1974 JCPenney's Duster MX (Cat) Restoration

FunWithStuff

Well-Known Member
#1
Hello!
Thank you for taking the time to come and read this thread. Like the title says I will be posting about a Duster MX that I have been restoring. This was the first mini bike I owned and what got me started into collecting mini bikes (specifically Cats right now).

So anyways let me start. This bike had been sitting in a barn for nearly 30+ years after the motor had quit running. It was mostly complete minus some of the hard to find parts like the switch plate and clutch cover. It was about to be hauled off to scrap, so I ended up just taking it as a project instead of letting it get destroyed. Here's one of the earliest photos I have of it. I had already started working on the engine at this time.
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Later on I decided to clean it up and see how it would run with new tires installed on it. So while I was still working on the Tecumseh I put a Predator engine on it temporarily to see how the bike rode with it. It ran pretty good!
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After having some fun with the Predator engine I decided that I was going to give this bike a full restoration and attempt to return it back to its former self. After doing some looking around at where I found the bike from I managed to locate the switch plate and lower bracket in a workshop where the bike got worked on by the previous owners forever ago.
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The clutch cover however, was nowhere to be seen. I looked in almost every imaginable place but couldn't find it so I'm afraid it is gone. That led me to going on a search to find one. I had to find out very quickly that this wasn't going to be an easy to locate part. Cat covers in general are hard to find but the very first Cat I chose to work on had to have the long cover, which is the rarest out of all the guards. My very first post when I joined here years ago was about looking for an aftermarket guard that I could use.

In the meantime while I started hunting for a guard I decided to try to repaint/restore a lot of the parts. The original 4 HP Tecumseh got a fresh black coat repaint with new decals, the tires and wheel stars got repainted, I painted the shocks and forks with chrome-like paint, the sprocket and other various parts got re-painted too.

I know many purists won't like this but I wanted to give the frame a fresh coat of paint because after seeing survivor photos of this bike and seeing the bright red-orange paint on it, I felt the faded orange on mine was out of character. It took much looking around but I managed to find a paint that looks really good and somewhat close to the original. I'm quite satisfied with the results.

I'm still in the process of trying to rechrome some parts like the fenders and possibly the switch plate. I picked up a new set of handlebars too that I plan to switch out with the original since it has been re-welded and messed with over time. I got the proper grips and found the throttle tube and clamp inside the workshop with the switch plate. A new brake lever was installed too. I managed to get the original Tecumseh engine running too. The seat tore up on me so I got a new one remade using the stuffing that was inside the seat. Here's how the bike looks now with a new muffler on the engine that I got from Biffmini. The chain guard is a fiberglass one I am using temporarily.
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I put out a Wanted ad on this site for a long chain guard and for months never had any luck but then I ended up getting a response from Minibikephil who sold me a genuine long guard that I plan on finishing up and using on this bike. A huge thanks to him for helping me out.
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I wish I could have documented this more as I worked on it but I hope I was able to fill you in generally on what I've done with the bike. The only thing I need to find is a new set of decals and I can finally have all the parts I need to complete this restoration. I will keep posting updates as I go on this bike.

Again, thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy post. I hope you have enjoyed it and the photos I have shared.
 
#3
Thanks for sharing your restoration story. It looks great! It’s clear you’ve put a lot of time and money into it. I’m sure it will be a source of pride for you and the family for years to come.
 

FunWithStuff

Well-Known Member
#4
Thanks for sharing your restoration story. It looks great! It’s clear you’ve put a lot of time and money into it. I’m sure it will be a source of pride for you and the family for years to come.
Thanks for the compliment! Yeah I'm really satisfied with how this turned out but I'm still not done with it yet there's still a few small odds and ends that I have to do to complete it.
 
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