Project MonkeyBlaster

[C-Bass]

It's been a while since I was last working on the Blaster...but I finally got things under control enough to be able to finish.

I bought someone else's project without having any idea of what I was doing and was planning on putting this Blaster together for my kid who was 8 at the time.

To make a long story shorter, after checking things out and with lots of info from this forum I quickly realized that I needed a few key parts before anything was going to run.

I got the project started and it didn't take long before "life" got in the way and things were put on hold.

A couple weeks ago I was able to get things all in order again and have resumed this project, so I'm finally posting the build log.



Our story begins with a Kijiji posting and the following pics.

I drove up an hour or so from home to check things out armed with some cash. I'm trying to remember how much he was asking for it but I can't right now...I think it was $800

The guy had way too many projects on the go including a Banshee, jetboat, 90s mustang and a racing lawnmower, so after some negotiating I walked away with all the Blaster parts he could find.

 

[C-Bass]

The next day I took everything out to get a better look at what we have to work with.

Again, at this point I have NO idea what I'm looking at, so this forum and pictures come in handy. I also bought a PDF Yamaha service manual...but it's not quite what I was looking for

I was told that this Blaster was a few steps away from running condition

I got quite a bit of extra parts

I soon found out that this was not a factory brake setup, and it was also seized.

Not sure it this is worth rebuilding or using at all...not going to worry about it now

 

[Braaaptor]

I see hope for this one! What are your plans for it? Just get 'er running, or are you gonna do a more, um, involved build?

Either way, good luck with it all, and keep us posted! I wanna see this one run again. I love seeing a project that's been apart forever get put back together and running again.

 

[C-Bass]

I see hope for this one! What are your plans for it? Just get 'er running, or are you gonna do a more, um, involved build?

Either way, good luck with it all, and keep us posted! I wanna see this one run again. I love seeing a project that's been apart forever get put back together and running again.

The original plan was to just get her running, and honestly at the time I bought this bike there is no way my kid would have been able to handle it, he barely reached the handle bars, so there is no reason for more power.

Now having said that, I ended up buying a 3rd Blaster worth of parts minus the frame a few months after I bought this one, and the 3rd one came with a complete "running" engine that has a crack around the gear selector.

The kid I bought it from bought a blaster with a blown engine for the frame/ownership. I picked everything up for $300 including some plastics in decent shape.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to get that engine welded up (I'm taking it to a place tomorrow) and then I'll have some time to build the 2nd Blaster for a bit more fun.

On the 2nd build I might do something more fun seeing as that engine is in 100 pieces.

I'm learning as I go along, and I'm constantly on the lookout for more parts, so you never know what happens

 

[Braaaptor]

Sounds like a plan! You'll learn quickly. A Blaster is only so complicated, and there's enough info on here to answer most of your questions in no time. In your situation, I'd check over the disassembled engine thoroughly and then just decide how much $$ you want to spend on the build.

Two tips for you when doing that engine: 1) Don't re-use crankshaft bearings. Especially if you don't know where they've been or how long they've been outside the engine. Buy and install a new set. 2) Don't cheap out on gaskets, seals, or on a new piston. Stick with OEM Yamaha gaskets and seals and go for a Wiseco piston. That's all most guys on here run and I'm one of them. You won't have any air leaks or broken pistons if you go this route.

Hope this helps!

 

[1995blaster]

Yeah good luck. You can just paint everything for really cheap under under 75 most likely some wire wheels and spray paint go along way if you take your time.

 

[C-Bass]

Sounds like a plan! You'll learn quickly. A Blaster is only so complicated, and there's enough info on here to answer most of your questions in no time. In your situation, I'd check over the disassembled engine thoroughly and then just decide how much $$ you want to spend on the build.

Two tips for you when doing that engine: 1) Don't re-use crankshaft bearings. Especially if you don't know where they've been or how long they've been outside the engine. Buy and install a new set. 2) Don't cheap out on gaskets, seals, or on a new piston. Stick with OEM Yamaha gaskets and seals and go for a Wiseco piston. That's all most guys on here run and I'm one of them. You won't have any air leaks or broken pistons if you go this route.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the tips

I'll be checking out the engine in more detail soon

 

[Braaaptor]

No problem. Don't forget to do a leakdown test when you've got it all back together!

