Another Colson Build

i used some kinda primer, it's uhh, crap, can't remember. i'll tell you tomorrow.

so, was working on it most of the day, and it was going pretty smooth.

till it fell over.

i just stuffed the tank into the frame, walked away, and it just toppled. landed right on the rear side of the tank. didn't dent it too bad, but it cracked the solder. i got the dent out, and hoped that the Kreem would take care of it, but later when i filled it up, it was leaking out the side. so tomorrow i gotta wash it out so i can solder it up. not that big of a deal. but it still blows.

i finally got it running about 15 minutes before dark so i rode it for a half hour. fired up the first time while pedaling on the drop stand, leaned over and adjusted the throttle cable and the idle, then dropped it and rode away. super smooth, no 4 stroking, no hesitation, just a smooth as a cadillac ride. an old cadillac. slooow, low, and smooth.

i've got a GT5 skyhawk slant head that i cleaned up, port matched, lapped the head, and a 30t sprocket. it just doesn't have the power my GT4 Starfire had out of the box. i didn't reverse this motor on this one, maybe that's it. might do that in the future, dunno yet.

anyway. here's a sneak peak. i'll post more pics tomorrow in the daylight. still got a lot to do, but at least i can ride it now...

here it is in it's almost done, rideable state.

still need to add detail to the tank, you can see where it fell over and i had to scrape it down to copper and re-solder it, and there's a small dent i gotta try to tap out. it fits so tight there's no mounting brackets. it's just slammed in there and doesn't really move. dunno if i'm gonna leave it like that or secure it with some copper straps.

gotta figure out how to mount the chaingaurd, and re-paint and install the old rocket ship front fender light. i have the original rear carrier rack, but i dunno if i'm gonna put it on, it looks out of place.

i wanted the motor in a more upright position and centered in the frame, so i built a rear mount out of a solid block of aluminum. had to do it twice because i didn't plan for the angle of the chain. i had it perfectly level, then found that the chain hits the cover and would grind it, and the bolt, away. i'm gonna re-make the front mount to match.

on the close-ups you can see how the pin-striping is "aged." before doing that, it just looked too new, and i thought it detracted from the old-timey look i was going for. so i rubbed them with denatured alcohol and now they look faded and worn.

for the Worksman drum bracket, i drilled holes on either side of the fork and stuck some bolts through, so it's not clamped around the fork, it's pegged to it.

i've got a new throttle and grips on the way, and a few extras, so it's still getting some more details.

here's a rundown on the parts.

frame, fork, fenders, stem, chainguard, sprocket, Diamond skiptooth chain, dropstand and "7" seatpost are all original Colson parts. Frame is a 1942 Colson Imperial, and the rest of the parts came off a 1939 Colson Vogue ladies bike.

wheels are the original drop center rims and New Departure rear hub, re-drilled and laced with 11g. spokes and a front drum from Worksman. tires are Kenda Kiniption, 26x2.3.

seat is an old Brooks B72 i got for 16.66 on ebay that was dried out, rough as sandpaper, super hard leather that i soaked in water for 2 days, then hit it with a scotch brite finishing wheel to remove a bit off the top surface of the leather, and now it looks great and is hard, but comfortable. rode it wet to "case" the leather, so it fits my a$$.

cranks, bars, and pedals are Wald.

Drive train is a Grubee Skyhawk GT5 66cc slant, with a Diamond #41 chain, old-timey 7mm copper stranded, cloth covered plug wire, NGK B7HS plug. 30t sprocket and modified adapter from Manic. the hub has an oiler port so i had to grind out a chunk to make it fit, and i had to add shims between the adapter and the hub, but it works fine.

i think that's it.