riding the trek for two years, time to go custom

hello all!
let me start by saying i love this forum, its moderators, and the members!
i built my beach cruiser china girl two years ago this november in indiana, i now live four hours north of San Francisco.. i installed the kit on an aluminum trek beach cruiser classic (no stress fractures in the alum. frame in two years). the engine barely fits. nice and tight looking in the frame. i blew out the factory trek rear coaster hub within a few months of riding it motorized. i then installed v-brakes using adapter plates from dans comp and used a wheel with a 5 gear cassette from a 90's era mountain bike. it rides fine @ 20+-5 mph. i also have an expansion chamber exhaust from SBP that is on the bike but not properly installed
when it comes to performance (i think) but it looks cool.
i have a few ideas as far as customization goes.
im thinking a steam punk/ bio mec theme would fit in nice with the alum. frame if stripped down and shot in clear (necessary with alum.?) the bike currently has a black red and chrome theme. im thinking aluminum,brass,copper,and chrome...with a woody faux gas tank
because i dont have a welder im thinking brass compression fittings and copper pipe to get the exhaust on point? i do have a buddy with a welder and there is a machine shop across the street...
ill take off the crome kit tank and replace it with a sportsman layback seatpost/tank combo (already saving for that). copper fuel line and the glass napa fuel filter.
lighting needs to be rethought but right now im leaning towards a rechargeable battery pack type system that would be charged at home. my current bontrager whitewalls are starting to get kinda sketchy so ill need to replace those with something that can take 20+ cornering and still fit on my 26 inch rims.
suggestions? comments? thoughts?
ill post pics tomorrow morning when the sun is up of my current setup. with what i have in mind im thinking i can totally transform this bike...

here are the pics of my trek beach cruiser!

after much brainstorming and research i now have a plan.
from the header to the expansion chamber i will have the current setup bent and welded to wrap around to the other side of the frame. it will come down below the top tube with brass pipe and fittings exiting out of the fiberglass wrapped sbp expansion chamber.
i will need to create a new intake in order get the carb "level" so the float will work properly and so that i can experiment with other carbs. , i plan on using a single piece of bent copper tubing with brass fittings to move the carb to the appropriate spot.
the frame will be bead blasted and debadged.dull aluminum
im going to hand bend brass tubing to hide all the ugly cables and wires. the external brass lines will add to the retro look and hide the standard kit wires/cables. im considering going as fas as tapping out some holes in the frame and running lengths of cable/wire through it to create random sections of brass tubing next to the frame.
tomorrow im going to remove the kit tank and post pics of the frame with the engine and factory trek faux gas tank. the faux gas tank area is where the cdi is sitting in the above pics. the cdi will fit in that area with the panels installed, this area is where i plan on installing my battery pack for my lighting. access will be provided by a hinged door with a riveted leather strap. ultimately i would like to have the faux tank area covered in wood paneling or have it copper plated.
thoughts? mods wanna move this to the chop shop so it gets more responses?

happycheapskate said:

I have a dans v-brake plate too. I don't like having to use one, but it gets the job done well, with no flex.

Click to expand...

they work and they're alot cheaper than a set of sturmy archer hubs!