73 atc70 project

[Tomcall]

This is my second atc 70 project. I started with a frame from the salvage yard that had the forks, rear end assembly, and rear axle. Had to cut the axle to get it
out of the housing. Had the frame, fork and other parts power coated. It has been a slow labor of love. I will post a couple of pics.

[Motorgidd]

Looks good, I would like to get my hands on a first gen 70, they are getting hard to find around my area.

[coolpool]

Love the look of the 73's. Did you have a tank? I've always wondered if you have to do a little bodywork to a tank how hard it would be to match the powdercoating. Did you bead blast the kill switch housing or is that silver powdercoating?

[coolpool]

Oops, I just checked your comment back to me on the atc70 group forum. You answered my question about the tank, should look awesome , thanks.

[MattDragontamer]

I love the look of the 73-74, that's why i made it my first build. It. Sucks that you had to cut the rear axle. They are hard to find and not cheap.
I am assuming you exhausted all options before cutting, it just sucks.
Can't wait to see the end result. :)

[Tomcall]

Yea, cutting the axle was the last resort. soaked it, heated it, etc. Had to find one on Ebay.
Yes I have an original tank as I had said. Put a lot of $ into that tank. To my frustration the gas cap doesn't seal as the lip is uneven. Sure wish I noticed that first. Been experimenting with liquid steel. It's getting better, not done yet.:wondering
I went with chrome, one piece rims. Matching the Daytona Orange for the 73 was not exact. This was as close as we got and in the pic. you can see it is not an exact match to the new fenders.
New exhaust system, risers and fat bars. I was really lucky to find that head light.
I spent the day today getting the carb to balance out. It seemed too rich. Went down to a stock #66 jet. As predictable it would not get enough gas when accelerating and just sputter. Went back in with a #76. I think this may work. a little sputtering when I stepped on it, but it may not have warmed up. In a couple of minutes it stopped. I would be curious to know what others have used with the big bore set up.

[MattDragontamer]

Looks like they used a florecent or standard orange. They should have been able to match fenders with construction orange at least...
When i get mine done i will get them to do the headlight bucket first to see if the end colour matches or is close.

[Atc70noob]

That is a sweet project...love how the exhaust is centered.

[Tomcall]

Thanks for the comments.
I think experimenting with one part first is a good idea!!!!!!!!
A couple of issues at least are always part of the project. One was where the rubber gasket that holds the fuel tank couldn't be installed due to a plate welded to the top of the tabs. Used a saws all to repair.
Added a plate onto the ignition coil for an electric switch. Turns out I ended up with a head light that had the switch on top and really didn't need it. I'll think of something to use it for.
Also went with the cdi set up.

[Tomcall]

Hear is pretty much the finished product. Still need to re-chrome the grab bar after grinding a bit more. AND the fuel cap problem, which is turning out to be a big problem. The liquid steel isn't going to be the answer. I am going to post some pics of the opening of the tank for anyone's advise on what to try.

[Tomcall]

Here are some pics of the opening where I can't get a new fuel cap with new gasket to seal up. Please anyone who has run into this with a successful fix let me know some feedback. Looking at these pics I think I am seeing the top of the tank pressed in which could be the problem or part of the problem??

[fastatc70]

I have built a couple of ATCs. I have found that it is very hard to match plastic to any paint color or power coat. If it looks good in the garage then once you move it to the sun light the colors seem to change.

Your build is awesome and i would love to build a gen one. I have been waiting for one to pop up. Very nice build.

[MNhondaguy]

My suggestion for the fuel cap issue is to get a new tank, or a newer style cap that has a nipple on it for a short piece of fuel hose with a vent on the end of it.

184750

[Tomcall]

Thanks fastatc70

MNhondaguy_ what about that cap do you think it will work? I really hate the idea of getting another tank. that year are hard to find, and I have a bit of cash tied up in this one already

[MattDragontamer]

Try this cap... It is the oem replacement from Honda.

184816

[Tomcall]

Matt
I just ordered an oem cap. Wish me luck

[MattDragontamer]

So did ya get it yet?

[Tomcall]

Matt
Yes, I did and no difference.
Another thing I tried was ordering a gas cap for the 78-80 atc70. It is a little different style and I tried with shaking the trike and it was ok, but I need to go for a test ride to be sure. Someone had told me about a cap that screws in 90 degrees and has a ket that you keep turning to crank the cap down. He said he saw it on ebay, but I have not been able to find it. I wrote him but no response yet.
I'll let you know how the test ride goes.

[MattDragontamer]

For your case, you should be able to bend the lock tabs in the gas cap if it will give you the seal.

[Tomcall]

Been awhile - Well still leaks gas and tried all the ideas except cutting out the top and getting a good opening off another tank and having it brazed on.
Meanwhile I did find another stock tank that has only a small dent and rusted inside. It has 74 decals but the tanks seem identical for 73 and 74. I am going to try fixing the dent with "lab metal". Someone mentioned it another thread on here and I watched several u-tube videos about it.
I have had terrific results using "evaporust" to remove the inside rust. I'll then coat it with "red coat".
I will look into finding and old beat up atc 70 rank to use to repair the black tank.

Meanwhile I installed steel braided fuel lines. What do you think? I'm not sure about it. i may go with the red braided lines instead.

[Flyingw]

Tom, did you get the ignition problems resolved?

