Forgotten JC Penney Rebuild.

J

Jade

New Member
#1
#1
Looking for a garden hose in the crawlspace under my house, and I found an old mini bike that I put there probably 15 years ago! Had completely forgotten about it. Looking for information on it, I found this great forum here, and you all have inspired me to rebuild it. The original Briggs engine has no spark, ... believe it or not, there's still fuel in the tank! LOL... I'll be putting a 212 Predator on it for the time being, but I like the look of the old Briggs, So I'll probably rebuild that engine over the winter.

Here's what we've got so far, but I've got all the parts, so It should go fast!

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J

Jade

New Member
#2
#2
The tires are not too bad, so I'll reuse them. Got as much of the old paint off the wheels as I could, scuffed em, and primed them.

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J

Jade

New Member
#6
#6
The original seat had been poorly coverd with some black vinyl. I removed it, and found the wood to be rotten. The original padding has no support to it at all, and to top it off it's all mildewy... So I'm gonna attempt to make a new seat..


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J

Jade

New Member
#7
#7
Gotta get some vinyl before I can finish my seat, but the wheels, and tires, are on, and the engine is just sitting there. The original Predator Gas Tank won't fit. So I guess I'll have to make one.

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markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#8
#8
Fun find right there :thumbsup: Yours is a few years newer version, but heres some inspiration for ya: 1971 playboy playmate Heather Van Every on with her Penney's bike


 
J

Jade

New Member
#9
#9
markus said:
Fun find right there :thumbsup: Yours is a few years newer version, but heres some inspiration for ya: 1971 playboy playmate Heather Van Every on with her Penney's bike
Click to expand...
Wow! Thanks... Mine will never look that good... at least not with me on it! LOL
 
J

Jade

New Member
#11
#11
Well, I welded up a gas tank from some 4" aluminum tubing, and test fit it.

I used a 1.5" plumbing test plug from the hardware stor as a cap, and it worked perfectly. I kinda like the look of the big wingnut on top.

I still need to take the tank back off, and sand, and paint it, but I couldn't resist the urge to put some gas in it, and fire it up!!

HOLY CRAP that 212 Predator motor RUNS!!! It'll pull the front wheel, and I'm 200lbs. Rode it around the block, :scooter:and nothing fell off.... So that's good :smile:

List of things left to do...

Get the seat uhpolstered.
Fix, or make a new chain guard, and put it on.
Paint the gas tank.

Looking forward to summer!
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J

Jade

New Member
#12
#12
The more I look at it, that 212 motor is just too big. It doesn't look right to me. I plan on rebuilding the little Briggs that was on it before, but in the meantime, I may just pick up the 79cc Predator, and see how that goes.

Any thoughts on this?
 
Biffmini

Biffmini

Well-Known Member
#13
#13
To me it's screaming for smaller footprint flathead That 212 is just to big in that frame & takes coolness factor away...
you have it looking clean as a bean.
 
J

Jade

New Member
#15
#15
Biffmini said:
To me it's screaming for smaller footprint flathead That 212 is just to big in that frame & takes coolness factor away...
you have it looking clean as a bean.
Click to expand...
Agreed. From the clutch side, it doesn't look too bad, but the flywheel side just looks "wrong". I'll be fixing this one way or another.

Need to get a rebuild kit for the Briggs, and get it back on STAT!

Thanks for the compliment!
 
P

PAP

Member
#20
#20
2-1/2 is about all the HP you need on a little frame like that. I put a 3-1/2 on my grandson's Bird, and the first time I rode it, it scared the livin' Schlitz outa me! Those smaller frames get a little squirrely at top end. When I first cracked the throttle, it took off out from underneath me. I knew he couldn't handle it, so I blocked the linkage to only go half throttle.
 
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