Motor is out, parts are inventoried and it’s jsut about ready to ship out to the powdercoater – still trying to round up a few small bits first before it goes.

Been lazy waiting for parts.  Got the new bars in, found out that the company who manufactured the electronic igniton I ordered was sold to another company, who has to inventory all of their product – and have no idea when they will be able to sell more, so I am SOL.  On I continue looking for alternatives.  Won a used set of 600RR rearsets on ebay today which look like they will fit better than the f4i sets I had on hand.  Motor is ready to come out, and the fun is almost here to begin.

Haven’t done much over the past week – waiting for parts, etc to come in, and I need the tank before I can get the fram in for powdercoating (need to check for mounting).

However, the first of  some new goodies showed up today

More breakdown today.Pulled off most of the outer junk, sorting thru the mess that is a botched electrical system   Found some brackets today that might work with running the f4i rearsets – not sure yet.

Photo album can be seen HERE

I’ve wanted an old cafe racer for years now.  Not sure what it is that draws me to them, but they clearly speak to me in a very specific way.  So, as luck would have it, Mars lined up with Pluto, and I find myself with an old, semi-beaten up 1968 cl350 in my garage. Yay for me!!

She’s a little tired, a little beaten up, but not horrible.  Engine compression looks good, no major leaks, and the frame is not rusted in a way that couldn’t be repaired.  I am excited about doing a resto on her, as this will be my first attempt at bringing an old beast back to life.

This will be an ongoing story, as I will continue to update it with new pics, info about my progress restoring it, etc.  Here we go!

Picked her up today, and trailered her over to the house. 
So far:

1. She runs fine at idle, but bogs out when you try to open up the throttle too wide – the previous owner mentioned that the carbs were toast, the floats had been soldered a few times and were in sorry shape, so they will most likely be replaced. 
2. I will be taking her off points and doing either a Newtronics or Boyer electronic ignition, depending on price and availability. 
3. The shocks look rather tired, so they will more than likely need to be replaced as well.
4. I have an order in for clubman bars, as well as a newfiberglass seatpan/cowl.  I am still looking at a few new tanks, as I want a longer tank.  Not sure what I will be going with yet, but, we’ll see
5. Pulled the exhaust off last nite to get a better look at her.  The sidecovers look ok (better condition than I thought they’d be, not broken, just bad paint).
6. Starting to disassemble, and once that’s done, the frame is heading out for beading/powdercoating if the price is right, otherwise, paint.