Paint for the Mk1 frame and body parts is complete and it looks great.

An LD always takes a long time to reassemble. There are a lot of small parts. You also have to be very careful to not scratch the new paint when putting an LD back together. It’s a good practice to use masking tape to protect the finish – especially when mounting the engine and leg shield.

The saddle frames were blasted and etch-primed a few weeks ago. The front and rear frames, the tubular toolbox, torsion arm, and hubs were originally finished with a silver/aluminum paint. The front hub has not been dismantled and blasted yet. It will be easier to paint them all at the same time, so laying down the finish coat on these parts will have to wait.

The next step was to drop in the engine and reassemble the fork. Next, mount some rims. After that the wiring loom and cables will be installed. Except for tires, none of the parts needed for all that have been ordered. I held off on placing an order until I can find the time to take inventory of my LD parts on and.

Recently I have been reconsidering entering this scooter in the P.U.O.S.U. build-off.  My concerns center on the cost of shipping the bike to Las Vegas and the possibility of it being damaged in transit. It will run more than $1000 to get it there and back. On the other hand, I could load it on my truck and haul it to Nevada. That’s not a great option in my mind. Driving long distances is one of my least favorite things to do. The trip from Seattle to Vegas would be about 1000 miles one-way.

Times are tough with the economy. Thankfully, I have no financial worries but a few of my old friends are out of work and have been for a while. Calculating the high cost of the restoration, then adding at least two thousand on top of that to participate in a rally and judging contest seems a little selfish. Maybe a bit frivolous. There’s plenty of time to make a decision between now and the end of March, but it’s definitely something that’s been on my mind.

It sounds like the name of a comedy team. These two scooters have taken a long time to get to this point. As indicated in a previous post, the Heinkel frame was powder coated the original gray color. The fork has been rebuilt. Once the new bearings and shocks arrive from Germany, it will be reinstalled along with a few miscellaneous parts that have been refinished. The engine rebuild will be last. That’s the opposite of my usual approach. Below is a photo of the repaired body shell. The front cowl is almost finished. It needed a lot of work.

It really is great to have access to all the Heinkel parts through the Club. I wish all old scooters had such a well managed organization of enthusiasts. Language is a bit of a challenge. I always hoped that studying the German language might come in handy someday.

There’s not much information about the original colors beyond a description, but I will retain the original ‘harvest gold’ and black combination. The leg shield is very rusted at the bottom and I still haven't decided if it should be replaced or not. Either invest a lot of time and effort in repairs or toss it and get a replacement. The latter is a lot faster and simpler.

The Bella needed very little metal repair. It was in very good original condition with a thick coat of bad paint on it. The engine is still in the frame, which is rusty and needs to be blasted and powder coated along with the fork. I’m nervous about the availability of Zundapp engine parts, but I will cross that bridge when the time comes. The battery cover and side panels/doors had been chromed by a previous owner for some odd reason. Blasting them worked well in providing a good base for paint.

My other Zundapp Bella is Coral Red, so I will choose something else for this one. For the moment, Forest Green appeals to me. Originally it was a light blue metallic. I don't care for metallic finishes, so that’s not an option.

The schedule for laying down the finish coat on the Heinkel and the Zundapp Bella is about two weeks from now.

After a bit of welding and grinding, the frame and sheet metal prep is nearly finished. Following the phosphor treatment, the frame and panels were primed with a base coat, sanded, then a hi build primer applied to take out some of the imperfections.

The parts shown in the photos await final wet sanding before the top coat is applied. This will be single stage urethane. Two stage was a consideration. It’s more durable but it doesn’t look as original as single stage paint.

One minor challenge was getting the old side panel handles out. They had been rusted in and wouldn’t budge. Heat, penetrating oils, nothing worked. They ended up needing to be cut off and drilled out.

The paint shop will take care of it from here. A lot of parts need to be ordered. Backorders seems to be more common now that ever, so it could take several weeks for all the parts to arrive.

next up after the paint is cured: fork, rims, and tires. Then the loom and cables.