Jeff Taylor

I already did a few tubes and there is a chemical process for prep and painting … sounds like a pain in the as*. I'm liking the sound of the overlay and heat process . I will check that out for sure as I'm pretty much down to making it look better ( disappear easier lol )

That's a pretty good idea …. I do have the stuff to do that . One idea I keep going back too as I have to deal with the faded plastics also … is to flat black every thing … turn the lights off and disappear into the night ….. not saying it would ever be involved in any sort of moonshine running or anything like that … but I do live in the mountains lol

I checked also and there are a few to choose from , and thanks for the info. While I was looking I some really cool black aftermarket. Unfortunately they cost more than I gave for the rancher lol

Thanks ….. I got to take it out and ride it today for the first time …. seems very solid , rode well and no issues . I still need a rim though … broke the bad one down and used the JB weld on the inside this time and let it cure before putting the tire back on …. then put a quarter can or so of cheap fix-a-flat in it …. still holding so far but I don't trust it enough to use long term.

vin recovered …. 2003 . thanks for help the guys . I went through the carb and cleaned the plug and it runs and idles smooth now . I do need to find a rim and better tires . The front left rim rusted out … I sanded and JB welded it … but every fix just finds the next weakest spot ….

for sure … I am going to concentrate on it being mechanically safe and sound first then I get to address all that sun faded pink plastic lol don't think this thing ever met a roof. lot of surface rust to take care of also … but in due time

Me too … that's the only reason I stopped and ask about this one . It seems pretty solid so far , needs some work for sure but I should have a pretty good bike when I finish it up . I cant afford to make it a cherry restoration …. but I'm hoping for a dependable fun to ride restoration at the least . Thanks for all the help and input bud : )

thanks for the link … I will give it a shot . I got it off an older man that told me 2 dif. years …. he was old so I didn't question it lol he initially called it a 2001 but about ten minutes later he thought it was a 2005 . From the roughness of it I'm leaning closer to the 01 than the 05 but who knows .

ones a little blurry … I can get some of it …. I'm going to try the white crayon thing … that sounds like it might work . Thanks for the help and great ideas guys : )

I can make part of it out after several cleanings but not all … I'm starting to think the year doesn't matter much in this particular series Thanks for both … the welcome and the proper placement of my post . I got some pics up now … should have thought of before I got it the workshop and started tearing it apart lol

thanks … great advice …. that's pretty much what I'm in the middle of now …… this poor carb has sooo much build up - it looks like it's been on the ethanol a long time . I also checked on the gas valve earlier and yea .. they are so cheap I'm not even going to mess with it . I'll likely just buy the cable if this gives any resistance at all , they are cheaper than I thought they would be also . I will keep the factory one in case … sometimes when I receive those cheap aftermarket Chinese parts I see why they where so cheap , sometimes they seem alright - It's kinda like internet dating - they always look good in the pics . I have already pulled the tank and it looked surprisingly clean inside … gonna give it a good clean out anyway just because I pulled it . I'm getting some before pics up here in a few minutes …. didn't think about it earlier so plastics are just sorta propped in place Thanks again for the good advice : ) crud … I forgot to mention I did find the vin where you said , but I'm not sure I can recover it , I took some close ups at dif. angles and may be able to pull it from one . I may try taking a rubbing like people do to grave stones .. who knows lol

I bought a roughish Honda rancher TRX350TM3 and I am having trouble locating the vin number - I would like know year and specs as is it rough , it runs but has multiple little issues ( choke cable seems frozen , carb has sticky or ill adjusted float and leaks gas from bottom of carb , shut off valve needs new o-ring to stop leaking , ect) just age and lack of maintenance issues , but I need to know what it is to get correct specs … I was told there would be a tag on front end of frame but I don't see one . Any help would be greatly appreciated .