CNew

Anyone had success with the Seal-All that JustO&R referenced? It looks to be a fuel resistant adhesive.

Wow, very nice. I wish I could find one of these little mini bikes... those covers and the seat turned out great!

I’m in the process of cleaning the carburetor and replacing the diaphragm. This version has the little metal disc that contacts the plunger arm. What is the best way to glue it to the diaphragm? Is a small drop of gasket maker sufficient to hold it in place?

Ouch, thats one mangled piston!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LITTLE-PETRO-CHAIN-GUARD-with-DECAL-NEW-COVER-Minibike-Vintage-Mini-Bike/163966670060?hash=item262d2cd4ec:g:UloAAOSwHVhd1E4a FYI - in case you’re still looking for these parts...

David, if it helps for dating this as a later Aquabug it has the carburetor with the little rubber plunger instead of the steel ball.

Thanks everyone for sharing your opinions on the decal. I was leaning that way as well and will keep it original. David- I agree with your observation on the throttle. This unit has a more rugged handle, especially where the cable mounts. The ones with the yellow plastic connector seem to get damaged easily. I have one of those too and it’s stripped out the cable doesn’t slide smoothly inside the housing. Got the recoil spring all done this morning. It was being way more cantankerous than usual. It is smooth as a whistle now.

Curious to see what others would do... given the overall nice and clean condition would you keep the original faded decal on the starter housing or replace it with a new one?

Great pointer on the tank. I hope to store this inside the house but if it does end up in the garage I’ll definitely pop the top to keep the pressure stable. Sorry to hear you had one split at the seam, that really bites. There definitely isn’t much in the way of discoloration due to heat on the exhaust but there are some little tarnish spots probably from moisture or something. Has anyone had success with chrome polish or other method to help clean those up?

Very cool- I’ve always toyed around with the idea of getting one of the old tether cars. Looking forward to more photo! Hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving!

Yes indeed, it has the 3-blade prop.

I finally got the spark plug freed up, it was in there way too tight. Now that I can see inside I can confirm the engine has been run before but I still don’t think it’s seen many hours of use. I’ll keep adding photos along the way. I’m still convinced that by looking at the condition of all the screws, bolts and nuts in various places that this engine hasn’t been opened up or monkeyed with which is nice. The main top cover has a few scratches and rub marks and a few hairline age cracks on stress points like corners or where someone probably stored it laying on its side but overall it’s pretty nice. The decals cleaned up nicely too except the one on the recoil housing which is faded from the sun and age.

Finally getting a chance to open up my Aquabug. Recall when I bought it the recoil was spring from being yanked too hard. I think it just needs a good cleaning and re-assembly. Now that I have the cover off I’m starting to think this engine may not have been used much, if at all. It certainly doesn’t look as though it’s ever been worked on. It needs some cleaning but it looks to be in really great shape. The gas tank doesn’t have any odor whatsoever and is about as clean as it could be, makes me wonder if it’s ever even been gassed up. I should probably Pull the flywheel to clean and adjust the points while I’m at it but I kind of hate to do anything to it but clean it up. It even still has the oil sticker on the prop housing. I would suspect that would have been long gone if it had been used much.

It would be kind of fun to try to do a home made tank sometime.

Thanks for the tip, I’ll have to give that a try!

I hope so but I still have a lot to learn from the pros! I think that’s the case for most of mine as well. I have that Herter’s ice auger that has a vertical tank and it would be nice to swap it out some day since it’s pretty rusted out.

I’ll echo that! Cheers!

I believe the one on eBay was red.

https://allstategasket.com/info_gasket_material_style-1165.asp I have some of the 0.006” Vegetable paper gasket material from this link. It might work for the thin induction gasket but you have to cut them.

Yes, I would be very interested in a verticle tank. PM what you’re thinking.

Yes

A very very special THANK YOU to JustO&R! With his help the engine now looks as good as new! Definitely makes it a really nice and complete original engine again. Can’t thank you enough!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/O-R-O-R-32MM-PISTON-PN-37-5/192849706702?hash=item2ce6bcfece:g:-v8AAOSwtCFcgWPS I think this is the piston...

Man, that’s a bummer with the knife scratches. Amazing how something like that survives so long only to be messed up in a split second from carelessness. Sorry to hear about the HP items, that’s incredibly frustrating!

I’m anxious to get it messy and start working on some engines! David - I feel your pain, I’ve had a few small parts bounce off and disappear... it’s amazing sometimes how things go off into oblivion.