Rookie mistake

So, in my last post I said that it would be a few weeks before I could post again... I guess 52 is a few.  Lots has happened on the Hellcat, but nothing has really changed.  The first exciting thing occurred at the end of June, when I confirmed that the motorcycle actually ran!

Initial evaluation of the bikes condition beyond the damage that I caused in dropping it were as follows:

• Headlamp bucket was broken where it holds the metal rim in place.  This part is plastic.
• The fork top covers on both sides were dented pretty badly.  So much so that I wondered whether the forks below were damaged as well.
• The handlebar was not original, but is that really a problem?!?
• The tank was badly dented, and one of these is on a crease in the original design.  Also, the tank badges were missing (and no longer manufactured).
• The seat: missing rubber parts underneath and is covered with foam that is too high and the wrong shape for the replacement cover that came with the bike
• There is a proprietary bolt on the side covers that is missing on the left side - this bolt is no longer available.  Also, both side covers are dented in.
• Rear turn signals had covers that were from a later model Honda (again, is that a problem?)
• The lower tailpipe was missing (and no longer manufactured) and the upper one (which is a part of the single piece construction of the whole muffler) had some sort of chrome separation which looks very ugly.

The worst find (which I did not recognize the significance of when I made the purchase) was that at some time the muffler had been sawn in two.  The muffler originally came in one piece from right manifold to top tailpipe.  When it was welded back together, there was a 2" gap in the chrome where a smaller diameter piece of exhaust pipe was used in the connection.  This pipe has since rusted and it is very noticeable.  In my opinion, it destroys the look of the high tailpipe that first attracted me to this bike. Of all the things that I had to consider, this was the one that I felt would make or break the project.

So, why is this called "Rookie Mistake" I hear you wondering...

In May of last year, just before my last post, I found a New Old Stock (NOS) muffler unit for an early model CL450 on e-bay.  There was a part number in the title of the auction, and I went to CMSNL.com  and put my VIN number in so that I could see the parts list.  (Some guy was selling an original, old stock,  parts list on e-bay for $150, I scoff, firstly, nobody needs an OLD parts list, the age of the paper does not add value, and they are available online, so good luck buddy).  After confirming that the E-bay part number matched the one on CMSNL for my year and model, I quickly removed the old muffler from my bike and took it to a local custom bike shop.  I asked about what it would cost to fix and re-chrome the old one.  The cost astounded me,,,minimum $2000 and he found a hole on the underside which had about an inch of discoloration around it.  He felt that the inside had some problems that were going to shorten the life of the muffler.  $2000 was twice what I paid for the bike, so the NOS part was looking pretty attractive and I now had a maximum bid.  Needless to say, I did win the auction and in June of last year I came into possession of what I believed would become the centerpiece part of my restoration. 

Now, it was obvious in the photos on e-bay that there were five threaded mounting sites on the outside of the NOS muffler for the heat shields, and I did realize that my own shields had only 4 mounting nuts, but the part number was correct so I assumed that I simply would not use one of the mounting sites.  Within an hour of getting the part unboxed, however, I became aware that the mounts are completely in the wrong locations and I had purchased the wrong part. 

I now realized that I couldn't rely on part sellers websites to get the part numbers for my restoration,  but $150.... I had to draw the line somewhere and that was it (it's probably still available online if anyone is interested)  Eventually, I found a guy who had a PDF copy which I was able to snag for a much more reasonable $30, and from that I found that I did indeed have the wrong part.  I have not yet found the actual part number on any online parts diagram, on any site!

Months of soul searching followed, and several times I felt like running to the custom bike shop to see if he could customize it to fit my shields (don't worry, I didn't do it--- the muffler is completely unmolested and still in its original packaging). 

My agony ended in March, when I noticed another e-bay auction for a "Complete 1969 CL450 Exhaust" used, but in excellent condition.  This muffler came with heat shields attached so I could see that they were the same as mine, it also had the lower tailpipe, left manifold and a triangular mounting bracket for the underside that mine was missing. 

Another auction, another win (and for half of the price that I paid for the NOS one), and finally I have my intact muffler.  The lesson here is: ALWAYS BUY THE PARTS LIST  (and if you are the guy trying to flog one for astronomical sums of money, you should be ashamed of yourself).  Now I have to learn how to sell my duplicate parts on E-bay!