A few months ago, Jean-Luc brought his AV3 to the Workshop to see what could be done to get it running again.
Here are some “starting” photos of our machine:
As you can see in the photo, this brave moped had already been largely customized, joining the very exclusive club of "green" mopeds ahead of its time 🙂
Given the scale of the task, and the engine being seized, we agreed to first see if the engine was "salvageable" before deciding whether or not to embark on a major restoration project.
With a lot of time and penetrating oil, the engine slowly unseized, making a long-term restoration possible.
This autumn, it was time to start this project, which will span several months.
The first phase began with a complete disassembly, a careful disassembly to avoid breaking any bolts, as the goal is to recover as many original parts as possible.
Gradually, each element is disassembled and classified according to the treatment it will "undergo": micro-blasting, chroming, galvanizing, polishing, or simply a simple cleaning.
So, starting from here:
we get to smaller boxes:
Here are all the elements to be chromed.
there, the parts intended for galvanizing, after cleaning and micro-blasting of the whole.
Indeed, on such rusty parts, a simple new galvanization is not enough. The baths will remove the rust but will leave a "dull" appearance, which is not good with new zinc.
The prior micro-blasting is certainly long and tedious but considerably enhances the beautiful final appearance.
Another box contains the engine and carburetor parts that will be treated later.
All the rest (frame and frame elements) goes to chemical stripping to remove the multiple layers of paint.
During this time, we were able to sort out the missing or broken parts and we are looking for them to have everything on hand on reassembly day.
We are also trying to restore the whole to its original configuration. This AV is one of the first models and should have the long "art deco" light on the front fender. So we need to look for this light (shell and support) but also for the front fender reinforcement which must be sheet metal and not in the form of a linkage…..
To be continued….