1964 Vespa Restoration

Vespa Re-Restoration

Shawn Mahoney
1964 Vespa 150
1964 Vespa 150 with Disk Brake

When it comes to two wheels it’s not “all Heinkel, all the time” at TDW! I got my start in scooters with a 1964 Vespa, and recently I rehabilitated my first scooter after it fell into the clutches of Peromyscus leucopus:

Field Mouse
Field Mouse Nest in a Vespa VBB
Acidic rot from the nest pushing out

What could be so bad about a scooter becoming a mouse hotel? Mice and Vespas are a classic bad romance; Vespas provide a cozy home for mice families, and return the mice use the scooter as a bathroom and rot out the body from the inside. By the time you notice it’s too late, and you have an extensive bodywork job ahead of you if you want to save the scooter.

It’s time to make lemonade from lemons, When I originally completed my restoration in the 90’s the aftermarket performance market wasn’t a novice scooter restorer-friendly place. My scooter is what is known to aficionados as “VBB” Vespa, featuring curvy body work and 8″ wheels. At the time the 8″ wheels limited the upgrades that could help the scooter keep up in traffic and stop better. Many of the options included frankenbiking 10″ wheel conversions, cutting in new engine ports, and other procedures that could easily become abominations in the hands of the wrong person.

Today is a different story. In addition to repairing the bodywork I’ve made the following upgrades to increase scooter performance to almost modern standards:

  • A Pinasco 177 kit to increase acceleration and horsepower, accompanied by a 24/24 carb and free flowing SIP Road 2.0 exhaust
  • A front disk brake designed for 8″ wheels from Saigon Scooter Centre in Vietnam
  • Various engine and mechanical updates while I have the scooter apart

There’s more I could do but I’m not going to get carried away. Some people do 10″ conversions and upgrade the electrical system to 12 volts and electronic ignition. Since I won’t be riding at night and not far, I’ll pass on these.

You can watch the progress here:

Engine Tuning and Motor Work:https://techdesignworks.com/2023/06/vespa-engine-tuning/
Bodywork and Painting:https://techdesignworks.com/2023/02/vespa-bodywork/
Disk Brake Installation:https://techdesignworks.com/2023/06/vespa-8-disk-brake/