Finally got it down to the basic pieces. Found it was used off road and several parts were bent (center stand, foot peg bracket, center stand pivot & rear brake pedal). I'll need to replace some of the parts, but can fix most of them.

The exhausts were probably damaged also, which might explain why new OEM mufflers were on it.

Parts & pieces

 

Looks like a great 175 to restore, keep the pics coming.

 

Thought I'd take the bushings out of the swingarm before cleaning & powder coat. Ended up breaking off the first one I tried. They look to be made of carbon.

Fork covers off revealed some seal leakage and plenty of dirt.

Looks like they'll clean up good

Been gathering parts

Parts gathering is one of my favorite things. Must be the thrill of the hunt? The headlight case/bucket and seat are proving to be the biggest challenge.

The engine will get a good inspection with new seals & gaskets, along with any other part that needs to be replaced. The off road riding and spills ended up

 

Got most of the parts together for bead blasting & powder coat. Only piece missing is the seat pan.

Started working on the forks. They were leaking pretty bad.

 

Photo of an NOS kick stand and the one off the bike (was bent-straightened with press, cracked-ground spot will be welded, and someone welded an appendage-will be removed)

I have a toaster oven to cure small painted parts. Put an ABP out on the VW forum and one of the members donated their oven (kitchen remodeling project). I'll use it for the engine cases and covers.

Oldie but Goodie

Flapper wheels come in handy for cleaning up spots for scratches and gouges. 120 grit gets most of them out.

The bottom leading edge of the frame after sanding and one coat of paint. The paint gives me an idea of what it will look like after powder coating. Still need to final sand with 320 grit.

Exhaust are cleaned up. The left one has some scratches. Will need to do some research on how to clean them up (if possible).
Parts continue to come it.

 

Took a break from the football games yesterday and got the top of the engine apart. Thought I could remove the head without taking the camshaft and rockers. Nope, rockers shafts hit the studs while pulling the head.

The pistons look good, right one shows some signs of blow-by

Oil, grease & some North Carolina dirt

Memory isn't what it use to be and the detail shots help out latter

 

If its not too late, make sure the swing arm bushings are out before powdercoat they're not carbon they melt (hindsight's a b!tch) I left them in because I couldn't find replacements and I was crossing my fingers that they would survive the heat (they don't) ended up with a block of teflon on the lathe.

 

Excellent pics and a really great place to work on your bike I would love something like that myself :lol:

 

Simo, thanks for the tip. Haven't taken the parts to be powder coated yet. I've tried to heat the swingarm and remove the bushings, but no luck. Need to try something else.

Thanks Nige, built the barn in 1992 and slowly started to finish it off inside. Its been a labor of love. My friends call it the "mancave".

 

More dis-assembly.

Took the clutch cover off. The three screws holding the oil filter cover on were difficult to get off (even with the impact driver)

The centrifugal oil filter cover is really on there. I'll try heating the basket up with the heat gun and see what happens.

 

Remove the Phillips head 6mm screw/bolt in the center, and thread an 8mm bolt in....
It will extract the cap as you tighten it in....

 

Thanks, threading the 8mm bolt in worked great. Service manual had me pulling on the tabs with pliers. Good stuff, Thanks again!

 

Pic showing the inside of the filter. There's some crud...

Filter & one of the drive gears had to be removed to pull the pump and clutch basket

Detail shot of gear, noting the raised edge

Two bolts hold the oil pump in place

Pump & basket being removed as a unit

Close up of pump intake screen and plunger

Cases after splitting

One windage tray removed, one still in place

 

Took the transmission gear sets out, along with the kick starter shaft/gear.

Neutral switch had to be removed before the shifter drum cold be taken out

Screwed a bolt into the shift drum to help push it out

Shifter mechanism had to be removed also

Used a bolt to keep all the parts in their respective order

Shifter drum is held in with a metal keeper, held in with two screws

Now it was time to pull the hairpins which kept the dowels in place for each fork.

Notice that there's one pin missing...