BTW, if you ever have trouble with wiring or electrical parts, I'm pretty good with both and will be happy to help. Just shoot me a PM and I'll get you figured out!

 

[C-Bass]

Yeah good luck. You can just paint everything for really cheap under under 75 most likely some wire wheels and spray paint go along way if you take your time.

So far I've got about $120 in paint, but that's also because some of the stuff only comes in a certain size.

I very rarely use wire wheels anymore. I found a product by 3M that does a WAY better job, lasts longer and doesn't shoot out sharp bits of metal. It's a plastic/rubber type material. There is a company called Gator that makes something similar, but in my experience the 3M brand product works much better and lasts considerably longer.

For the nooks and crannies I used a small sand blaster and crushed glass to clean everything up. I'm pretty anal about rust.

 

[1995blaster]

I dont have anything but a drill to work with for removing paint other than aircraft remover which i used for the small corners. Its good that your not rattle canning it will only last so long. U should post a pic or link to what your talking about?

 

[C-Bass]

After looking things over some I dove right in and started to take apart what was left of the little guy.

Turns out the swing arm was cracked, good thing in the pile of parts there was a spare.

A welded on bracket for that weird rear brake

I plan on reusing this axle for the 2nd blaster, so eventually that bracket will get removed.

 

[C-Bass]

I started cleaning and sanding the 2nd frame up getting it ready for paint while I took the 1st machine apart. (semi-spoiler shot in the 1st pic of the above post)

The 2nd frame had a minor crack that needed to be welded.

 

[C-Bass]

I dont have anything but a drill to work with for removing paint other than aircraft remover which i used for the small corners. Its good that your not rattle canning it will only last so long. U should post a pic or link to what your talking about?

I use them on a drill too. At work we have some badass air compressors, so I use it on my air die grinder, but same end result.

This is what I'm talking about

Home Care : 3M? Paint and Rust Stripper 7771 10 Brush Mandrels Hardware Department

I'm rattle canning some parts in a different color, not worth it to buy a quart of paint for the small amount of parts I'll be doing.

I also used Krylon Fusion on the plastics, since the kid picked a certain color of blue and at the time I had mismatched color plastics.

We'll see how it holds up.

 

[C-Bass]

Like I mentioned before, I'm using that 3M disc to sand the frame, and whatever else I can't reach with that disc I'm sand blasting using crushed glass.

BTW, a tip I came across after I found those 3M discs. They start out pretty large, but as they wear down they obviously get smaller, so you can plan to sand your tighter spots after the disc wears down some. I usually keep a smaller one as well as a full size on hand. I use these things a LOT!

Here's some of the other parts I cleaned up.

All the bare metal was treated with POR15 Metal Ready. It's basically an acid that etches the metal and kills the remaining rust.

Here's my helper applying the metal ready.

BTW my son is the "Monkey" in project MonkeyBlaster, been his nickname since birth

I'm using PPG etching primer also. Very good stuff...unlike the made in China HVLP gun I'll be shooting it with

A coat of primer

 

[C-Bass]

I have more progress pics I need to post, but my ass gets up at 5am so this will be it for tonight's posting.

The swing arm primered up

BUT,

Looking at primer isn't as exciting to some as much as others so I won't leave everyone hanging.

Mr. Monkey was VERY SPECIFIC about his choice in paint color and since we got a peek at it a few posts ago here's the final product on the swing arm

handle bars

and the frame

The new and the old

 

[Surfrjag]

lookin good bro! i like that color

 

[C-Bass]

lookin good bro! i like that color

Thanks, I like it too, but the kid gets the credit, I had to show him quite a few paint chips of "green" before he found something he liked.

He could have just said "Kawasaki green"

 

[Sonia_69]

Looks great! Nice job! Tell monkey is color pick is awesome! Green is my favorite color

 

[quadsrus1]

OK see now thats messed up i was gonna go with that color when i do my build up well back to the drawing board for this guy Thanks lol Turned out very very good keep us posted

 

[NameLess]

Not sure it this is worth rebuilding or using at all...not going to worry about it now

are those gsxr breaks?