This summer I'm taking three Invaders ('78, '79, '81) and trying to make two. I chose Invader for the vintage 440 power and the fact there are plenty out there for parts. This is my first "restoration" effort on sleds. Both sleds will get full clean up and inspection: clutches, gears, seals, suspension, drive shaft, bearings, etc. I've polished most the major parts just to look nice again. The '78 is ready to fire up and finish the oil priming. Then hood, seat, and final polish. It looks different than the start, I'll say that.
I've got about 80 man hours into it so far, with a couple guys helping here and there. Half of this time has been slow including polish and learning difficult removal. Not to mention the time spent thinking, reading and researching on this website. I suppose the first sled will have about 120hours into it, and the 2nd sled maybe 60-80hours. I'm hoping the 2nd sled goes faster... I'm not sure if this is fast or slow, but it is about right for this first-timer, eh.
Learning Much: crank seals, oil injection priming, clutch settings, interchangeable parts, etc...
1st sled- (the seller): '78 chassis, '81 motor 115psi, '79 hood, original seat with small puncture, belly pan with crack and small hole.
2nd sled- (the keeper): '79 chassis, rebuilt motor, '78 hood, recovered seat, belly pan with small crack- and upgrade to the vari-ride suspension.
Trouble So Far:
1) Learning how to remove the stator plate and gear to replace seals.
2) worst trouble has been removing the clutch from the '79. The threads were stripped so the clutch puller didn't work. So I tried the traditional "wheel" pullers and broke two. Bent the clutch plate while I was at it. uff-da. My next move is to weld a new nut on end of the clutch shaft to create new threads for the clutch puller to work like it should. If that doesn't get this #@!$ off, I'm afraid I'm going to get violent with it.
3) Polishing takes a lot of time...but it is worth it, I think.
4) I haven't started with carb settings yet, so that might be a struggle...