[R68GTO]

It's been a while, so here's an update on the Chief project. Much like the car hobby, the vintage motorcycle hobby is full of great people that are willing to help any way they can with info, advice, and parts!
I've successfully secured original parts with patina that matches the rest of the bike. Just finished cleaning out the oil tank and both fuel tanks. Evaporust did the trick so the insides are in really nice shape now. Have the carb pulled off and will attempt to clean all the internals without removing any of the crud on the outside - not disturbing the "patina" is more difficult than you might think!
I got a some more history on the bike. The original owner lived about 10 miles from the family I bought it from. Some of his kids are still alive, but well into their '70's. Their Dad sold the bike to the family I bought it from when they were less than 5 years old, so no memories, and no pictures.
The grandson found some pieces associated with the bike while cleaning out his mother's home. The Beck battery is a replacement from the mid-60's, and the kidney belt is his grandpa's original belt from the late 1940's. The belt has two zippered pockets. Inside them were fuel receipts from 1961 that has his grandpa's handwriting on it listing the mileage on the bike at that time. Just like the COPO project, this one is a ton of fun researching history and meeting new people!