DT1 MX project

For the engine on this bike I'm starting with a bare set of '73 DT3 cases I bought on ebay. They are dirty and ugly and had been painted black at some point, but look to be damage free. I need to get them cleaned up a bit before they go in the shop oven to heat them up and remove the bearings. I've got a '72 DT2 engine with damaged cases that I'd used during mockup on the flat tracker, so plan to salvage some of the internals for this engine.


Here you can see the evidence of the cause of death of many 2 strokes that have sat unused, a rusty crankshaft and main bearings. On a 2 stroke they don't sit in a bath of oil like a 4 stroke, so are particularly prone to damage from moisture.


I needed to do the initial cleaning outside, and it warmed up this weekend, so I figured I get this knocked out.


I used Rust-Oleum aircraft stripper and a pressure washer. No scrubbing at all yet, and it looks much better.


Most of the rust staining inside came off with the pressure washer. White vinegar should clean off the rest.


Next I'll remove the bearings and inspect the cases, and then they will be detailed and get new bearings.