Watch This 1978 Honda Super Cub C50 Get A Whole New Lease On Life

We’ve been bringing you all different flavors of custom Honda Super Cubs for some time, like this chopper from 2Loud Custom, or this post-apocalyptic warrior CT125 from K-Speed, or even this CBR250-swapped Honda Grizzly. Custom Cubs are cool and all, but there’s a special place in our hearts for a good, honest restoration of a vintage model, like this 1978 Honda Super Cub C50 that’s badly in need of some TLC. 

The key here, friends, is that we’re talking about doing it right—not just slapping a single gloppy new coat of paint on it, or maybe a few stickers, and then calling it a day. No, this is a pretty serious deep dive into this C50’s internals, all laid out and edited together neatly in a time-lapsed format that takes just under 45 minutes of your time.  

It starts with one of the cutest little thumper engines ever made, and I’m only more convinced of this the deeper into it he goes. Is that a cylinder for ants? No, it’s a C50, and the “C” clearly stands for “cute,” even if Honda won’t ever admit it. There’s something incredibly soothing about going from an engine that’s clearly seen some life to a shiny, clean, freshly assembled runner. If you’re the one doing the work, some quality time polishing metal with a rotary tool and a wire brush is seriously meditative stuff—and happily for this video, it’s soothing to watch, as well.  

After the work on the engine is complete, YouTuber Metal Restoration wisely phones a friend to help with the frame, because that frame needs two people. We have no idea what kind of life that Super Cub has lived in its 42 years on Earth. It’s not the worst frame we’ve ever seen by a long shot, but it’s still cool to see this guy take the time to go slow, do it in stages, and do it right. First, he takes off all the old paint and rust. There are several stages of dry and wet sanding, primer coats, careful application of thin layers of putty, and finally multiple coats of robin’s egg blue paint at the end. No rush, no fuss; just the steady, solid machinations of a guy who is patiently doing what he knows needs to be done to get it right.  

Whether you’re making a video to share with others, or you’re just doing the work for yourself in your own garage—the process is just as important as the end product. It might even be moreso, depending on how into the act of creation you are. It’s super cool and soothing to see.  

Source: YouTube 

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