Dt100a restoration!

[Perattzi]

Well, it is 97cc so just under the 100cc mark 😆
This is what happens when you decide to build your partner a lil bike and get carried away. Acquired this 1974 DT100 a few years ago from a friend and have been slowly chipping away at a nut and bolt resto. I am easily distracted so it's taking way longer than planned but my goal is to finish by fall.
At first it appeared in good shape but the more I dug in the more sins I found. But hey I'm sure many a kid had a blast romping on this cute thing. On the upside it was nearly all there and original with a title for $350.
Here's a pic how I received it, definitely not running and a crankcase fuel of smelly fuel.

[Perattzi]

Stripped it down and found the engine case was cracked at the front mount and pretty nicely repaired, but a nice set for $40 on ebay were soon on their way...
Old vs new after vapor honing

[Perattzi]

Some more of the engine build. After inspecting the gearbox and clutch, decided most of it was just beat, luckily parts are cheap and pretty easy to find. So new cases and transmission were used. The crank was rebuilt by Ken O'Conner racing, and boat anchor of a cast iron cylinder was bored 2nd over by a local shop. Since using unmated parts I had to reshim the crank and transmission. Also, the install depth of various bearings was a head scratcher but finally got everything together correctly. Many things in the original motor were not assembled properly last time it was rebuilt. I'm still looking for a complete clutch in good shape. The outer basket is just so worn, and the inner had the classic cracks where the spring screws thread in.
Realized the clutch adjustment threads were a bit knackered AFTER I assembled the bottom so I carefully cleaned them up with grease and was able to capture all the shavings. Thorough cleaning afterwards and all is well! Here are process pics!

[Perattzi]

Boy some of the bottom bearings are $$$! But in for a penny, in for a pound with this thing...
I slapped it all together and everything turns smooth, the clearance of the crank is good, it's kinda strange how you have to shim these. Lightly sanded the head surface on a piece of glass, added some high temp paint and viola. Here it sits in the chassis,(in my spare room, garage is just too dang small 😝)I'm kinda telling this story backwards, but next I'll show the chassis restoration thus far!

[kpke]

You do very nice work. Everything looks new including all the zinc plated stuff. Looking forward to more updates.

[pdxjim]

Looking good Joe!

[Perattzi]

Thanks guys! Sharing it here helps keep me motivated. Most people don't appreciate just how much work even a tiny bike like this is to redo.

So I stripped it all the way down and had all the painted parts media blasted. Some light hammer and dolly to the rear fender, most everything else was surprisingly straight. Followed that with some body filler and epoxy primer and sealer.  The black parts were sprayed with single stage, more glossy than it would had been originally but I like the gloss. Not sure I'll paint a frame again. I keep having the issue if trying to get the paint on wet to flow and look nice, but overspray would land on the other tubes. Powdercoat is the way perhaps.
Fenders, headlight, and headlight ears still need to be painted silver.

[Perattzi]

Not the most ideal paint setup, but it works.

[Perattzi]

Fork tube was trashed, found replacement on eBay. New bushings, seals, and oil. Doubt these things do much of anything anyway lol. There was still a tiny bit of pitting so I decided to fill with epoxy and sand smooth and run for boots. Not original but I prefer the look.
Polished the hubs and fitted new bearings, shoes, NOS spokes. Original rims cleaned up well!
I spent a TON of time restoring as much of the original hardware as possible. By using a tiny hammer and files I was able to repair slightly stripped bolt heads etc. Bolts that needed replaced I filed off any markings and 'sculpted' them to look like the vintage ones. After all that I sanded and polished all the bolt heads. Then everything was dropped off to be zinc plated.
If I did it over I would do a better job of cataloging the hardware and comparing to parts diagrams BEFORE to ensure everything is there.

[Perattzi]

And here's where I'm at with it. Now that the weather has improved I can work on the body work. The fuel and oil tanks and pipe all need some sort stripping. I'm torn between trying to do it myself or have them all dipped. The quotes Ive gotten are pretty high.