New boardtack project

bluecar · Sep 28, 2009

Well I did it.

I went and bought the 1951 skip tooth Columbia
that I found on craigslist.

I am going to get it going under pedal power first,
then add the engine later.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Best,
BC

weekend-fun · Sep 29, 2009

Like it!
it looks like a bunch of bikes that pop up on my Craig's list but mens version

bluecar · Sep 29, 2009

Had an interesting comment from a fellow biker on another forum.

He mentioned that this bike has brazed joints in the frame and that
the engine will vibrate the bike frame apart.

Any thoughts ??

Not looking for a case of road rash,
BC

bairdco · Sep 29, 2009

my first bike is/was an old rollfast cruiser, 50's or 60's. it had brazed tubes, and i was worried about them holding up.

well, the brazing held, but the frame cracked right behind the brazing on the top tubes.

the frame has dual top tubes, and they both cracked all the way around. if i hadn't noticed and kept riding, my bike probably woulda folded in half.

these motors do put out a lot of vibration, not to mention the constant jarring effect from hitting bumps at speed.

a lot of these old vintage bikes just weren't made for flying down the road at a constant 30mph.

with all that said, i still say, "go for it."

just keep an eye on it.

Kevlarr · Sep 29, 2009

Hey silverbear needs your chain!

Nice find!

bluecar · Nov 15, 2009

Hey,

I actually had some time this weekend to work on the bike. Managed to bob the rear fender and move the brace to a vertical position like the HD peashooters. Also cut and welded the seat post so it would lower and move the seat to the rear. Managed to get the seat frame separate from the seat pan. Primered both and painted both with rattle cans. The plan is to recover the seat myself. I'll keep you posted, thanks for looking.

BC in KC

bairdco · Nov 15, 2009

i have almost the same bike. it's a 1956 goodyear hiway patrol special, made by columbia. our frame's are the exact same.

the motor's a real tight fit. i had to use a smaller front chainring and lower the chaingaurd to get some clearance.

once the motor's in there, it fits like a glove. didn't even need the chain tensioner.

as far as the brazed joints go, i was worried about that, too, but mine's held up to tons of abuse with no problems (yet.) these are pretty strong frames. if yours is in good shape, i wouldn't worry too much about it, just keep an eye on it.

since we got the same bike, lemme know if you have any probs putting it together, i probably had the same ones, and solved them already.

dmar836 · Nov 15, 2009

I wouldn't hold brazing out as a weak bond.
Similar arguments can be found for using 4130(chromoly) over 1020(mild steel). People assume 4130 is stronger and is always "better" for their application.
One (motorcycle) race frame builder said something like, "I have yet to meet a rider who could wreck sufficiently enough to destroy a mild steel frame but not a chromoly one." My similar point is, if you can destroy a properly brazed joint, you would likely destroy a welded one.
Properly brazed or welded joints are NOT the weakest points on a frame.
I've seen that very thing suggested here and it isn't true. I submit that with topics of welding EMT, etc. their welds might not have been proper and may very well have been weak. In fact, often the additional heat needed to properly weld a joint would enlarge the HAZ(heat affected zone) where the weakness is.
Build on! I'll shut up before I'm accused of being an "expert" again.
JMO,
Dave
KC

sportscarpat · Nov 15, 2009

Hey Bluecar,
Looks like a nice score to me. When I was a kid and BMX was just starting, we would BMX anything we could get our hands on. We quickly discovered that Schwinns could take the abuse and everything else broke. Schwinns had the nice filleted brazed joints. I personally have yet to brake a Schwinn and your frame appears to have the same tube joints. That said, there are a number of tricks to smooth out the two stroke engine and drive train. If you do your homework ahead of time and don't rush the build you will have a fairly smooth running machine.

pre-war Schwinn · Nov 16, 2009

I'm attempting a 1935 build I got it on craigslist and the guy had dozens of old Pre War frames. I find that I could take off all the paint in a couple hours using a dull pocket knife
the chrome-moly steel and braized joints will be lft showing on my bike I am going to polish it and leave it. along with my frame I recieved Phantom fenders and the headliht mounted in the front fender . when stripping that I noticed tha the material was second rate compared to Pre War steel. It seems the older the better on steel and welding

bluecar · Nov 29, 2009

did some tinkering this weekend.....

tyrslider · Nov 29, 2009

good points dmar! 2nd that!

dmar836 · Nov 30, 2009

Blue,
I like the truss idea but I fear that the leverage created by the rockers at the bottom will cause bends at the top bracket and the "standoffs" in the middle. Something to triangulate the rockers so they don't want to pivot would shore it up well.
JMO,
Dave

Board Track Racer · Nov 30, 2009

This set-up appears to be for looks only. The front wheel is attached to the front fork. The girder (truss) front is attached to the bottom, middle, and top. There is no way for this to pivot on the bottom pieces.

dmar836 · Nov 30, 2009

LOL. You, sir, appear to be correct! I should have looked a little closer. With the beefy tubular fork, one probably needs no truss rods.

dmar836 · Nov 30, 2009

..... shows how well the "look" works.

Doktor Puttz · Nov 30, 2009

Nice find, Bluecar! Good progress.
I think prewar is right about older welding and steel. I'm not a welder but my eyes work well enough to see the difference in craftsmanship between the oldies and the "late" models. My Chinese Cranbrook is really sloppy and covered with slag. Guess we have to be satisfied with our own "craftsmanship" as it seems ya gotta spend at least a grand to get that kind of attention to detail. :-(

Doc

Board Track Racer · Nov 30, 2009

Any reason for not using the original forks? I know a lot of old bikes have bent forks on them, guess one too many Ghost rides.

bluecar · Nov 30, 2009

Hey,

Thanks for all of the looks.

BTR, you are correct, the truss is for looks only. The original
fork was bent, I did straighten it. But the race on the fork was
a little chewed up, you could feel it when you turned.

The new direction is not to motorize it but just paint it
and pedal away......

Best,
BC

Board Track Racer · Nov 30, 2009

If you didn't trash them yet, the race should be able to be removed. Get yourself a junk chisel, (screwdriver) grind it real thin and give a couple of taps around the bottom of the race, it should come loose and slide off.

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