1st AVG Group Flying Tigers tribute build

[Velodrome]

Here I go again. Been plotting this one for a while. Starting with a Phantom Bikes frame and fairing I've had for over a year. 49cc HS and I HOPE a KC long shaft shifter through a Sturmey Archer 3 speed with a drum brakes at both ends. Have a Husky wheel set and the 3 speed is being laced in now. I wanted a rivet'd look so; ummm. I got some rivets. At Granger. Aluminum and easy to work and as the frame is aluminum their wont be any weirdness of diferent metal reactions. I cut the heads off em with side cutters and finished them using a Dremel cutoff wheel and hemostats to hold them. Fiddly and tedious work. J B Welded them on. 2 different sizes for variety. After curing I took a Dremel and a 80 grit flapper wheel to remove excess epoxy. I have the Phantom version of the Monarch fork, and the old single Phantom exhaust that used to be on my Felt Twin build. So I'm almost set. The frame goes off to powder coat tomorrow. I'm hoping they can do the camo like you see on the plane. More updates as progress is made. Pics in a few min.

 

[Velodrome]

Pictures!! YEA!!

 

[Velodrome]

A few more

 

[cannonball2]

Way cool! Im a fan of rivets, have used them in a build also. That's gonna have a cool look! Im also a big fan of the P-40 one of the prettiest early fighters. Cant wait to see this one!

 

[curtisfox]

Kool Rivets. Love them,really looking good so far............Curt

 

[Velodrome]

Powdercoater dude says 2 color no problem Its there now and I'll have it back in a week or 2. He had the perfect colors for the job and it will have a satin finish, no gloss.

 

[2door]

I'll be watching this one. The Warhawk was one of my favorites too. Keep us informed.

Just curious about the model. Is it R/C? Does it have retracts? Somewhere in my boxes of old R/C stuff I have a set of 90 degree rotating retracts. What a mechanical hodge-podge, but they worked great.

Tom

 

[LandSpeedRecord]

Way way way cool!

 

[boxcar]

Nice job. Love the idea.
The War Hawk is, and always will be the coolest US fighter plane.
I'v had a painting of a P40 hanging in my office for 30 years....
Some of my most epic day dreams have occurred while staring at that picture...

 

[Velodrome]

I'll be watching this one. The Warhawk was one of my favorites too. Keep us informed.

Just curious about the model. Is it R/C? Does it have retracts? Somewhere in my boxes of old R/C stuff I have a set of 90 degree rotating retracts. What a mechanical hodge-podge, but they worked great.

Tom

Just an image snagged off of Google I'll post more when its back from powdercoat. I HOPE that goes well...

 

[Rudz]

I'm praying this looks awesome

 

[Velodrome]

Me too. I hate having things out of my control. I left prints of the camo pattern I was hopeing for with them. So I can only hope the dude that does it has at least a bit of artistic flair.

 

[Tyrant]

This will be awesome! Great craftsmanship

 

[Velodrome]

Typical powdercoater... Dropped it off 2 weeks ago and they said 2 weeks. Just called em. "Mabey later in the week" At least I have my 3 speed hub back from being laced into the Husky wheel. ( Homer )UMMMMmm. Stainless spokes.

 

[2door]

Your powder coater sounds like an upholstery guy I had dealings with a couple of years ago. 2 weeks my seat frame sat on his work bench and he'd never touched it. Then, he says he needed more money than he had quoted me initially. I took my seat and left.

I'd find a new powder coat guy. 2 weeks is a scam for a bicycle frame. It's a one hour job for-crying-out-loud. He's jerking you around.

Tom

 

[Tyrant]

I get auto parts powder coated all the time and it never takes more than a week. Fund/find another guy

 

[Velodrome]

I have discovered Phoenix is a desert. For powder coaters Its almost like chromers. They do as they want, when they want around here. And, a lot of shops are NOT good ones. This particular shop is the same one that did the Pope build. I'll give them another week as they did the Pope on schedule and under budget. And the coating was flawless. Besides I'm still waiting on a few parts. I had a suspicion a 2 color job would take longer as they like to do batches of same color stuff. And double camo probably doesn't come up often. I DID manage to get a VERY cool set of old ( old) red head lights, to put on the bars. Gottem from a Dude on Rat Rod Bikes forum. Pics when I have a bit of time.

 

[2door]

There's no shortage of powder coat places in Denver but you have to shop around. Some do big commercial/industrial jobs like machinery, lawn furniture and fences. They don't concentrate on doing quality detail jobs. There are a couple that do exclusively automotive/motorcycle work and they do excellent coating. The big shops are more interested in quanity over quality. You don't usually put a lawn chair in a show.

Tom

 

[truckd]

Man Sorry! to hear about the powder coater The one I go to out here in Calif. is top notch I also bought my own powder so when I get my forks it will be time to powder. AZ next month Bud watch Ya Doin?

 

[boxcar]

I don't know what is worse.
You being forced to wait on your bike frame, or me waiting to see the the final product.....
All joking aside . Sorry to hear about your delay.
This stuff happens allot .
Hope it all works out well.....