Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Greetings all. A few years ago an older guy I know told me about the Harley golf cart he had gotten and asked if I'd help him find some parts. I was somewhat familiar w/ the things because a step-son was using one on his farm but when I went to see it I was surprised to see that it had a steel flat bed body rather than a 'glass golf body. I did a little quickie research and didn't find much info. I found him an oversize piston/ring set and got him in contact w/ a guy who bores cylinders and other motorcycle/small engine machining work. and then all but forgot about it. The guy has an amazing shop and all kinds of mechanical experience but he lost interest in it and it's been sitting since. He told me the other day that he wanted to sell it... BUT would give it to me if i want it because he likes the kind of work I do on projects. How could I say no? My last project, a '75 Honda w/ Kawasaki forks and swing arm, Yamaha rear set foot pegs, Suzuki pistons (and the list goes on) was finally completed and sold to finance the BMW I've wanted for years. We aren't going to be snowbirds this year because of the virus so a new project is just what I need. Besides, I've been keeping eyes open for a cart for a while now because Mrs thinks it would be great for making trips to the city compost pile and giving the dog rides around town. So after some more extensive research I determined that it's a '68 Utilicar and, though a genuine basket case, seems to be a pretty worthy project. Here it is in the back of my truck on it's way to my shop:

https://www.dotheton.com/index.php?a...2-jpeg.229567/

And a few more of it as it sits at the moment:

https://www.dotheton.com/index.php?a...3-jpeg.229568/

https://www.dotheton.com/index.php?a...6-jpeg.229569/

https://www.dotheton.com/index.php?a...5-jpeg.229571/

It ain't pretty and at the moment I don't have any of the front bodywork pieces. I don't know if he'll be able to get them for me or not but there's a guy I''ve found on Craigslist who's not too far from here and has several HDs to part out. What I'd REALLY like to find, though is one of the cab body fronts with the windshield.

So, there it is, I'll try and post up as things progress.

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

You have quite the job in front of you there. There is a specific HD sub-forum on this site that you may want to keep an eye on as well. There is a ton of information on it that you may wish to consider doing the course of your project.

Believe it or not, I recall a guy trying to sell a utilicart windshield a year or so ago on this site. I will try to find it but if you start doing some forum searches you might stumble across it as well.

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Here it is:

https://buggiesgonewild.com/showthread.php?t=153157

It's unlikely that this seller is still checking this post but perhaps a moderator can send an email to the seller on your behalf.

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Welcome!
These old HDs are fun and easy to work on. Several guys on here with plenty of experience to help you with questions along the way. Also if you need particular parts, make sure to throw it out here.
here's some eye candy for you:

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Thank you. I did come across that post when I was looking around here. I suspect (but not sure) that the windshield advertised is probably for the optional cab front shown in the post that Scooter_Trash posted. Either one of those cab front parts or the whole cab unit would be the "Holy Grail" for me on this project!

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Thank you, I appreciate it. That #50222-66A Front Panel Section would be just the ticket for my project. The wood stake box looks good but I can make my own. Several years ago I made one for a Cushman Truckster that came out pretty nice.

I started on a carb rebuild yesterday. I gave the parts a bath in an ultrasonic cleaner and will get it all back together when the rebuild kit arrives.

https://www.dotheton.com/index.php?a...4-jpeg.229949/

The frame isn't terribly rusty just old and dirty. I'm trying to decide if I want to spend the cash to get it sand blasted but am leaning toward just spending time on it w/ a pad sander before prime and paint.

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Very welcome. So have you used that method to clean carbs before, and if so how well does it work?

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Yeah, it's a tried-and-true practice with the folks who rebuild old motorcycles. It works well on carbs, petcocks, and pretty much any other cruddy part you can get into your cleaner. I guess there are cleaning solutions you can get but the most standard consensus I've come across is PineSol, boiling hot water, and a few drops of Dawn. My little ultrasonic cleaner was purchased for $4 at a thrift store and was made by Brookstone. As you can see in the pix, I pretty well had it maxed out capacity wise. There are bigger ones out there, mine was probably made for smaller items like jewelry. HOWEVER, you don't have to spend big $$ to get the job done! The popular and quite successful work-around I've seen is a coffee can with a cheap pad sander taped to it. I know, it sounds stupid, but it works amazingly well. Here are some pix of the cleaned parts. The pix don't do justice to how nice they look.

https://www.dotheton.com/index.php?a...5-jpeg.230064/

https://www.dotheton.com/index.php?a...6-jpeg.230065/

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Nice! I work on older bikes, but have never used ultrasonic. Typically brake and carb clean for the orifices, and soda blast for exterior of carb parts.

Re: Ridesolo's '68 HD Utilicar
 

Yes, that all sounds like the tried n true. This particular MC bunch can be an interesting crew; they'll try anything once. One member in the Carolinas has started doing vapor blasting in his shop. That makes stuff really pretty, but of course my complaint w/ that is once it's pretty you need to keep it that way! Seems like it's easier to maintain "acceptable" rather than "immaculate." That's just me, though..