Rupp Continental Resto-Mod

[DaddyJohn]

I got this frame a little while back for a really good price. It came with a rear wheel, plus the fenders and chain guard, which I sold to help others with their projects. I knew this was never going to be worth restoring properly, but could definitely see utility in the chassis. So, one random front wheel, a pair of old Carlisle Indian-head tires I had laying around, and an H35 side popper from a $30 Ariens snowblower later, and I’m about this far with it. So far, I’m money ahead of where I started, and if I play my cards right, think I can finish it for better than free.

Ideas moving forward… I’ve got the old drum brake assembly, but it’s a bit shabby and missing it’s arm. Might be better off using a clutch brake. I’m planning on using an off the shelf 12” universal seat, but mount it in such a way as to not modify the frame. Planning to paint it a cool retro aqua color with white accents. Should look really cool!

 

[Harquebus]

How the resto-mod going?

 

[tomc]

Good on you for staying with a made in the USA engine and not throwing some Chinese crap on it.

 

[DaddyJohn]

How the resto-mod going?

It’s been on the back burner for awhile…

I needed to use the fuel tank and bracket seen in the original picture on another project. That necessitated me reworking the original rear facing bracket into a forward facing one so I could use the original tank. This engine also had a weird throttle linkage that might have been difficult to adapt to a minibike type system, so I decided to ditch the original diaphragm carb and will be putting a pz17 (I think) Keihin copy slide carb on it. That means I have to get in the engine and remove the governor assembly… Oh, and I painted the tins and got rid of the little snow shield that was around the muffler.

 

[DaddyJohn]

Good on you for staying with a made in the USA engine and not throwing some Chinese crap on it.

I like to use Tecumsehs on vintage bikes I put together, but that said, don’t think Predator and other Chinese Honda clone engines are necessarily crap. I like to use those on later model Chinese bikes when I redo them. That said, I have put a US made Tec engine on a Chinese bike once or twice, lol…

 

[Triley41395]

It’s been on the back burner for awhile…

I needed to use the fuel tank and bracket seen in the original picture on another project. That necessitated me reworking the original rear facing bracket into a forward facing one so I could use the original tank. This engine also had a weird throttle linkage that might have been difficult to adapt to a minibike type system, so I decided to ditch the original diaphragm carb and will be putting a pz17 (I think) Keihin copy slide carb on it. That means I have to get in the engine and remove the governor assembly… Oh, and I painted the tins and got rid of the little snow shield that was around the muffler.

Did you or are you planning on drilling and tapping the crank on the engine. I've seen a few others here do it and I have an HS50 I'm planning on drilling.

 

[DaddyJohn]

I believe this crank was already tapped, but it’s not hard to tap an HS-series Tecumseh crank. I just drain the oil, lay it on the recoil starter, and drill it with the drill press. The crank is cast iron, so it drills and taps pretty easily, and the recoil starter surface is pretty perpendicular to the crank axis, so It drills accurately enough. You could drill by hand if you’re careful to keep the drill straight. Ideally, you’ll use a 5/16-24 tap.

 

[Triley41395]

I believe this crank was already tapped, but it’s not hard to tap an HS-series Tecumseh crank. I just drain the oil, lay it on the recoil starter, and drill it with the drill press. The crank is cast iron, so it drills and taps pretty easily, and the recoil starter surface is pretty perpendicular to the crank axis, so It drills accurately enough. You could drill by hand if you’re careful to keep the drill straight. Ideally, you’ll use a 5/16-24 tap.

I am going to make a couple guides, one for the bit and one for the tap. I'm going to try and use my cordless drill.

 

[GustoGuy]

I like to use Tecumsehs on vintage bikes I put together, but that said, don’t think Predator and other Chinese Honda clone engines are necessarily crap. I like to use those on later model Chinese bikes when I redo them. That said, I have put a US made Tec engine on a Chinese bike once or twice, lol…

The most reliable engines I have are Predator 212cc engines. I have 3 if them. 1 on a snowblower and 2 on minibikes and they always start with 1 to 2 pulls of the recoil. Oldest one December 2012.

 

[DaddyJohn]

The most reliable engines I have are Predator 212cc engines. I have 3 if them. 1 on a snowblower and 2 on minibikes and they always start with 1 to 2 pulls of the recoil. Oldest one December 2012.

No question, they are fantastic for the money. They just don’t have that vintage look, so I use them as suits my tastes.

 

[GustoGuy]

No question, they are fantastic for the money. They just don’t have that vintage look, so I use them as suits my tastes.

Agreed. Honda came out with the small OHV back in the mid 1980's and now they are the defacto standard since nearly all small engines today are OHV or OHC. No more flat heads anymore. I heard that flathead engines were not able to meet the strick emissions standards of new engines so manufacturers had to stop making them.