Operation "Fugly"

[coolpool]

Here's my latest purchase; 1977 ATC 90. The good; new tires, tank might not leak, runs strong (now that the carb is done and the timing isn't off by 5 degrees), shifts nice in Hi &Lo, brakes and cables stiff but working. The bad, everything else. I have it sold to a guy who has limited income for his son for whatever I put into it. Mattdragontamer said I will put $200 more into this before I'm happy. I have lots of extra US90 parts so we'll see; and my labour is free. I hope to keep it to a $100 on top of purchase price, game on! The kill switch might be the only expensive part I will keep a running total on this as I go. Should I tack on a nominal amount for parts I already have?

Original price = 150.00
Paint= $32.00

$182.00

P.S. I won't compromise safety/dependability to save a buck even if Matt proves me wrong, lol.

[Akracing]

Looks like it will be a fun challenge, I recently started one my self but The original plan was just to clean it up a bit, now I have a bare sandblasted and primed frame hanging in my shop lol... Keep us updated on your progress... and do you ever sell 90 parts?

[ScreaminRed]

If you have lots of 90 parts like you say, i'm sure you can keep the cost really low.

[coolpool]

If you have lots of 90 parts like you say, i'm sure you can keep the cost really low.

Ak I haven't sold any to date but who knows. I do have two disassembled that are future projects so not everything is up for grabs.

Screamin I plan to see what I can use. Looks like a beat up/functional metal fender and an extra set of bars will be used to start with. I've got enough old seat cushions to piece one together and a homemade cover. I did say it's "fugly" right, lol.

[Akracing]

It was worth a try lol... I really don"t need much other then redoing the tank which prolly wont be very fun...

[coolpool]

So "fugly" is tore down; no huge surprises. I'm re-doing all seals and bearings, brakes are great, cables all freed up nicely, sandblasting is almost complete. As for the oil leaks, the previous owner put a blue plastic pug in the cam chain adjustment hole and swapped out the only acorn nut on the head with a regular one. That should fix those leaks up. I had some minor welding to do on the frame and I'll have to fab/fix the chain case cover and front fender. I broke down and bought new decals since the tank is going to look Purdy. It also needs an air cleaner foam and two rear hub washers/nuts. I think all total I'm around $275.00 now

[briano]

Looking good. I think what you're doing is awesome, every kid should be able to have some off road fun, be it on a dirt bike, quad or trike.

[Akracing]

Looking good... It all looks so familer... I just started putting mine back together...

[ScreaminRed]

You have $125 left...

[coolpool]

Here's an update. Been kind of slow getting to old "Fugly". Matt's been helping a lot since I get distracted easily by camping, cheer and riding! I ended up replacing the rear bearings, front and rear seals. The air cleaner foam was pricey at $20.00. I even splurged on some new decals for the tank. I wasn't going to bother making it pretty but what the heck, I've gone this far. The US90 fenders have a nasty habit of cracking in the front so I figured there should be a way of preventing this. I opened up the folded over lip under the fender and put a piece of heavy wire under the lip through all the cracks. I then welded the cracks from the bottom. Seems to do the trick. I put a little bondo on the fender and banged out most of the dents and splashed on some paint. Better than nothing and it's free! The chain case was an easy fix, a little more welding and it's on. I slapped on my temporary tank and gave it a pull; fired right up first shot. I'm going to hate to give this one up but there's a young lad who needs it more. Total cost to date, $320.00. Hours of labour between Matt and me 20+

P.S. I'm not a welder or will I ever claim to be one. If it holds....it's a good weld in my books, lol

[Ghostv2]

It actually cleaned up really well. Good job, at least its going to a good home so you wont feel too bad.

[Yamaha_Rules69]

Im actually in the same boat as you are. The neighbor lady next door to my friend has a son who is 12. He wanted something to ride, so she bought him a 85 125m, then asked me to fix it up. The thing is rigged badly. When I first fired it up it smoked like a freight train. Today I rebuilt the engine, I had just got the cylinder bored .020 over, installed new gaskets and no more smoke. It had some random Chinese pitbike carburetor on it, and it has no screws on the bottom to take the bowl off! I was able to find the correct carb from a guy at work, and all he wanted was one mountain dew! So far Im doing all the labor for free, although she paid for the piston and gaskets. A few bad things on this one are: fugly welding to make a "seat latch" on the rear of frame, welded SOLID right axle nut to axle, bolts instead of studs on left wheel, badly dented gas tank, no front fender - just a 2 inch piece of it snapped off, rear fenders busted all to heck, seat duct taped with black tape, chain sloppy, tires on rear are bald, carb I got for a pop has a hole in the plastic float. The plus' are the headlight looks great, and the front tire is new - that's it. I was wondering as I was rebuilding the engine if it was worth it, but then I remembered when I was the same age, but on a YT 125. It is deffinatly worth it to tp me to make this thing rideable for this boy.

[kb0nly]

Its worth it... And in the long run teach the kid how to care for, maintain, and wrench on it!! These kids now days learn nothing without use guys that know how to do it teaching them. I had a neighbor a couple years ago in his 20's that has never changed oil on anything, didn't know how to do much other than put in gas and check air in tires. He kept saying he could afford to get the oil changed or get this fixed or that. I coaxed him into buying the supplies or parts and made him do the work. Even saving the $30-$50 and doing an oil change yourself these days is a huge help on the monthly bills!

Your doing good work for a good cause, sounds like its a basket case but that can be fixed over time. My first trike i bought myself was rough, it took me a couple years of scrimping and saving and pinching parts off eBay but i got it back together! Got to start somewhere.

This operation Fugly thread really got a friend of mine going, he read through it one day while he came over to shoot the bull. He has a 110 in the shed that hasnt been touched in roughly 15 years!

[coolpool]

Way to go guys. I should have named it the "pay it forward" thread. Wait till you see the progress tomorrow! I wonder how many of us have fixed a machine up for the less fortunate?

[kb0nly]

Looking forward to your final result! I really fell in love with my 90 I just did. Such a fun little bugger! Was really surprised how much it can pull around to.