Score!

[Hayseed]

I just scored a `75 CT 70 with under 500 original miles! It was registered and driven primarily on the street, then was forgotten in 1983. The original owner moved to PA and left it behind in his garage.

Fast forward to 2008. The original owner has since retired to the Smoky Mountains and his son lives in the house he vacated. The bike was just sitting in the corner of the garage, covered in toys and tarps. The only real damages are the 25 year old gas in the tank and carburetor, and the rusty rims from intermittent dog pee over the years when his long-dead labrador couldn't go out quick enough. I have also noticed some scratches where the straps that held it to the wall in the garage rubbed the paint.

Otherwise, it's in good shape. The engine kicks over and has good compression, though I am a bit concerned it makes a scraping noise when I kick it over in first gear.

I'll post some pics when I figure out how.

 

[Hayseed]

And here's a pic

picture #1. It's a little dirty, and bad quality from my crappy cell phone camera, but here she is!


Shot with 6126 at 2008-01-10

 

[Hayseed]

more

And another.

Shot with 6126 at 2008-01-10

One more again


Shot with 6126 at 2008-01-10

 

[gstegman]

Nice!

Looks complete, good score.

Did the guy have a clue what they are worth?

 

[Hayseed]

worth?

I guess, but I have LESS THAN $150 in the bike, not counting the trip to go get it!!

He just wanted it out of his garage, as his son didn't want it. I had the cash, and he took what I had in hand!

Like I said, SCORE!

 

[gstegman]

Score Indeed

I just love to hear stories like that. I'm just getting back into it after a little break and it seems the crazy prices of a few years back have come and gone...

Nice find...

 

[bjatwood]

Nice SCORE! That is a pretty neat color too! I think they call that color "Mighty Green"! The bike should clean up pretty good with some good ol fashioned elbow grease. You'll be cruising before you know it!
Good Luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Mikey]

So did you wear a mask when you stole that
Great find, and it looks like it's in great shape. Congrats, I have paid more for a beater

 

[Fyrman]

Wow... I have to tell you though, I'm getting a little tired of reading about all these guys on here finding these "never seen before" deals. Dammit. Why can't I fall into one of those!!!

*thumps head on desk*

 

[Hayseed]

I'm diggin' it

Took the carb apart. Man, what a chore!! It was practically welded shut. It sat full of fuel for so long it's going to take a lot to fix it. Need to boil out the tank, add new fuel lines, and replace the tires (un-dryrotted but hard as a rock). Also, the battery was a furry green mess.

I'm as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning!

 

[69ST]

I'm usually in favor of trying to save vintage carburetors. There are limits, beyond which you're likely to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

If you have what looks like a reef formation in the float bowl, take it as a bad sign. If possible, media blast the inside of the float bowl. Plastic grit is preferred, but glass bead can be used with care. Once the inside of the bowl is back to bare metal, hold it up to sunlight and look for pinholes. If you find any, the carb is probably too far gone. Heavy pitting is a bad sign, too. Keep in mind that there are internal passages, some of which are really tiny, easily clogged and damn near impossible to completely clear of oxidation. The usual symptom of a dead carb is inability to set the idle mixture.

FYI...those "hard as a rock" tires ARE dry-rotted.

 

[Hayseed]

yeek!

Heavy pitting is a bad sign, too.

It is definitely that! The carb finally came apart after soaking it in carb cleaner for a while, but the varnish in the bowl didn't budge. I cannot for the life of me get the slide to come out, though it did budge just enough to get the throttle linkage off. The float is toast, but that was expected. The pitting may be a problem; thanks for the input on that!

I may be hours ahead of the game just buying another carburetor.

As for the hard tires, what I meant by dry-rotted was that it didn't have the usual cracks in the sidewall. The tires look like the original Nittos, but I can't even squeeze them of the bead. Not going to trust my life to them.

 

[hondaman]

If you want to stay original there are always carbs for sale on E-bay , some in very nice shape. Like you said you may be farther ahead of the game by just replacing the old one.

 

[motodevo]

just buy a new c70 carb on ebay, i picked one up for about 40 US and if worked perfectly on my ct70k4 without touching it, the only thing is that the choke and fuel tap are on the other side.