Taco Taco Taco !!! Three Tacos 22 Restoration Project, 1967 1968 & 1970

MoTo-BunnY

MoTo-BunnY

Member
#1
#1
Looks like I have my hands full of Taco22 awesomeness now! My guy Rick gets all the credit for the finds as he scored the 1967 and 1970 from a family friend of his down in Northern California. The 1968 he found at a swap meet up in Washington. All three even came with Briggs & Stratton engines of different vintages. Looks like most of the parts are there minus some small pieces, seats, and clutch guards. The black one is almost ready to go other than the current engine has spark but won't start. Will probably just swap it out, anyways for the correct engine. Here they are:


Yes, the forks on the left one are very bent!



The black 1970 Taco 22 (Deluxe? with rear drum brake) looks ready to run as is. The engine is too new of course, but I have a lot of spare engines to swap something more authentic in. I just read that the authentic engine would be a 2.5HP Tecumseh (of which, I just happen to already have a NOS NEVER RUN '70s 2.5HP Tec! awesome crazy coincidence!!) :thumbsup:


Notice that this frame has the scrub brake mounts. Was this a standard frame someone added the rear brake drum on?






Bummer the clutch guard is missing-none of the three Tacos have them! where do they all go?!?


Neat seat but obviously not stock. Also, a bit hard to see, is there are a couple of holes in the top of the triple tree. Was there a headlight option or did the owner put on on at some point?


Are these the original grips that came on these? All three of these Tacos have this grip type on them but not sure if they are stock or were just real popular back then?



The red Tacos are both kinda rough, especially on the forks plus they both have rather crude forward foot rest bars installed. Here is the 1967 model:










Here is the 1968 model:





 
buckeye

buckeye

Well-Known Member
#6
#6
You just becoming a hoarder.
Awesome!

You disapear and you come back with three Tacos. Maybe if I go away for a bit I might find something. Awesome!:thumbsup:
 
MoTo-BunnY

MoTo-BunnY

Member
#12
#12
buckeye said:
You just becoming a hoarder.
Awesome!

You disapear and you come back with three Tacos. Maybe if I go away for a bit I might find something. Awesome!:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
lol. . . but that's not all....did you see the Bonanza post I put up last night too? also have two Cat choppers I need to make a post on..... Portland Swap Meet was VERY very good to me....so good that I spent all the money I made selling there, lol Also found a Tecumseh HS40 with lighting coil and a NOS never run Briggs 3.5HP. :thumbsup:
 
MoTo-BunnY

MoTo-BunnY

Member
#13
#13
Hounddog said:
Nice Taco scores! It looks like you found one of the rare Taco 22DB (dual brake) models. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Oh wow, kewl. . ..was wondering about that. So this mini should have the scrub brake too? Well, I do have two other parts 22s.......lol. I figured of the two red ones, I can make one good one and have a frame and some wheels to sell?
 
MoTo-BunnY

MoTo-BunnY

Member
#15
#15
Twin Taco 22 Teardown! I Disassembled the 1967 & 1968

I did this the other eve, took down both the Taco 22s as they both need a LOT of work. I am going to eventually make one good one out of the two but I will still have to buy some parts. I tore them down to make some room plus I needed some parts for the 1970 22DB.

Here is the result of a very motivated evening:



Note the four Briggs & Stratton engines in the background plus there are the Cat choppers under the tarp. Also, I made those engine stands from old bubble gum machine stands! :thumbsup:
 
MoTo-BunnY

MoTo-BunnY

Member
#16
#16
1970 Taco 22DB Engine Removal, Cleaning, Scrub Brake Addition, New Engine Mock Up

So last night, I got a ton of work done on the 1970 Taco 22DB. Mainly I wanted to remove the current too new Briggs & Stratton 3HP and clean the frame and wheels up and see what parts I would be needing.



Here is the 22DB when I started with the 3HP Briggs it came with along with one of the engines I am considering for transplant.



Two nice Briggs & Stratton 5HP engines on the work bench, 1975 (L) and 1974 (R). I just LOVE that copper color!



Here I have the old engine out and I am checking the fit of the scrub brake addition. I liberated it from one of the tore down 22s. The brackets were already there, might as well use them! Now with my 22DB, the "DB" will stand for Dual Brake! I figure it's a good backup in case I ever brake the drum brake cable or something at top speed. :shrug: (plus I didn't like the unused brackets, lol)


Also, I did the first of several potential engine mock ups. I am torn with what direction to go. If I want to do a traditional restoration, I have a perfect early '70s Tecumseh 2.5HP that has NEVER been run! It's a side popper though but it does have a steel liner and is a really nice red-orange color.

However, I am also very tempted to use a copper colored Briggs in either 3HP or 5HP, as I have several nice ones. Let's see what that looks like...


Here I am mocking up one of the copper 5HP Briggs-wow, it barely fits! (good thing I was using the stubby spark plug!) Looks pretty cool but it is kinda visually too big for the frame? Think I might run it though, see what I think. :shrug:



Lastly, here is the empty frame after I scrubbed it, knocked a bit of rust off with a wire brush, and wiped it all down with some Marvel Mystery Oil. Now, it's ready for the new engine replacement.


that's all the restoration for today ... next up ...
... hooking up and running the 5HP Briggs for a test + maybe mock up the 2.5HP Tecumseh ... :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
MoTo-BunnY

MoTo-BunnY

Member
#17
#17
TACO EXPERTS NEEDED! Are These Originals? +Missing Drum Brake Bracket

To all the Taco experts out there, I am wondering first if these were the original grips? Seems like either they are or those were REALLY popular replacements, back in the day, as all three of my Taco 22s have them!


I am also wondering if that is the original brake lever? I think it is as it looks just like the ones in the Taco brochure? (i.e. with no ball at the end)



Also, my rear drum brake is missing some kind of bracket and I was wondering if anyone could share a picture of theirs so I know how to fab one up?


There was just a hose clamp (ugh) going through the slot and holding it next to the frame.


Without the clamp, the whole brake thingy can rotate! So I have to secure it to the frame somehow. I would really love to know what the stock part looks like if someone an share a picture (or does someone have one for sale or trade?)

thanks! :thumbsup:
 
MoTo-BunnY

MoTo-BunnY

Member
#19
#19
taco bill said:
22db. drum brake.pic this is my 1970 taco22db.
Click to expand...
So that is a tab welded on the frame? wow, never would have guessed that as I didn't see any remainder of a weld or anything on the frame when I tool pictures. :shrug: I guess I will have to look again!

If you get a chance Taco Bill, can you do a picture a little more from above, like my shots? thanks so much for the picture, looks like I am going to have to bug my neighbor to do some welding for me, lol.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top