Restoring a Scooter

**Undeadlord** · January 17th, 2005, 12:50 PM

Hey all,

I have recently recovered an old .. (1950-1960) era scooter. It doesn't have much left to it, just a badly rusted body and some bad wheels.

What I would like to do is restore the body and then add a new motor and get it running. What I need to do first is remove the rust and two or three layers of paint the body has accumalated. Any ideas on how to do this?

Sandblasting? Chemicals? Scraping?

Any ideas would be great.

Undeadlord

**Shabow** · January 17th, 2005, 01:09 PM

Sandblasting I think is the most effective way to remove paint/rust from the body.

**diode** · January 17th, 2005, 02:50 PM

Are we talking Lambretta here ?

**Undeadlord** · January 18th, 2005, 01:33 AM

I don't think thats what it is ... from whats left of it, it looks to plain to be a Lambretta. though the design is similar with the seat and handlbars.

The picture I attached is the closest thing they had to what mine looks like. Though mine only has one seat and the area behind the seat isn't curved over the wheel like that. Atleast its not any more, I can't speak for what it might have once looked like.

Undeadlord

**diode** · January 18th, 2005, 08:17 AM

I would disassemble it, and take it to a local sand blasting shop.
But it sounds like it isn't really worth it.

**RayH** · January 18th, 2005, 10:16 AM

What you have is a Cushman or a Sears Allstate manufactured by Cushman!! My late uncle bought one of those as government surplus at the end of World War II. He rode it to work for about 30 years. When Japanese motorcycles first came to the US, he was considering buying one. He looked at the price tag and decided to keep his old Cushman!

**phecky** · January 18th, 2005, 11:22 AM

Cool! Check out the collectablity of it. Cushman is now owned by Textron and they still manufacture many utility vehicles for Parks, Golf Courses, and sports related industry. Next time you see a football player hauled off the field it's most likely on the back of a Cushman. I still use 'em for the golf course I maintain.

As far as sandblasting, it it a good way to strip rust and paint, however, the metal may be too thin. A sandblasting pro will be able to advise. Perhaps just a good power sanding and/or paintstripper use would be a better alternative. Then prime and paint. Could be a fun project if you are so inclined.

**Undeadlord** · January 18th, 2005, 12:15 PM

Oh yea Ray, thanks so much ... I can't find my exact model, on here, but these are defeintly what I have. Couple come close, however I might be missing pieces off mine as well.

I have a sandblaster, but its a tiny thing meant for presicion work, not sandblasting something this large. Maybe I will look into getting some more industrial.

I am interested in this, I will have to wait till the weather warms up here abit, as I have no more garage space left, but I think it would be really cool to get this back in working order. Though I will be the first to admit I have NO expeirence with restoring metal or really any kind of engine expeirence

Undeadlord

**RayH** · January 18th, 2005, 06:02 PM

My uncle bought his for $25 and then a few years later had to pay $35 or $40 for a second one for spare parts. It used to catch fire every once in a while.

**nochay** · January 18th, 2005, 07:05 PM

Dennis Carpenter remakes parts for cushman scooters. Hope this helps!

http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/scooters.php

Dane

**digby0668** · January 18th, 2005, 07:25 PM

If you are going to do it yourself, look into other media to blast with besides sand. There are better options that will not harm the metal.

**phecky** · January 18th, 2005, 09:30 PM

Originally Posted by nochay

Dennis Carpenter remakes parts for cushman scooters. Hope this helps!

http://www.dennis-carpenter.com/scooters.php

Dane

Crazy what you can find out there ain't it? Suddenly that scooter project looks better and better- I'm jealous

**Undeadlord** · January 18th, 2005, 10:52 PM

Cool site, thanks for all the links. My father actually found this one in a shed they were about to tear down. He grabbed it up just cause he thought it looked cool, and now I want to restore it

Undeadlord