Ducati Update.

Ever since I picked up my new (old and rusty) Ducati, it has been a flurry of activity.

Parts were taken off and cleaned, broken items were fixed and knuckles were busted.  All in all, they were good times.

Now the part begins where real progress is made.

With my awesome new sandblaster, I stripped the rust and paint off of the frame while creating a beach behind my shed.  After the paint and rust were removed, I smoothed over the pits with filler and applied a rust-prevention coating over the bare metal.  All that's left to do is to get one minor area welded and to primer the frame.

I took this time to pull both wheels to see how bad they were inside. 

To my surprise, they weren't bad at all.  The friction surface on the rear drum has a few small areas of rust that can be machined out.  The rear drum was also a home for a colony of ants that were not too pleased with my disruption of their home.  The front drum was in similar condition; minus the ants, of course.

I disassembled the front forks and found the dampening fluid was a strange green color and possessed a horrendous smell. 

Aside from the color and the smell, the big problem is rust on the fork tubes.  The tube is in good condition in the seal-area but the top has quite a bit of rust.  I'm going to blast the tops (I love my sandblaster) and see how it turns out before I shell out $300 for new fork-tubes.  I only paid $150 for the whole bike.

Another problem I addressed was the issue of bodywork. 

My standard 1965 bodywork was ruined by years of neglect at the hands of Mother Nature.  I picked up a used 1967 square-style tank and rear-fender off of Ebay to replace my rusted originals.  I'm in the process of blasting (my sandblaster rules) and repainting the bodywork.  All that's missing is a matching front fender and a headlight.

I still haven't addressed the issue of my frozen engine or the myriad of parts I need.  After the chassis is finished, it's on to the engine.

I think I should be done by, say, 2012.  Let's hope; I'd like to ride it before the world ends.