The family member charged with cleaning out the place was a great help and we loaded everything. He found the transfer papers which indicated it had been purchased by the last owner in 1970. He apparantly never rode it but began to take it apart and then stopped. At that point its long sleep began. I was beginning to see that the bike had potential and could be more than just an organ donor. More research and inspection and it was clear that it could be brought back to life. Now, a year down the road, it's progressing nicely. What I feared to be a frozen engine yielded to a 6-month soak in Kroil. Everything was there but the horn which I recently found on (of course) Craig's List. Motor is apart and will be a thorough but easy rebuild. Sheet metal has been painted the proper light metalic green; current Toyota paint color code 605 is a near perfect match. I'm still stripping the frame and related parts, chrome is done. Remnants of the original dealer's decal were left on the oil tank and I had a graphic artist friend restore and reproduce it: C. ALDEN AMES, BSA AND TRIUMPH SALES, WESTBURY, NY. More will follow with pictures as the project continues.
