What I found while cleaning out the garage.

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Intrepid Wheelwoman

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Oct 29, 2011
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Today i finally had to face facts, - it's no good trying to work on my projects if my garage workshop is in a complete mess. While I was ill the garage became a general dumping ground and once I was back on my feet again and feeling more well I just plain baulked at the thought of trying to penetrate the mounds of cardboard boxes and other trash that covered everything. Occasionally I would make intrepid forays to fetch handtools and every time I did it swore that I was going to clean up the mess.

Well today was the day and it wasn't long before I had my daughter's car packed with rubbish to go to the tip. Believe me this was rubbish, an old and expert scavenger like me knows the difference between trash and treasure and this was trash through and through. Only problem was I forgot that the Council tip isn't open on a Wednesday. The trip wasn't wasted though because one of the very old hotels (also known as a pub) in town was being renovated and armed with my sweetest smile I asked the builder chaps if I could have a pick over their rubbish pile for useful pieces of timber. Arriving at home with more than I left with isn't so unusual for me, but in this case my cyclecar project is going to receive the benefit of my spot of daring opportunism.
Fortunately my daughter said she didn't mind me leaving everything in her car to take to the tip tomorrow, so at least I didn't have to unload anything more than the timber I'd gleaned. My daughter is very used to her Mum's strange habits :D

Not wanting to be held up I continued to shift the rubbish piles from the garage to the carport in readiness for carting away tomorrow. And as the piles became less wonderful forgotten treasures came to light. For some reason I had hoarded away three 21inch motorcycle wheels complete with brake disks and one 21inch wheel with a drum brake. Bicycle wheels, tubes and tyres made their appearance. A complete but tatty Mixte ten speed and another ratty ten speed that must've belonged to a chap with an inside leg measurement to rival the Jolly Green Giant emerged from the pile.
I found a box full of NOS parts that I'd picked up at a sale, the rest of the bits of my second gen China Girl kit I thought I'd lost. A spare chrome China Girl kit gas tank, - and so it went on.
But the best surprise was finding a pair of new wheels and a motor for a Chinese electric scooter as well as a solid little commuter bicycle which one of the staff at the council tip had rescued and put by for me well over a year ago now.
I might just have plans for that wee bicycle........ :D
 

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CTripps

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Aug 22, 2011
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I know how that goes.. for a long time after we moved in here the garage was full of stuff that simply wouldn't go in the house.. (the house is much smaller than the one we lived in in southern Ontario). After several years of ignoring most of it, we finally got into the sort'n'toss this past summer. I recovered tens of square feet to work in. Of course, then a friend from years ago got in touch with me looking for a place to stay for a bit. We cleared out the 'full room' in the house for him to use, now my garage is back to having almost enough space to get past the bikes to work on things. The clear space to work in moves a little now, as finding things in there is a bit like a sliding tile puzzle (I always hated those things). I can get that out, but to do so this pile needs to move to there, and that pile to here.. and so on.

A little rack mount motor would be ideal on that bike, just enough to help it get up the hills. Something like the one on the little scooter I have buried in my garage would be ideal.

 

Intrepid Wheelwoman

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Thanks for the suggestions guys :D

I was actually considering doing a rack mount conversion, but with that NOS 250watt Chinese electric scooter motor I'd re-discovered during the cleanup. The electric scooter wheels are far too small, but I was going to swap the rear scooter hub over into the bicycle wheel so I can use the scooter sprocket and brake. I still need to work out the details, but stripping the wee bike down so I can repaint the frame and generally tidy it up should keep me quiet for a while.

I'm still amazed just how much space all that junk was taking up and I've still got about half the garage to excavate yet. When I moved here over eight years ago I set my workshop up with a good big workbench, tube bender, a 10 tonne hydraulic press, bench grinder, drill press and a lathe and most of that has been completely inaccessible for far too long.
 

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
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Wish my mom had "a good big workbench, tube bender, a 10 tonne hydraulic press, bench grinder, drill press and a lathe" and don't forget the welder, too. My mom didn't have any of that stuff, sniff.

She did, however have a multi purpose pancake turner good for pancakes and bad boy spankings.
SB
 

Intrepid Wheelwoman

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Oct 29, 2011
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Wish my mom had "a good big workbench, tube bender, a 10 tonne hydraulic press, bench grinder, drill press and a lathe" and don't forget the welder, too. My mom didn't have any of that stuff, sniff.

She did, however have a multi purpose pancake turner good for pancakes and bad boy spankings.
SB
Lol SB. :D

I was so lucky with that big old solid workbench I have. A large house in the next street that had been standing empty for ages finally sold and when the new owners moved in they put the workbench which had been in the garage on the side of the road with a 'Free for the taking' sign on it. I had the very first trike I built back then based on a Raleigh frame and because it was my first trike I made some mistakes with it, but at least it worked. Somehow i managed to load the massive workbench which is all of eight feet long and made of native hardwoods onto my Raleigh trike and I very slowly and carefully pedaled home. I managed to severely bend the rear axle on my trike, but at least I and the workbench arrived in one piece and without anything awful happening.
The rest of those nice tools came from my redundancy payout when I had to take early retirement. After having to struggle on for years with a much more basic set of tools I decided that I'd treat myself so I could spend my retirement building pretty much whatever i pleased.

