Scooter restoration/rebuild beginning help

[whitehousec]

I received a 1962 Lambretta LI 125 series 3 scooter from an uncle about 7 years back and I'm just now beginning the restore/rebuild process. Before he gave it to me, it'd sat under a tarp outside for 20 years. As you can imagine, it's in pretty rough condition. The exterior paneling is in alright shape (going to need new paint) but much of the inside parts are rusted (bolts are rusty, many exterior moving parts, inside of gasoline tank and air filter box, etc.) I've stripped the entire chassis and have separated all the different components inside (engine block/case, glove box, air filter, wheels, carburetor, cables, electric harnesses, etc.) and am wondering where the best place to begin is? I'm not looking to do a historical restoration as I want to put some upgrades in but overall if parts are rusted, is it worth trying to clean them up or simply look for new parts? Also, the engine case hasn't been opened for 25+ years and as I'm just beginning to learn about scooters, I wasn't to keen on opening that can of worms up, is it worth disassembling the whole thing to rebuild or not?

Lotta questions, any help would be immensely appreciated!

[mick1]

If it's surface rust it's probably worth cleaning as you know they all fit ok (new parts sometimes need "fettling" to fit). Regards the engine: it might be worth changing the oil and seeing how it performs. The seals and bearings might be shot and the clutch will be suspect but i'd be up for trying to get it running and see what issues you have. Once you have a running and working scooter that's when i'd break it apart and "tart" it up.

[shocky]

If it's surface rust it's probably worth cleaning as you know they all fit ok (new parts sometimes need "fettling" to fit). Regards the engine: it might be worth changing the oil and seeing how it performs. The seals and bearings might be shot and the clutch will be suspect but i'd be up for trying to get it running and see what issues you have. Once you have a running and working scooter that's when i'd break it apart and "tart" it up.

To late

[sydduckett]

first thing I would do is get hold of a copy of stickys spanners manual. All is explained and even seasoned mechanics refer to it.

[corrado]

Join a local club, there'll be a mine of experience there who'll help you out.
Sticky's book and Sausage DVDs are a must as are a few Lambretta specific engine tools. The engine is getting on for 60 year old engineering so nothing difficult about stripping it down, checking out the parts and rebuilding it, replacing what's necessary as you go along. Parts quality is a bit of a lottery, re-use the original parts wherever possible, including old nuts and bolts, they'll usually clean up well if you soak them in petrol or diesel for a couple of days and then clean up with a wire brush,etc. You'll get a lot of satisfaction from doing it yourself, maybe with an experienced eye looking in.