1970 400 Cross Hybrid back in the stable

This is going to be a long story. Grab a coffee or "adult beverage" and read on.

In 1969 my buddy, Jim, bought a new 360 Sportsman. I was riding an Ossa at that time.
After a ride on his bike, I decided that I, too would like a Husky. So I went to the local Husky Dealer, the legendary Al Perrett, father of Guy Perrett of "Terrafirma" fame.

Prior to my arrival at his dealership, a customer had arranged to purchase 2 new Huskys, a 360 Sportman and a 400 Cross. He wanted to have a street legal 400, so he had Al swap the motors and he took the Sportsman with a 400 motor home. He told Al to sell the 400 Cross with the 360 (8 speed, btw) for him.
Then I appeared. I thought that this was an excellent combo, so I traded in the Ossa, and took the 400/360 8 speed Hybrid home.

So, I rode and raced that bike for a few years. Made a few modifications, etc. until 1973, when I bought a new WR250 from Al. Jim had his eye on my bike for some time, and instantly offered to buy the hybrid, but not having enough money, he offered me his '69 Sportsman and some cash.
His sportsman was street legal, neither of my bikes were, so I accepted the deal.
Now I have the 250WR and a '69 Sportsman, and Jim has the Hybrid.

So one day I take the Sportsman for a ride. I stop at the local gas station and get a fill up. The pump jockey (full serve back in those days) fails to tighten the gas cap properly. I get to the local riding area and head for a steep hill. No problem. But what goes up must come down. I start down this rather steep hill, compression release poofing away, when the gas cap comes off and the full fuel tank gushes out gas all over my legs, the motor, and the compression release ignites the gas and as flames envelope the tank, I bail off the back of the bike and let her go. She rolled down the hill about 50 feet and fell over in a ball of fire, fed by the full tank of fuel spilling out the filler hole.

So after several other riders and I got the grass fire out and the Husky was cool enough to remove from the hillside, I dragged the cremated corpse to my truck and loaded up what was left of her.
The motor, forks, and wheel hubs were salvageable, but pretty much everything else was trash.
I gave the motor to Jim for spare parts for the hybrid. I kept the forks and wheels for a while.

Jim rode the hybrid occasionally for a few years, then one day he parked it in his toolshed next to the burnt 360 motor, closed the door and walked away.

30 years passed by.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this story. The hybrid will live again.

Rosco

Part 2

One day, about 25 years ago, Jim is doing some yard cleaning, and after filling his pickup with leaves and branches, etc. he drives to the local landfill (garbage dump). As he is unloading the truck there, another truck pulls up next to him with an old Husky in the back. Well, Jim gets talking to the other guy and it turns out he is throwing it away because it has a cracked cylinder or something, and isn't worth repairing. After some Husky talk, they load the bike into Jim's truck and he takes it home and puts it in the toolshed next to the hybrid.

The years pass by...
I mention to Jim whenever I see him ( which was not very often, as we now live about 200 miles apart ), that IF he should ever consider selling the hybrid, I might be interested. The last time I mentioned this was at least 10 years ago.

January, 2011... I get a phone call from Jim's brother in law, to advise me that Jim has all the Husky stuff for sale on Craig's List. I gasped, holding my heart !

Immediately I call Jim (after looking up his phone number on the 'net) and after a brief "Hi, how are ya?", I told him to immediately de-list (or is that un-list?) the items from Craig's, as I would buy the works, as soon as I get back from my annual 2 weeks riding in the deserts of Baja during February.

So, I drove the 200 miles to Jim's just a few weeks ago, and loaded up my truck with the Hybrid, the 360 Sportsman that he got at the dump, and the motor from the '69 Sportsman that got cremated 30 years ago, along with an assortment of parts that are unexplained, like a lengthened swingarm and a front wheel, carburetors, gaskets, pistons & stuff.

And that, folks, is my story.

The Hybrid will be the first to be restored. (May also be the last).

I'll be back with some photos as soon as I figure out how to post them.

Rosco

These photos were taken right after I returned home from the trip to Jim's.

This is the Hybrid 400 Cross with 360 8 speed:



Other side:





Tank - some surface rust:

This is the '71 Sportsman 360, possibly a donor bike, we'll see as time goes on.










I took the top end off this one last week, curious because it was supposed to have a "cracked cylinder".

I found that it has a brand new 1st over piston kit. Piston and head wiped clean with a rag. No carbon at all.

Turns out that the big end rod bearing is toast, but top end is new and perfect.

Good chance that top end will end up on the Hybrid as I get into the project.

