Grey Iron, my 1943 Westfield bike build

LS614

LS614

Well-Known Member
Hi guys. I have a build under way and figured I would share it with all of you! I summer of 2024 I saw an antique bicycle at a thrift store and knew I needed to buy it and motorize it. I started doing motorized bikes when I was 16 and now that I'm 30 and a dad, I'm back at it. My wife doesn't exactly understand it, but she's happy that I'm happy lol. Anyway the bike is a 1943 Westfield. Doing some digging I found that this was one of very few bikes not issued to the troops during ww2. Only a few hundred were released to general consumers that year. The poor bike had been abused as a poorly painted lawn ornament, probably for decades. The second I saw it though, I fell in love. I started by getting an 80cc China girl kit and just kept going from there. I stripped the bike down and removed the paint. I am using alloy wheels in order to add v brakes. I have a clamp on cnc sprocket and a spring loaded tensioner. I got brown tires with cream sidewalls for it, bolt on adapters to add rear v brakes, an upgraded throttle by nibbi. I followed the roll your own cdi thread and made my cdi circuit from scratch. I made a box to house the ignition components out of an old Briggs and Stratton air filter box. The fuel tank is a vintage Briggs and Stratton tank as well. I kept the nt carb because they're so easy to tune, but I did purchase an expansion chamber. I've also ported and polished the engine. The pics might not be in exact order, forgive me, but the build is going strong and I will continue to post as I go! Thanks for looking
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What chamber did you order? Real MZ65 pipes are only 50 bucks on eBay right now. I suggest the black and white clutch pads. Sweet looking bike!
 
Gordy said:
What chamber did you order? Real MZ65 pipes are only 50 bucks on eBay right now. I suggest the black and white clutch pads. Sweet looking bike!
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The chamber is a 2 piece expansion pipe that wraps around the frame, I'll post a Pic today of it! The clutch pads I made out of a metallic and asbestos friction material I bought from grainger. I've used it previously and it's very grippy and wears very slowly.
Venice Motor Bikes said:
Looks like a great start! (^)
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Thank you! I've admired your work for a long time
 
Continued doing my mock up. I used a spade bit and hole saw to make custom rubber mounts. The handlebars are set up the way I want and I'm feeling pretty happy with how things are going so far
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Hey guys, so I have a nasty little cobweb closet space in the basement that I just cleaned and added lighting and a bar to. I'm going to line it with plastic drop cloths and make a makeshift paint booth. There is never an ideal time to paint outdoors in New England because it's always either cold, dusty, or humid. I figure that this booth will allow me the smooth finish I want on my painted parts. I'm using brake caliper hooks to suspend the parts on the bar. More to come!
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wrench said:
Closet looks like it'll make a nice paint booth

EZ UP with tarp on the sides make a good paint booth
You can hang stuff from an EZ UP
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Hadn't thought of an EZ up. Very smart! I did a mock up of the front fork with the handlebars. Here's how it's looking. The brace which is from the original bike is either going to be Grey or silver,what are your thoughts?
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I use a spray paint tent. It's like a small pop up tent with one side open. They come in different sizes and one company selling them is Vevor. I'll post a link to show you what they look like and Amazon has a large selection. If a price shows up it will be in Canadian dollars. I've used them in the past with a fan and a furnace filter or two in front of it to help with the over spray. Put the fan where it works best for you. The tent I just purchased has a vent in the back for a fan. I just take the tent down when I didn't need it.
Hope this helps.

Steve.

 
fasteddy said:
I use a spray paint tent. It's like a small pop up tent with one side open. They come in different sizes and one company selling them is Vevor. I'll post a link to show you what they look like and Amazon has a large selection. If a price shows up it will be in Canadian dollars. I've used them in the past with a fan and a furnace filter or two in front of it to help with the over spray. Put the fan where it works best for you. The tent I just purchased has a vent in the back for a fan. I just take the tent down when I didn't need it.
Hope this helps.

Steve.

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That's super cool, didn't know those were a thing! Thanks Steve!
 
I've seen those tent paint booths - Do ya gotta an old 4 man tent
Only problem is, how do ya hang stuff from it ? , A hanger would have to be fashioned

EZ UP can be used as a paint booth , put tarps on the sides, you can hang things ,
Then when your done you can relax in the shade LOL...
 
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I spent my lunch break at work with the die grinder and a wizzie wheel cleaning up the frame. I spent all day fighting with a 2018 f350 diesel dually so I'm too tired to do painting tonight . The pinstripe designs for the fender and gas tank arrived today though. I'm hoping to shoot paint tomorrow after work if I don't collapse from exhaustion first
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Didn't get around to painting until today but I finally found a little bit of time. I hit the frame with a rust prevention base coat and a few layers of sandable primer. Gonna let it dry and then do a final sand to cut down on some of the imperfections in the metal. Will be spraying top coat in a few days! Also added one of the pinstriping decals I got to the clutch cover and I think it looks pretty snazzy!
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