1970 FLH “Resurrection”

[gitguy]

I purchased this bike from a guy in Minneapolis who had it listed in an ad on Craigslist. He said he had lots of interest but most of the inquiries were from guys who wanted to tear it apart and make a custom creation. He said that he preferred to sell it to someone that wanted to put it back into its original state, more or less. Since that was my goal I made him an offer and although it was less than some of the custom builders offered, we agreed on a price and now the bike was mine. My desire was to make a rider not a true restoration. The price was right so I dove in without really scrutinizing it too much.

As you can see in the photos some changes were made along the way. The Tillotson carb was replaced by a hacked up Super E. A kick starter had been installed and a true dual exhaust system replaced the original dual exhaust. Gangsta whitewalls and a hideous paint job rounded things out. However, when I got it home and was able to look carefully what I found what seemed like a very correct 1970 Electra Glide and almost all of the the correct parts in boxes.



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[gitguy]

It was encrusted in dirt and grease so I took it to the local wash rack and pressure washed everything. The original wire harness was cracked and brittle so that had to be replaced. Also it seemed that the bike had been sitting in a garage or “barn” for a long period of time based on the crust and surface rust. Once all was fairly clean I noticed the cylinders had the original factory paint and the odometer showed either 7900 or 17900 miles. The first digit was difficult to see. I really wanted to determine how authentic things were so I pulled the sheet metal and then the cylinder heads to find the factory original pistons and beautiful cylinder walls free from any damage of scoring. Now I was convinced this was a low mile original bike that someone had painted a really ugly red and white.

After cleaning the pistons and heads of some carbon build up, the heads went back on with new gaskets.

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[gitguy]

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[gitguy]

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[gitguy]

The Super E was garbage so I went to school to learn about Tillotson carbs. I knew nothing at the time but I’ve learned much along the way. I found a fairly complete HD2D, bought a rebuild kit and a couple of other HD carbs cheaply on eBay to use for donor parts. A shout out to Big Lake Bob who came through with a main nozzle check ball and housing that I needed. New wire harness was next. Speedometer was sent to John Bordas for rebuild and calibration since the needle rested on 20 mph and he also determined the mileage was actually 17900. Bummer, was hoping for 7900. Still low miles for a 50 year old machine that has all original parts including almost every factory 1038CP bolt. But that paint, ugh!

I decided to paint it in a not often seen original 1970 color- sparkling gold. A friend has one just like it that is a low mile original paint bike that can be seen here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4RWdYA24PM) in this YouTube video that he made a while back. This same guy also has a collection of original cans of paint and gifted me an unopened quart of sparkling gold which is what I used - what a great guy!

So now I have an "original paint bike" sort of . . .


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When I removed the existing paint what I found was the factory hi fi burgundy and except for a 1 inch dent on the left tank, flawless virgin sheet metal. 20201009_135224.jpg20201116_152132.jpg

[gitguy]

The gold was sprayed and came out beautifully. I then applied the birch white panels and did the saddlebags at the same time. I was fortunate to have scored some factory original 3M tank decals from J.W. Boon in the Netherlands. The bags came with the original Chicago Lock Company locks and each bag and lid had a date stamped on the inside either late 1969 or 1970. The correct double white walls and the original seat with a 1970 date stamp finish it off.





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[gitguy]

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[gitguy]

Looking to thin the herd so I will most likely be putting this up for sale. Starts and runs beautifully, idles well and no shifting issues. This is a very correct 1970 with the only aftermarket parts I can think of is the wire harness and perhaps a couple of fasteners and some rubber oil lines. OEM exhaust and mufflers. One tire is a NOS Goodyear Speed Grip and the other is a matching Harley replacement Yokohama HDS Classic, also NOS.


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[gitguy]

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[gitguy]

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[PaulCDF]

Very nice work.

[exeric]

Obviously, you were the right person to get that bike.

[projectstarter]

Very nice job.

[JTR249]

Excellent photos of the process.

[gitguy]

Thanks all for the kind words. It was fun and educational.