Starting work on 888S*000782

MarkT

This is the 'BIMBO bike that Marvin shared with this forum a few years back. This is one of the three Racing 851's ( 000782, 000790, and 000802) that Ferracci bought from the factory for the 1991 AMA season. After it was raced (shared by Polen and Picotte ) it was sold at the end of the season to a professional Mexican bike racer. I tracked this bike down about six years ago and spent those years trying to get it back into the USA legally. I finally had it smuggled over the boarder with all of the original paperwork by the PO and he brought it to the home of a friend of mine (day job is astronaut) who lives in Houston. He in turn sent it out to me on the East Coast by airfreight.

Turned out that it was very, very rough. I called the PO and he said that he thought he had told me that he had crashed very hard down a long straight when the motor dropped a valveend over end. Even the PC board of the P8 was cracked in half. He had soldered on thin wire to bridge each broken pin trace. The frame was badly bent. I had wondered why Ferracci told me to beware when I told him I was buying the bike.

Last year I cut off all of the front tubes and welded in new aircraft tubing using a frame jig that Marvin rigged up years ago. I primed it over the winter. I just finished painting frame this week. Thought that some of you would like to see a few pictures of the frame and a couple of the motor I rebuilt this past winter. I have kept all of the black paint on the side covers/heads/cylinders exactly like I received them since I want the motor to retain its race patinaeach a well-used piece. This will be in contrast to the rolling chassis, which I am going to make as newly original as I can. I have original factory painted sides and tank, a used tail,----just missing an original nose. I have some good copies but I want this to be as factory as possible.

If anyone is interested I will continue to update pictures as I make progress.

Mr.R

Hi Mark,
Nice one very interesting, please keep the the pic's and info coming.
I used the pic's you mailed me when I lightened my latest set of primarys/timing gears etc.

Steve R

sp2 boy

MarkT wroteIf anyone is interested I will continue to update pictures as I make progress.

Yes please! It is nice to see the photographs and hear some of the story surrounding the bike, thanks for sharing.

I like the bit about smuggling the bike out of Mexico, it must have been quite weird sneaking that out. I guess it's not the normal thing that gets smuggled out of that country!

Imola

I'm sure ive seen those photos before 😄

countcoupe

Hi MarkT, great project.
What is the bike lurking in the background? Looks like a BMW with Earls forks.
Charlie

MarkT

countcoupe wroteHi MarkT, great project. What is the bike lurking in the background? Looks like a BMW with Earls forks. Charlie

Charlie-

good eye- it started out as a '69 R-50 that I installed a '78 R-80 motor rebuilt stock with Dellorto's To make it stop I found a four leading shoe brake from a Yamaha GP bike and machined up the axle, stay brackets, and duel cable pull. I stuck on a Corbin seat and some repro German police bags. Tank and fenders are stock repainted and hand striped. I used a /5 front light bucket so I would have a built in tack. The rims are Excel.

I built it so I would not be stupid on the street like I was every time I came back from the track. Very fun bike but no pavement burner- and with the slightest lean you touch something down. Not the best bike to ride with Marvin and his friends.

MarkT

Mr.R wroteHi Mark, Nice one very interesting, please keep the the pic's and info coming. I used the pic's you mailed me when I lightened my latest set of primarys/timing gears etc. Steve R

Steve- very glad to help- years back not many Ducati owner's would even would take a second look at an early Corse at the track or at a show. It is cool to see the increased interest.

MarkT

Looked at my paper work again and saw that there was a forth bike in the order--000804. This makes more sense -- two bikes per rider.

countcoupe

Hey MarkT. BMW looks great. Love the front drum.
Heres mine.

MarkT

countcoupe wroteHey MarkT. BMW looks great. Love the front drum. Heres mine.

VERY NICE-- much more original then mine-- singles are fairly rare so I think it is cool when I see someone actually riding one.

henk

you sure do have a good tast for you rides.
nice 851 and a great looking 356 as well.

henk!!!

MarkT

henk wroteyou sure do have a good tast for you rides. nice 851 and a great looking 356 as well. henk!!!

Hi Henk-

That is a '58 sunroof I built for my wife when we got married 23 years back.

I know this is getting way way off topic and I hope showing some of my projects you saw in my pictures will not piss anyone off on this forum- but it is fun to share with fellow gear heads.

Like many of you I love restoring older cars and bikes. I first got into restoring machines because I loved 356's and the ones I could afford were always rusty buckets- this how I learned how to weld, paint, and machine parts. I have restored at least 13 of them over the last 40 years-all done in my backyard. Bugs do rub out. I did all of my bikes outside under my deck and in my basement. Now by complete good luck I have two big garages- one with a homemade spray booth.

I drive a '61 cab that I built out of spare parts about 26 years ago to autocross- now it is my main car- same color as the "58 since I bought plenty of that paint.

Marvin is trying to get me to ride my bike(s) more but this little car is just as much fun to me.

I am getting back to restoring a '52 split window cab that I bought as a rusty hulk in '87. All of the body parts that are now on the car came off of a rusted out '52 coupe which I modified for the cab. It took me about three summers in the back yard. After years of welding and body-working I got it up to a rolling chassis.

