OK, a few months back, I was sent a picture of this 1973 Z50. Looked pretty worn, but most of the parts except the head light were there. A friend was making some room in his garage, and tech day was coming up. So I figured it would be a little clean up, get it running, and pass it on to one of the Elvi who always seem to be looking for one of these bikes. That is when the nightmare began. I really didn't worry about documenting this as a build, since it was never intended to be even close to a complete restoration. Sadly, every system had somehow been jacked, hence the name. Black soot smoked all over the inside of the engine, a worn out crank, and pitted cylinder. Ignition stator was bad, inside the wheel hubs, the brakes were corroded and would get stuck when applied. Wheel halves have rust-through. Handle bars and front forks bent of course, pinholes in tank and carb bowl. Seatpan edge is rusted out, and every inch of the bike except for the tank and side cover was painted with rattle-can silver or black, without being removed from the bike. The front forks were painted silver, and the engine was black. If you look really close at the bottom right picture, the kickstand is rotated all the way forward. It had a full 180 degree rotation. On the positive side, the tires hold air. Well, long story short, lots of cleaning, working paint off some parts, a bunch of new parts, tires, wheels, headlight parts, popped out some dents, then sealed tank with epoxy. Put on a new fork stop, fixed the kickstand, and an upcoming engine rebuild, and it will be in pretty rideable shape. Kind of blew past the basic carb/tank clean out thing. My advice: don't ever by something from a picture (just kidding, I do it all the time online.)
1973 Honda Z50...A bike called "Jack"
davmo
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Tell "Jack" that his chrome fenders are on the way.. that guy could use a break. 
There are a few bonus items tucked inside as well.
-HFM
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There are a few bonus items tucked inside as well.
-HFM
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I have parts for Jack that will leave my warehouse next week. I gotta find a box that will fit that damn exhaust. All the ones I have found thus far are square or cube shaped.
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Still waiting on a crank that should be here any day, then the engine will get done. It will be a 70cc piston and stock head. There is a growing pile of parts around the bike, like some voo-doo shrine, trying to conjure up a bike from this dead one. The chrome fenders from HondaFiddyMan are sitting there, waiting for a place to go (thanks, Matt.) Now the big question: to paint or not to paint? There are some creases, dings and scrapes on the tank, as well as some epoxy sealed pinholes, that make this kind of marginal as a survivor tank. Coming this far, it is tempting to just paint the frame, tank and side cover. The engine will be like new, new tires, brakes, brake pedal, cables, headlight, sprockets, chain, hardware. I guess at minimum, I should put new bushings in the swingarm, and paint the frame. The tank can be done any time.
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Ha ha ha ha
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Can Jack be nimble yet?
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Jack fell down and broke his crown... Wait- wrong Jack.. Or is it!?
-HFM
-HFM
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You guys don't know Jack. Just for your beeswax, I have been cleaning up the shop, and built the bottom end of the engine on this bike. Going to dismantle the bike and paint the frame.
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Jack Sprat could eat no fat......
Little Jack Horner sat in a corner.....
Jack-in-the-Box...
Jack-O-Lantern...
Jack the Knife (already covered)
What would Jack Bauer do....?
The inverse of Jack On....
Stop yer jaw-Jackin' and make that thing go!
(can you tell I have not started my new job yet...?)
Little Jack Horner sat in a corner.....
Jack-in-the-Box...
Jack-O-Lantern...
Jack the Knife (already covered)
What would Jack Bauer do....?
The inverse of Jack On....
Stop yer jaw-Jackin' and make that thing go!
(can you tell I have not started my new job yet...?)
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(can you tell I have not started my new job yet...?)
That's funny!
-HFM
That's funny!
-HFM
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Jack bike update: got the engine mostly back together. Had to remember to do the heli-coil for the carb mount, the thing that I had to take the engine out for anyway. Got the frame disassembled, found what appears to be some expert machining around the rear wheel mount. Seems it was recessed out for what were probably "racing screws" or something else very important like that. Being adverse to speed, I will probably just go with another stock swingarm I have here. Got the seatpan from Shapeshitter, and even though he warned me about the one bad corner, you can see it is superior to what I had. Amazing that one bike can take up so much space when taken apart.
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Lookin good!
PS: please send me those "Race" screws....
-HFM
PS: please send me those "Race" screws....
-HFM
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I hope the other stuff I sent will be useful somewhere.
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The muffler is nice, and should be used on this or another project. The engine side cover may show up in another bike I'm working on now. Got a few more things done. The engine is together except for a copper washer on the head. Put the rebuilt carb and refurbed air cleaner on just to see how it looks. The frame awaits bead blast. The hubs are broken down, everything has been degreased, and the blasting/polishing/painting part is going to begin.
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Jack says, "An Elvis doing a wheelie on a Z50 crashed in to my helicopter. Can you send me another Z50?"
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Got the blasting done. I have been going back and forth with this bike. The frame will get painted, the wheels will get a rebuild,the engine got a total rebuild, but I have to figure out where to stop with the process. I think I will leave polishing of aluminum hubs and brake panels to the next lucky owner of this fine vehicle. There will be a new set of bearings, seals, and brake pads. Already have some replated brake pivots, rear brake arm, and one axle. Found a Honda swingarm pivot new in the bag. The only part that really bothers me about leaving the original paint is the front forks, that look pretty bad, and could benefit from any paint.
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