[danbur55]

would double gasket the cap do anything? is there a way to pressurize the tank to maybe force the tank to rise up a little but not sure that would do any good for sealing the cap

[Tomcall]

Jim-
I have this 70 running fine with the cdi unit installed. It is interesting that I can turn the pilot screw all the way in and get higher rpms??? When I called Spanglers they said so what's the problem!!!! I said it's not normal that's the problem. Ended up talking about a possible air leak. They suggested spraying carb cleaner on the manifold and whatever to see if it increased the rpms and that would indicate a leak. I tried that and no change in rpms. I swapped pilot screws with my 74 and no difference. I give up on that. It runs really strong so f**k it. It's the 74 atc70 that has given me ignition fits. I ordered and just received a new ignition coil today. I will let you know if that does the trick.:wondering

danbur55 - I tried double up on the gasket but it leaves no room to grab the tank. I don't know about pressurizing, but when you look at the opening it just looks almost like it's worn down as much as pushed down.mymint87

[coolpool]

That sucks about your gas cap. I too have a slight "in-nee" gas cap on my 73. The picture Matt supplied was an ugly OEM replacement that worked for me since all old style caps leaked. We really thought that would do it with the thicker gasket for your issue. I've attached a picture with a crude tool design that may allow you to "pop" up your filler neck slightly. Basically it's a collapsible cross that spreads open once inside then has a slide hammer attached to a flexible shaft. I know it's a pretty small opening, but if you use strong enough materials it may work. Grasping for straws here:wondering

[crazycooter]

Cool trike! I have a few 70's too and love them.
"coolpool" has what looks like a good fix. I have also had a sealing issues and just used a body hammer and a u shaped tool I made that acted like the dolly that fit on in side of the sealing surface and moved it around to line up to where I was hammering.Then use a straight edge all the way around to make sure its nice and flat.
You would need to remove that stuff that looks like its JB weld first and hammer and dolly clean steel.
Like somebody else said earlier, you can play with the tension of the seal on the tank buy bending the tabs on the cap. Also make sure the area the tabs contact are the same and undamaged.
Turing the Pilot screw all the way on on lots of these smaller bore motors sometimes wont actually make it stall out, it will just lean it out and cause higher rpm.
If its too far gone you can buy this for $7 and weld on:
http://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/p3138/buy/m-c-parts/gas-tanks-amp-accessories/accessories/cycle-standard-filler-neck-cam-style-gas-cap-weld-in-bung/

[Tomcall]

coolpool
That is a good idea, thanks. I had used a bearing puller, but it only grabs the edges and it moved it just a little. Your idea would grab the whole top part of the opening.
What material did you use for this idea?

crazycooter
I didn't know you could buy the bung. Thanks for that link. I did buy the bung and will use it as a last resort.

[coolpool]

coolpool
That is a good idea, thanks. I had used a bearing puller, but it only grabs the edges and it moved it just a little. Your idea would grab the whole top part of the opening.
What material did you use for this idea?

crazycooter
I didn't know you could buy the bung. Thanks for that link. I did buy the bung and will use it as a last resort.

I haven't actually built one Tomcall and I know it's size will be a challenge, I drew this up as a suggestion for your situation. My leak has stopped with the new style of cap.

[Tomcall]

coolpool,
I get it. I was going to ask if I could rent it from you. lol :lol:

[Tomcall]

Well, time goes by doesn't it.
So I did purchase the bung and vented fuel cap. It is larger than stock and so is the fuel cap. Thanks to Mr. Richard the bung was installed. He did a very nice job. It has red coat on the inside and he managed to barely mess with it. From there it need some body work and re-paint. Turns out the tank had a lot of work previously done to it as Mr. Richard discovered installing the bung. Powder coating never would have worked. I saw the tank last Friday, but it was not done drying and they still need to put the decals on and then clear coat. Hope to have it back this Monday evening. The body shop has done a very nice job filling in around the bung. I will post some pics when I get it back.
Thanks again Mr. Richard for your fine skills and suggestions.

[lyon76]

That is a nice 70 man!!!

[Tomcall]

Boy it's been awhile. We moved into a new home and it has taken up all my extra time and attention. Never mind trying to find anything. Did I tell you I HATE moving.:mad:Dammit
I left off with the fuel tank having a new bung installed expertly by Kasey and the body shop doing the fill and paint. First time I went to pu the tank they had installed the decals backwards:wondering I had to admit that with the new opening and cap it could be confusing as to the front and back, but only if you didn't look under the tank................. Anyway, they made good by buying new decals and putting a clear coat over the decals. That is definitly the way to go. I finally got a chance to take a few picss to post. The cap is a Harley Davidson cap as the bung opening is larger than stock. The cap is a match for the opening. I think it looks pretty cool. AND, no fuel leaking out of the tank:beer

[jb2wheels]

Wow.

I missed this thread before. Great looking 70. Nice job sorting out the tank issues.

[coolpool]

Absolutely beautiful! That makes all my rides look like dogs. That raised filler neck and cap is an awesome upgrade. Better than stock IMO.

[Tomcall]

Thanks for the comments. It's been a project for sure. But, the end result seems worth it now.

On to the TRX 70 Project:)

[jays375]

That is a very nice machine.Excellent job!

[JACKO_ATC]

Those wheels look hot, sweet job! Luv it...