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Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:20 am
Author: Z903
Bit of a lazy holiday going on, so thought I might annoy you all with my current project :wink:
It's a Z1-A that I picked here in Oz just about this time last year as a flat pack kit :lol:
I'll add progress updates over the next day or so to where she's up to currently.

Sooo,
Previous owner had it all stripped down for a rebuild that unfortunately never quite got there.
We just happened to be on holidays over on the big island (We live in Tasmania) when it came up, and there was no way on God's Earth it wasn't coming back with us :mrgreen: So the frame was manhandled onto the roof rack and everything else rammed in amongst clothes bags and fishing gear.
As bought.jpg

Bringing it home.jpg

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:27 am
Author: Z903
Digging her out on the otherside revealed the frame heavily braced and lots to do. It had been bent and previous owner had it off to an engineering shop to straighten and brace.
He also had oil cooler mounts added at that time as well.
I made the decision that it was not viable to do a 100% restoration on this one and rather build a Stone replica bike instead.

Frame bracing front.jpg

Frame bracing rear.jpg

Frame bracing head.jpg

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:31 am
Author: Philippe
Hi Z903
THAT'S a basket case!
A completely stripped Z1A, with a strenghtened frame and lots of fun !
Looking forward to see your progress , good luck!
GrtZ
Philippe

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:52 am
Author: Z903
Should have posted this pic....as the previous owner found her :(
Z1-A .jpg

Z1-A.jpg

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 7:37 am
Author: garyd
At least you have a guide to what it should look like when you've finished :lol: :lol: :lol:

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 8:50 am
Author: Bill P
What a cracking project enjoy :)

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 12:31 pm
Author: Gonzo
I like these threads, I find them very uplifting to see a once forgotten bike brought back to life.

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2019 8:48 pm
Author: ADRIAN H
How come I can never find a barn with a Z1 inside. :D
Lots of scope there to do your own thing.

Will be following this with interest. Keep them pictures coming.

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2019 1:21 am
Author: Z903
The decision was made to clean up the frame and get it back to "reasonably" standard look.
Rear bracing had to go as I wanted to fit a standard airbox, also I didn't want an oil cooler hanging of it so those fitting went too :roll:
Thought I could live with the under tank braces and that front cross tube.
I also got hold of a cut off steering damper bracket and added that :D

Frame rear braces removed.jpg

Frame front oil fittings removed.jpg

Frame steering damper bracket added.jpg

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2019 1:27 am
Author: Z903
Off to the blasters we went....blasted, primed and painted :happy

Frame painted.jpg

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 1:02 am
Author: RAYZ1
Looking good , what did you paint it with ?

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:24 am
Author: Z903
RAYZ1 wrote:Looking good , what did you paint it with ?

Standard old 2-Pack Gloss Black :D

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:29 am
Author: Z903
Engine was a complete basket case, torn down to it's smallest components :cry: Way past anything I felt comfortable putting back together.
The state of the valves kinda says it all....not much chance of lapping them in. lol
Luckily we have a Z guru a couple of hours from here and he agreed to do the rebuilding for me.
So off I toddled with boxes and bags in hand to see the master :lol:
Old valves.jpg

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:37 am
Author: Z903
While the engine was away it was a chance to get on with sorting the rest of it.
Took a bag of parts off to the zinc plater and made a start on the wheels. Hubs had been painted Black but some old fashioned elbow grease along with a good amount of paint stripper and things are on the improve.
Old hubs.jpg

Old hubs2.jpg

Cleaned up the front hub and gave it a fresh coat of satin black, then back to the rear hub parts to scrub them back to alloy again.
Hub painted.jpg
Hub painted.jpg (50.71 KiB) Viewed 11483 times

Re: Z1-A going back to the Grave(Diggers)

Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2019 2:47 am
Author: Z903
Finally got all the old paint off and onto the thankless job of polishing things up :D
Got the rear hub shiny along with some other parts while I was in the mood. Forks are from an XL350K0 I'm also playing with.
Hubs polished.jpg
Hubs polished.jpg (50.86 KiB) Viewed 11484 times


The bike previously had a front end and calipers from an A4 but retained it's original wheel and twin Z1 discs...one of which is the right date code for the bike :hah!
Managed to source a set of Z1 fork lowers locally and got stuck into them as well.
Forks polished.jpg
Forks polished.jpg (157.93 KiB) Viewed 11484 times