1973 Cr400 And Some Questions

Howdy all!

I've been following along on this forum for a LONG time, and just now getting around to posting, as I contemplate the best path moving forward with a new to me project, a '73 Husky CR400.

Bike came *almost* complete, but missing the piston, carb, flywheel/stator assembly, and a few other bits, but also came with some really nice parts, like an intact exhaust pipe and grenade silencer, airbox, etc.

The motor was basically a box of parts when I got it...both good and bad. Good was, the hard work was done - splitting cases, removing flywheel and tapered sprocket, etc. Bad news, some missing parts.

Picked up a Vintco piston for it (.5 over) and will need to get the cylinder bored, and thinking of upgrading to a Mikuni VM38-9, power dynamo, and a few other tasteful upgrades. It will not be a concours restoration, but more of a working bike, so I'm going to take a few liberties here and there.

In advance, thank you for all your wisdom on this forum. I've already read through the other two '73 CR400 restoration threads, and will probably need to do so many more times.

At this point, I have a few big questions regarding the rebuilding of the motor...

1. I'd like to move away from the tapered sprocket shaft, for easy of gearing changes, or just sprocket changes! Part No 470, is a later non-tapered splined shaft - will this work with a '73 CR400 motor? Does it need to be modified, or could this be a drop-in part? What is the more straightforward way on this conversion?

2. A WR gearbox would be WAY more useful to me for what I'd like to do. Is it possible to change the 'CR' to a 'WR' by a simply transmission/gear swap and, if so, what is the recommended gear set? I would have tried to find a WR in the first place, but after lusting for a vintage Husky now for a while (I grew up around vintage Huskies), I grabbed the first one I could.

I've also tried to research silver frame paint and recall someone mentioning that a NAPA auto spray paint color closely matches the original Husky silver. Does anyone know what this paint color is called and if it is still available?

Thank you for all your advice, thoughts, and help as I dive in deep on this project.

Next post will be trying to get some pictures going.

Thanks!

..

1. The stamped number is 473 & I believe that the shaft must be from a 5 speed engine. Part number 16 12 473 01.
2. A complete 5 speed wr gearbox can be swapped in or pairs of matching gears can be fitted.
I’ve used stainless steel appliance enamel on my bike, it’s very close to the proper colour & very cheap. Somewhere on this site there is the correct colour code but I can’t find it at the moment.