Rosco

Looking forward to seeing your progress .... I have always wondered what it must be like to ride an 8 speeder ... ??

I have created a "wish list" of items that I will need in order to complete this project.
I am hoping that other members can advise me where I might get these parts. They
don't have to be OEM, but suitable for a "race ready" restoration.

Front alloy fender and flap
High crossbar chrome handlebars
Seat foam and seat cover
Rear fender ( is it supposed to be steel or aluminum? ) I can't recall.
Rear shocks and springs. (All black Girlings were original)
Cables:.... Clutch, brake, throttle and 8-speed, grey with oilers preferred.

The gas tank needs work also. Who can do a good job of re-chroming it?
Painting will not be a problem, as my buddy owns an autobody / collision repair shop.
I will also need decals for the tank.

Thanks in advance for any recommendations, suggestions, etc.
This is gonna be fun!

Rosco

John Lefevre @ Vintage Husky should have most everything you need. Great guy to deal with and has done some amazing museum quality restorations. I have a 72 CR250 on my project list and he had most everything I needed also.

Fleet
Yes, have been checking out the Vintage Husky website, and they do seem to have most of what I need.
I was hoping for a recommendation such as yours before I ordered anything.
Sometimes these websites make the products sound absolutely perfect, but later you find out that the products are sub-standard or poor replicas. The fenders were by biggest concern in that regard.
Thanks for your input.
Much appreciated.
Rosco

I purchased a 1969 360 Enduro in 1974. Got it for $250 and was told it was a 250. When I got to the Husky dealer to get the replacement 2nd gear he told me it was a 360 instead of 250.

Funny thing is that both Huskys I rode back then were both over 250 (78 390 Auto) and both needed 2nd gear replaced when I purchased them

I get parts from John and the service and parts are outstanding I have been so pleased that I used his fenders on one of my Greeves i just compleated Gooood stuf

Sorry I haven't started my restoration report as yet. I have another project that I must get out of the way first. I am re-valving the forks on my 300xc-w and riding weather is here now. Gotta get it done first.

Should start tearing down the hybrid in a couple weeks from now.

Rosco

I started the tear down this week. Found a few more items for my "wish list".
Here's where I'm at now:



See ya soon
Rosco

I found some photos (1972) of this bike when I owned it. Notice that even then, the front wheel was installed backwards, the handlebars & grips appear to still be the same, and Betor scrapers on the front forks. (Can't remember why I did that).
In the first photo the bike is about a month old. Notice also the steel rear fender.
In the second photo, the young fellow is Jim as mentioned in the first posts of this thread.
In the last photos, notice the mirror, tail light, license plate, and headlight.

I just signed up to the forum and was reading this post eagerly looking forward to the next piece of the story and then got to the bottom Love the photos in post #15 though

I'm back..! As you can see from post # 15, it has been over 3 years since I started this thread. Life just keeps getting in the way. I am still determined to finish this restoration and have recently made some progress. First thing was to get all the nuts and bolts, etc re-plated. I had them done by a company that makes new fasteners because they were fairly close to home, and they use barrel plating which is the faster, easier way to plate parts. The only problem with barrel plating is that they need about a hundred pounds of fasteners in the barrel, so they mixed all my parts with about 90 pounds of 3 inch woodscrews then hand separated everything after the plating was finished. This was zinc plating with a clear chromate finish, which makes the parts look like what you have in the bins at Home Depot. Very nice.


+

After the plating was done, I had most of the major parts like the frame, shocks, forks, wheel hubs and sundry straps and things media blasted. Baking Soda was the media of choice and it did a fine job of removing old paint and rust, but not as intrusive as sand. The bare metal finish was perfect and preparations were made to begin painting before rust set in again.
This photo was before the blasting:



Sorry, I didn't take a photo after the blasting.

Fortunately, one of my best friends owns a reputable collision repair shop nearby, and he agreed to take care of the painting of the bike. We selected Grace Silver, code H84, as suggested in the newsletters on this site. First etching epoxy primer was used, followed by the base coat of silver, then finished up with a clear coat described as 50% 240 (gloss) and 50% 923-52 (matte) which produces a nice sheen, but not a high gloss. Very good match to original color and sheen.
The parts were sprayed in a proper paint booth and after painting went through a bake cycle.






Stay tuned, the "build" will start shortly.

Rosco

That pic of the bike with the front brake installed "backwards"..the factory racers did that so that the front brake cable had a better "line".. so when the forks went up and down the cable did not bind or get bent.. took HVA until about 1977/78 for the bikes to come from the factory with the wheel in the right side (facing bike)