Being such a handywoman kind of Mum my kids thought I could repair anything and i was often tearfully presented with a favourite toy that no longer worked and somehow I would get it to go again. Their Nanas would buy them toys and they certainly meant well, but some of the mechanical ones were pretty darn flimsy. One toy I repaired ended up with all its gears mounted on stainless steel shafts running in little brass bushings. After that it really was childproof! :D
 

Intrepid Wheelwoman

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Did a little more cleaning up this evening and uncovered my stock of useful steel scrap that I'd liberated from the council tip a while ago. I'm pleased about that because there is nothing worse than going and buying steel that you've already got, but couldn't find.
i found two more 21inch motorcycle wheels with drum brakes, - that makes six in all, - three with discs and three with drum brakes. What on earth was i planning to do?

Cleaning up has been bitter-sweet though. I have several road and track bikes which I'm never going to be able to ride anymore. I'm not saying I was ever any good at it, but I used to enjoy going fast on those narrow tyred beauties. New Zealand used to have its own bicycle industry and I've got two representatives, a 1931 Empire track bike with a chrome moly frame that's as light as a maiden's sigh and a 1980's Healing roadie complete with its original trick alloy group set of components.
I've got a Malvern Star as well that I was halfway through rebuilding before I got ill, a no-name roadie that I picked up somewhere that has nice geometry and a1950's English Wearwell pathracer that somehow acquired a set of very sweet French made hubs and rims during it's long life. Would you believe the Wearwell got tossed in a skip by relatives who were cleaning up after grandad died. They thought it was 'just some old bike'. Idiots.
 

curtisfox

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Dec 29, 2008
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This is funny
sounds just like me. Years ago my son's had a trike that would tip over when they would go to fast around a corner. So i cut and welded a wider axel and put on ball bearing wheels, no more crying. About three years ago my one son was living with me going to school so we packed everything in boxes,insulated and rocked the ceiling and its been a mess ever sence. Bring home stuff and stash it,well i have been cleaning for two years and going through and selling. I have a lake place thaat i am going to sell so the stuff has to go some were. I made a mistake of building a pole barn and now its full.
Just two days ago i went through the shed and found 13 weed eaters motors, kind of froget on how many i had and, now most will go to the scrap. Good thing is found a couple with regular clutches in that will work for friction drive.
Like you found some work space and am working on a bike in the mean time............Curt
 

Intrepid Wheelwoman

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We're getting there slowly Curt :)

I had to take a couple of days off from garage cleanup detail because I must've stirred up some sort of dust my rubbish immune system didn't like. No fun at all :(
Today when I went back in for a further poke around I was careful to wear a dust mask which should keep whatever it was out of my nose and sinuses.

I took a photo of some of the mess this afternoon, - believe me this is much better than it was.
 

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xseler

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You may call it a 'mess', but I've got a few friends that would call it "Nirvana".......:D
 

Intrepid Wheelwoman

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You may call it a 'mess', but I've got a few friends that would call it "Nirvana".......:D
I think it's 'Nirvana' too, only I want Nirvana to be a little more tidy ;)

At least now it's possible to move around without falling over things. Parts are actually getting sorted with some kind of system so that they can be found.
So far my idea of helping to clear things away by bolting them back onto whatever project/bike/contraption they belong to seems to be working out. Even if it's only going to be a temporary 'bolt back' at least it means that the parts are now taking up less room.

Would you believe I have a front wheel rim for a penny farthing? I found it in the council tip amongst a whole pile of farm shed clearing out junk. Haven't a clue what I'm going to do with it yet.

Here's a picture of my little WIP Lowrider bike with a Villiers engine. Tucking 5ft 8inch tall me away on it is a real laugh. I do a little bit on it from time to time, but I don't think I'll ever seriously try to ride it.
 

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Intrepid Wheelwoman

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I'm fairly sure the engine was formerly attached to a self propelled lawnmower SB. The cylinder head is cast in unit with the cylinder barrel and yes it is a 'round head' engine of around 98cc. The intake manifold is nickle plated brass of an astonishing small internal diameter which is a feature of these engines. The engine also has a simple but robust centrifugal clutch.

(Not my bike in the picture)

A chap here in New Zealand built himself a very nice bike around one of these engines.

I guess I could make some adjustments to the bike so it would better fit me SB. It certainly is a pretty little thing with its metallic gold paint. Something tells me that I'd definitely make the neighbour's eyes go big should I head out of the driveway riding on it :D
 

curtisfox

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I want one of them,they are super Kool engines, Need one is another story.

My work bench is full also but am working on it and rearanging my shop and will have all new bench with stainless top. Like you thanks to my scrounging. Got the stainless at the recycling center cheep. ..................Curt
 

16v4nrbrgr

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Mar 17, 2012
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Thats a nice bike! I bet you could make it very comfortable with a banana seat on shocks and some cruising handlebars. :D

I like 20" bikes for motorized because the BMX parts and tires are tough and inexpensive.
 
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xseler

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Apr 14, 2013
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Thanks :) It's a pretty little thing and people always seem to like it when they see it. Banana seat? Cruiser bars? I took those off the original bike so I could put that sprung seat and straight bars on it :D

What was old may breathe new life into something 'forgotten'..........


That is a sweet ride! I'd certainly ride the wheels off it!