Essence of the YZ

So I have thought a lot about the changes I want to make to the car but the follow up question is. "What don't I want to change?" or "What do I want to restore?"

Well, in looking at everything on the car, I think the essence of the YZ is the magnesium bulkheads (Front, Rear and Motor) as well as the belt drive system.

This was revolutionary at the time and if you look at the evolution of the YZ-10. The magnesium parts and belt system stay pretty much the same while chassis and suspension change around them.

Working with that. I will try and restore the drive train the best I can, then take some liberties with the other parts. I have some dreams of making a custom 870c chassis with Fibre-Lyte. But that is further down on the list.

As it stands now, I will need to redo the front of the car to properly restore. I think the original owner both didn't read directions very well and at some point trashed the front end. It sounds like the magnesium parts were prone to cracking so I am thinking the front got torn up and was replaced by a RPM front bulk head - fine but I like the original design better - especially if it doesn't crack. Plus I have the mangled front pulley to replace and a general overall drivetrain rebuld to do. The belt seems pretty good, although my tensioner never worked really well so I will have to look up the design intention in the manual and see if it still can work.

I think I will start pulling off parts this weekend. Photos to follow.