ST50 engine and forks advise

Hello All,
I am a new member a looking for some advise on some issues!
I have just bought a 1977 ST70 totaly original condition its been standing in a shed for 19 years,the guy I got it from was a bit of a bodger the bike shows 11000 miles.
First issue stator plate,the flywheel and stator plate have been removed to replace a oil seal behind, I think the one for the end of the crank shaft,sadley he has not replaced the wires correctly and wrecked the windings on the plate I have found a replacement on ebay for a c50 that looks simular I am hopeing I can build the old one back up with these parts?

On the crank shaft should there be some sort mini cam to move the points?as I cannot understand how the points will through open it seems all smooth with just the recess for the woodraft key?

Also the forks are slightly bent and the seals are blowen I have seen a fork kit on monkey bike uk for the rebuild but can anybody recommend and firm to straiten and re-crome?

why I have the engine in bits should i change the timing chain and idle gears?


Your advice would help
thanks

My intentions are to get the bike mot and ride it

C50, C70 & ST70 electrics are generally the same so a plate & coils from one should fit the other.

Brand new coils, points & capacitors are available very cheaply from the States (about £20 inc delivery!) but the only trouble with these is that the generator coil has one less tapping so it can't be used on European spec machines, the rest is ok however and make for a very cost efficient purchase.
There are a couple of people who advertise solid state generator & ignition systems for the ST70 (check out Ebay on a worldside search). I looked into a couple of these and was quite convinced that they may be the way to go as they are not very expensive (under £100) and you don't have to make any perminant modifications. That said, I had just rebuilt my own engine (including ignition & generator) so decided to stick with that.

I would say that the camchain & idler wheels may be the least you have to change so I would wait until it is stripped until you order bits.
I was in the same position as you and had the new camchain & sparkplug ready for a quick overhaul but the more I stripped the engine down the worse it got until I decided that I was going to completely rebuild it. In the end it cost nearly £400 for parts alone (inc re-bore & piston) but hopefully with regular maintenance it will now last for ever, these engines are practically bullet-proof but lack of servicing (mainly oil-changes) are a bigger killer than anything else.

I'd recommend re-building your current ignition system.
First of all, you wouldn't have to worry about the different types of ignition systems and brands.
(L, S-type, different connectors, Hitachi, Mitsibushi,...)
Also, the remakes often lack quality which can be a killer for your crank (wrong timing, off balance,...)

The points will open up because the inner tube of the flywheel (that goes over the crank rod) is not a perfect circle on the outside.
That's why it's important you set the timing right.

Just go trough the whole engine and check every bit for wear marks or damage.

Have fun and good luck!