Buffalo build begins

[teltech2020]

I'm going to starts working on my T777 Buffalo this morning. I just bought it on Friday afternoon and was dying to get started on it yesterday but we had family in town for the holiday. This is going to be a pretty expensive build. It needs a new engine, tires, all new controls and cables, and a new seat. It has a torque converter on it that looks like original equipment but I'm not sure it's any good.
I'll post more pics as the project moves forward.
Cheers

 

[Ratbike]

Nice project!!! Looks like a really good start!!:shrug:

 

[owend]

That looks like I pretty complete bike to start with!

 

[countstevula]

Cool bike, they sure are big. But when you are tooling on one of those, you feel like you are going much faster than what you are :laugh:

You might want to upgrade the brake though

 

[teltech2020]

Cool bike, they sure are big. But when you are tooling on one of those, you feel like you are going much faster than what you are :laugh:

You might want to upgrade the brake though

Yeah, the catalog ad that Jbrewton provided me with shows that it's supposed to have front and rear brakes but mine only has the rear. I worked all morning to tear it down and it's a bit rougher than it looked to begin with. The axles are toast and one of the front forks is bent a little. I can get the forks squared up with a little work and i'm sure I can source new axles but this things getting more expensive by the minute. I'm gonna have to sell a toy or two to cover the build. Can anyone ID this torque converter? If it works alright I'll use it but I'd like to try to find an original cover

 

[The Restore Kid]

Looks like a Comet, like 20 or 30 series.. Is the back of the belt flat, or angled?

 

[Marlinmate]

Let me know if you have any questions....Just did one in early 2013....

http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/project-logs/74076-buffalo-dung-buffalo-done.html

axles were done by a guy on here....scott103
Longer than usual cables were made by Flanders Cables
Decals were done by peewee's
Gas tank was a custom by Boyd's Tanks
Seat/couch was done by kbs8ball on here


I would love to see the rear "cover" piece and how it looks, its measurements and how it attaches to the frame. This is the piece that is behind the Comet chain guard and covers up a portion of the chain int he rear corner of the frame.

 

[teltech2020]

Looks like a Comet, like 20 or 30 series.. Is the back of the belt flat, or angled?

It's a comet belt and is angled on the outside edge and flat on the inside edge.

 

[teltech2020]

Let me know if you have any questions....Just did one in early 2013....

http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/project-logs/74076-buffalo-dung-buffalo-done.html

axles were done by a guy on here....scott103
Longer than usual cables were made by Flanders Cables
Decals were done by peewee's
Gas tank was a custom by Boyd's Tanks
Seat/couch was done by kbs8ball on here


I would love to see the rear "cover" piece and how it looks, its measurements and how it attaches to the frame. This is the piece that is behind the Comet chain guard and covers up a portion of the chain int he rear corner of the frame.

Thanks Marlinmate, I'm sure I will have questions as the build progresses.
The cover your talking about is just a piece of sheet metal that has been stitch welded onto the frame on the inside with 6 inch long welds. I'll shot you some pics when I get home tonight.

 

[teltech2020]

Let me know if you have any questions....Just did one in early 2013....

http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/project-logs/74076-buffalo-dung-buffalo-done.html

axles were done by a guy on here....scott103
Longer than usual cables were made by Flanders Cables
Decals were done by peewee's
Gas tank was a custom by Boyd's Tanks
Seat/couch was done by kbs8ball on here


I would love to see the rear "cover" piece and how it looks, its measurements and how it attaches to the frame. This is the piece that is behind the Comet chain guard and covers up a portion of the chain int he rear corner of the frame.

Here are the side cover pics you wanted. Let me know if you need measurements.

 

[Marlinmate]

Thanks for the pics.....My frame has been powdercoated so it would be a huge pain in the arse to add this cover. On my frame, it looks like there are "hooks" (perhaps old welds?) where the piece would clip into.

Thanks again. ...sorry my inbox was full.

 

[teltech2020]

Thanks for the pics.....My frame has been powdercoated so it would be a huge pain in the arse to add this cover. On my frame, it looks like there are "hooks" (perhaps old welds?) where the piece would clip into.

Thanks again. ...sorry my inbox was full.

Your welcome. I do have a quick question for you. Are the handlebars supposed to be able to be removed? I've taken the 2 bolts out that hold the top plates together but can't seem to get the handlebar unit to budge. I've tried to pry them apart but still no luck. I wouldn't worry about it but my forks are a little bit out of whack and I thought if I could gain access to the upper part of the tubes I might be able to straiten them more easily.

 

[Marlinmate]

Ha....funny question. I ran into the same thing on mine. I gave up trying to get it apart. It certainly does appear that they should come apart. I pried, heated, pulled, banged, cursed, sweated, farted, groaned and did not get them apart...so I said "F" it.

It may help to straighten them with the axle in and some heat/pressure applied int he correct spots.

 

[teltech2020]

Lol, I hear you. I tried everything Including trying to cold chisel them apart. I figure the handlebar tubes must extend down into the fork tubes . Somebody must have wreaked it good to bend them like this. They look like they got twisted somehow. The right fork is bent forward and the left backward. I may just try to find a fab shop to straighten them out for me. I'm not really equipped to do much metal work.

 

[Marlinmate]

look what i found.
Vintage 1970's Minibike Buffalo Montgomery Wards T777 Terrain Bike Mini Bike | eBay

 

[teltech2020]

look what i found.
Vintage 1970's Minibike Buffalo Montgomery Wards T777 Terrain Bike Mini Bike | eBay

I saw that this afternoon. Not a bad price. I'll end up with more than that in mine when it's done.

 

[Marlinmate]

I'm above that too....oh well....it's all in the name of fun

 

[teltech2020]

It's a good looking bike though. Probably the only one left with the original engine. I wonder just how many T777"s there are left in the country? I've seen pics of like 8 of them.

 

[jbrewton]

It's a good looking bike though. Probably the only one left with the original engine. I wonder just how many T777"s there are left in the country? I've seen pics of like 8 of them.

i have 2 all orig!

 

[teltech2020]

I got everything stripped off the Buffalo and cut off the battery tray that someone had welded on to the frame. The forks were in pretty bad shape but I was able to straighten them out with a little heat and lotsa cussing. I'm going to take it over to Panama City tomorrow and see about getting it sandblasted. I tried to blast it with my little $30 harbor Freight rig this afternoon but it was so humid it kept clogging up on me. I've had good luck with the little blaster in the past but mostly on smaller items. Can't decide if I want to powder coat the frame or not. I guess it'll depend on how much it costs. I also haven't decided on what colors to use ether. It was red with black fenders originally but most of the buffalo's I've seen are red so I want to do something a bit different. Maybe blue and white?