaned up. Inspected the individual ball bearings and see very little wear or damage, so everything cleaned and re-greased bearings put back in before reassembling wheel fully. And wheel bolted back to the bike for now, spins nice and freely and brake stops as it should. The shoes had plenty of meat although its clearly very old. Will do for now until i source replacements. Next job when i find a spare hour or two is the rear wheel.
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Last Edit: Nov 21, 2020 12:39:33 GMT by dan91
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Nov 23, 2020 10:00:15 GMT
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Another rail guy? Between you, me, glenanderson and a few others, we could start our own! Probably couldn't do any worse. Spent quite a few months in Swindon (in between overseas trips) living in the Rose and CROWN in Ashbury, fortunately before it was done up. Loving the enthusiasm on this little thing.
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Last Edit: Nov 23, 2020 10:07:01 GMT by georgeb
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