Couldn't get the last dowel out. Had to thread a tap in it, and it still didn't want to come. Ended up using a little valve grinding compound in the hole and slow turned it with a drill motor. About 5 rev's and started to work out.

Now the drum was ready to come out.

Here's a pic of the crankshaft assembly. Its a real piece of engineering. All roller bearings, even on the rods. No wonder its got a 10,500rpm red line

 

Cleaned a bit today. First a bath in the solvent tank (mainly degreaser, water soluble). Idea was to get the big stuff off. The parts will get another cleaning later.

After a few hours in the cabinet (glass beads). Not to worry, only the external parts were blasted. More cleaning & prep work for painting will follow

 

Great Photo's, very nice work. Looking forward to seeing it start coming back together.

 

Thanks John

Did some more cleaning

Before

After

Pic of valve layout (only parts missing are the washers or shims that go between the head and the springs)
Exhaust valves have two seals each - Intake none

Exhaust valve guide(s), checked out good

Intakes were good too

Misc

 

Not much progress, but thought the regulator needed some attention. Haven't tested it, hopefully it'll do its thing after I install it.

Here's a pic after a masked off the label

Turned the air pressure down in the cabinet and took the rust & finish off. Painted with Stainless paint and used red touch-up for the screw and setting plug.

 

Nice work

 

Thanks Nige. Project will slow down a bit (family & house stuff)

Still looking for a headlight case/bucket. If anyone has or knows where to get one; please PM me - Thanks!

 

Getting ready to bead blast the frame & parts, but first had to remove the seat cover & foam so the seat pan can be cleaned up & powder coated

Had to remove the hinge. I think '71 was the last year for the rear hinge, later years went with a side hinge set up.

Next came the seat strap. Chrome brackets are badly rusted.

Seat pan barbs had to be bent up, so the cover can be removed
There's quite a few, and luckily none broke off

Seat cover

Now it was time to remove the foam. I thought this would be the easiest part. Nope... foam was glued/stuck in place.
It is cool seeing the different types of foam and how it was put together.

 

More seat stuff

Pried the brackets off... pretty rusty

Bead blasting cleaned them up, but they were still bent

Had a chuck of aluminum, happened to be the right size, just needed a hole

Ready to clamp it in the vise

 

I am the proud owner of a 71 CL175. As a new owner, and a new rider, I am really impressed with your project. I can't wait for the next set of pics. I am not mechanically inclined, but feel as if I am in class, watching an instructor. Thanks for your great project report. I look forward to seeing more pics and progress.

 

Thought I'd take the bushings out of the swingarm before cleaning & powder coat. Ended up breaking off the first one I tried. They look to be made of carbon.

You can put a hacksaw blade through the hole and reattach it to the saw handle once its inside. It may take a little elbow grease, but if you can make a cut on each side of the bushing down to the frame you'll be able to bust the rest of it out fairly easily. Once you have cuts made, a couple shots of penetrating lube will help free them up as well. I had to do the same thing with my honda civic control arm bushing a couple weeks ago.


,Tracy

 

papabear, Thanks, thought I'd give a bit more detail than most of the projects I've done. Glad to hear it might entice you to do your own. There aren't that many special tools and its great driving something you put together. Good luck & keep us posted.

Midwest, great idea - Thanks.
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Decided to work on the front wheel. Spokes looked good, but will need to clean them up and see. New ones aren't cheap.

Took the spokes out.

Rim looks really good with just a couple of small rust spots on the inside.

Pic of the front brake hub

Front axle

Front brake assembly

Brakes are actuated through (2) mechanisms that work in unison.

They have dimples that you line up for correct fitment - pretty cool!

Front brakes shoes are in good shape with plenty of material left - cleaned and ready for bagging.

Speedometer drive gear is removed by turning counter-clockwise

Exposing the driven gear which engages with the speedo cable
Not sure how to remove this assembly - looks like I might need to pull the pin to the right?

Misc parts needing to cleaned