About that time I fell in love with the early Corse bikes and started to restore and track them so the work on the '52 stopped.

In the picture of the '52 you will see that the floor is white from painting 000782's frame--the paint Marvin gave me loved to stick to the floor which I never had happen using any other brand of paint.

When I am finished with 000782 I will begin working on the '52 again.

Like Marvin and many of you on this forum my passion for bikes and cars assure that I always will be busy.

sp2 boy

Mark, you do like to tease...showing that 246 in the background, nice that last garage shot with 4 old bangers in it! 😁

MarkT

sp2 boy wroteMark, you do like to tease...showing that 246 in the background, nice that last garage shot with 4 old bangers in it! 😁

Ahhh--- I thought I would be pushing this thread a bit too far out of bounds if got into the Dino. I bought it in '74 when I was making no money but I was able to take over this guys lease for what I made each month. I was 24 and I was in love- with the Dino. Having enough money left at the end of each month to cover the insurance and gas was enough for me. I lived in a dump--you cannot drive a house. I paid it off in four years and never sold it no matter what other project I had to have.

I never thought I would own a car so long that I would have to restore it. It took me ten years of slow work. I rebuilt it from the ground up. It took me four months just to find the exact red I liked- found it in the PPG Global line, It is like a jigsaw puzzle in that every piece has to go in in the correct sequence because the space is so tight . Very Italian- it is such a pain to work on you have to be in love to do it. I just finished it-- I do not even have it tagged yet.

sp2 boy

I am envious Mark, it seems that you have found a very interesting way of 'whittling away' your life, much better in my opinion than being sat on a river bank with a stick or propping a bar.

Real nice and interesting projects...I hope you enjoy them as much trying to wear them out! 😁

MarkT

sp2 boy wroteI am envious Mark, it seems that you have found a very interesting way of 'whittling away' your life, much better in my opinion than being sat on a river bank with a stick or propping a bar. Real nice and interesting projects...I hope you enjoy them as much trying to wear them out! 😁

Thanks---I have a hard time just sitting around-hard to pry me away from the house even to go to parties--some people do not believe my wife is married since they have never seen me.

Well- I am going to try my best to wear them out-- Marvin's got me going out to the track in August.

henk

i don't mind to go off topic on something like that,and it is your topic anyway.
i really love the 356 as well,and my favourites are off course the speedster or a pré-A.
but those are out off my budget.
so i have to do with a '67 beetle for now with a 1776 engine for the moment and a 2110 after the summer.
ohh and i have fuchs wheels on it as well OG 4,5/15 and 6/15.

henk!!!

MarkT

henk wrotei don't mind to go off topic on something like that,and it is your topic anyway. i really love the 356 as well,and my favourites are off course the speedster or a pré-A. but those are out off my budget. so i have to do with a '67 beetle for now with a 1776 engine for the moment and a 2110 after the summer. ohh and i have fuchs wheels on it as well OG 4,5/15 and 6/15. henk!!!

A '67-- very cool. So many parts to build them up into high HP. Up here in the mountains the open tube frame dessert buggies are popular- they put some big motors in them and run stingers. You can hear them a mile away.

I used to have a 55 pre A speedster that I bought one month after I bought the Dino. I had restored a '69 911 Targa and turned it into an S. I sold it to be able to take over the Dino lease and with the money I had left over I bought the 55 speedster and a '57 bug. The Speedster was rust free and it was my first back yard paint job because it had been left under a tarp for a winter and the paint was cracking off. I sold it about 10 years ago just before the prices went into orbit. Bad timing for me but it gave me enough money to start the restoration on my Dino so it was all good.

It was a very hard decision to sell it but I had the '52 to restore and I loved my '61 to drive.

I used to write for the 356 Registry magazine and wrote a number of articles about the early split window pre A cars ( not a big fan of the "pre A" title- I prefer to call them 356's). Much of my information is now found in Brett Johnson's books. In fact his '51 Glaser cab use to be mine prior to his restoration. I was really into them and they were not worth anything so I could buy parts cars for really really cheap. Now they are as stupid money as speedsters.

sp2 boy

MarkT wroteI sold it about 10 years ago just before the prices went into orbit. Bad timing for me but it gave me enough money to start the restoration on my Dino so it was all good. In fact his '51 Glaser cab use to be mine prior to his restoration. I was really into them and they were not worth anything so I could buy parts cars for really really cheap. Now they are as stupid money as speedsters.

I wouldn't sweat too much Mark, some 'wealthy people' would be proud to own just some of the toys that you have in your garage! 😁

PS I am not stating that you are poor by my last statement...nor rich, just fortunate! 😎

hauge

I love most type of projects even if this is a 851/888 forum.
The Dino and the 356 is gorgius looking cars, Both of them far beyond what I can afford theses day.
I keep my eyes open now and the for a Lotus elan +2 or maybe an early 911. But I just might satisfy with a "modern" Lotus since my bikes seems to give me more time in the shed that I have...