1970 Fox Minibike Part 9


Being unable to find a proper Fox chrome gas tank, 😔meant finding an alternative. They look so good, nothing comes close.

There was no way I was going to use the pit bike tank.  It looked like something from Star Wars!  

A friend, George’s dad collected old engines, mowers, tillers, etc. and I grabbed about five different ones.  There were some neat looking types, but none fit well enough.  I had a black Briggs & Stratton tank left over from other projects, so I used it. 

I grabbed an old governor mounting plate and trimmed the original gas tank mounts from it.  

These two ends were shaped to fit the main tube of the bike and welded on.  This finished up the tank install.  Being plastic, rust won’t be a problem in the fuel system.  Should I come across a nice Fox tank, I could cut the tabs off easily  and having kept the original tank tabs, it could be installed.  Next, tabs were cut from sheet metal for the coil mount and welded on.  The CDI was held in place by a tab, directly behind the coil mount.  This was an effort to tidy up the wiring and keep it dry.

A fuel line was cut and installed.  Gas was added and the tires inflated.  Test drive time!!










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

1970 Fox Minibike Part 10- It’s Alive!

Image
As the tires on the pit bike were worn out, a choice had to be made as to what would replace them.    The little 2.50x 10 size is available in many styles and brands. I ordered a pair of Michelin Starcross tires as they had an aggressive knobby pattern.     It was also a chance to remove the wheel bearings from the hubs and put new ones in.     One of them was a bit loose in the bore, so a prick punch was gently hit in several places to raise the surface the bearing sat in.     I couldn’t find new wheels at reasonable prices, so a good rubbing with Autosol made them shine as much as possible.     The new small tires were tough to install, as the bead is stiff.     Dish soap and patience prevailed! Well, after three months of working on the bike project, the day came to fire it up and take it for a spin.     I changed the oil and put a new drain plug gasket on, not knowing when or if ever the oil had ...
Read more

Classic Mini bike Engines

Image
Making a Tecumseh Snowblower Engine Look Vintage As a kid, the Honda bikes were what we dreamed of owning.  Their motorcycle feel with steering head bearings and a transmission were high end features in a day when lawnmower type flathead engine powered mini bikes were the norm.  I remember as a kid, looking for the reel type lawnmowers that had horizontal shaft engines.  Hoping to find one no longer being used and pulling the engine off to put on a mini bike I didn’t even have at that point!  They were around in the late 60s, early 70s, but were usually 2 or 2.5 hp maximum.  My first “go kart” was one my Dad built, using parts from an old baby carriage and a sheet of plywood.  I pestered Dad until he finally conceded to find an engine to bolt onto the back of it.  I believe it was 1967 or 1968 in Ancaster when we found an old outdoor wringer washing machine engine.  Yes, gasoline powered washing machines were common up to the 1960s....
Read more