Another OCC Stingray build starts...

[Davezilla]

Been a while since I posted on this one but the frame is bare metal and I brazed the chain guard bracket so it's a lot stronger than it was but I'm going to cut me a piece of steel to braze in a gusset on the back side where it can't be seen and this area will be done.
For the seat post tube, this is going to be a little more challenging since the clamp is welded to the tube, I'm thinking about cutting a section of heavier wall thickness pipe lengthwise and welding it to the existing seat post tube then grinding or sanding the weld down so it looks original, then cutting out some triangle gussets for the bottom area on the rear triangle where the lower tube meets it, I wanted to use some 1" x 2" rectangular tubing to cut diagonally and make the gussets this way but the rear triangle tubing is just a little over 1" so I'll make this out of 1/8" plate and close it up so it don't just look like a 1/8" thick gusset. the rest of the frame and all the rest of the original welds look really good with no cutback or voids in the welds so I'm gonna go with it the way it is, but I may beef up the head tube area a little better.

I got the first coat of the Krome powder coat on the tripletree parts but still need to apply the candy green ovr the base, and the fork legs have been blasted clean and free of rust, I can't powder caot them yet since I nee a bigger oven but I can paint them semi flat black in the meantime.

I'm going to go with the stock seat too but I'm going to take the seat off it's mount and weld in another plate to the seat post and put at least 4 gussets from the post to the seat plate since I can already see this being a weak spot.

Another thing I'm considering is putting a motorcycle tire on the rear rim since I've heard somewhere that a 16" motorcycle tire will fit this rim perfectly... if anyone can confirm this or knows the right tire size, let me know...


the original chain is also trashed so I'm planning on ordering 2 bmx chains, connecting them, then cutting it to fit. I got the Manic hub adapter and a 39 tooth rear sprocket temp installed on the rear wheel already but it's also coming back off for powder coating. i'll have to mix up a batch of House of Kolor candy green to match the powder coat candy green I got for the rims as well and I'm just going to keep the center hubs black.

I do have some pics I need to upload so I can show some progress, but the pics are on my camers that's at the shop, and I rarely have time to mess with uploading once I'm there...

 

[maniac57]

We're watching...

 

[Davezilla]

That's a nice looking install... do you have any close ups of how you made that jack shaft? is yours a 3 speed or is the jack shaft just so you can run a single chain to the rear wheel? It looks nice, clean, and out of the way...

 

[Davezilla]

Progress on the actual bike has been slow but this is all part of the build...
Here are some of the small parts after powder coating...
The first pic is the krome coat which looks really good as is... would just need to clear coat and call it good but my plan is to use candy lime green on all the small parts and all the parts that used to be chromed...
These parts are the billet mounts I got from pedalchopper. com as well as a few tripletree and bar riser parts... these will all be the same color when done but I was experimenting today to see how dark or light I could go with the candy lime green by the number of coats and by applying the second coat hot on some and cold on others... the square shaped engine mounts that connect the engine to the frame brackets are the color I'm going to be going with so the dark frame bracket and bar clamp will be saved dB lasted and redone so they match the engine brackets... this color really pops out in the sunlight and the finish is super tough compared to painting... about 3 times tougher than an automotive grade clear. I had to strip one of the bar clamps and sandblasting this stuff just barely took some of the coating off so I had to put the part in the carb dip for about 2 hours before it softened up enough to scrape most of it off, then back in the blast cabinet for another try... and still too tough to sandblast off so back in the carb dip for another hour before it all finally came off... very tough coating for sure...

Anyway... here are the parts with just the krome coat...

And here are some parts finished... I will be redoing the darker parts, but wanted to see what a few extra coats would look like... I can clear the desired color if I need more gloss, but this stuff is super shiny right out of the oven without having to clear it... clear coats can be added tho for even more durability but really not needed.. this stuff is super tough...

 

[2door]

Just remember what 'Kermit' said. "It ain't easy being green".

Nice work. And we're all still watching.

Tom

 

[Davezilla]

Thanks Tom...
The actual color I'm after is on that reed valve adapter which I just shot the color coat on the part without the base coat... I've shot a few other pieces, mainly scrap aluminum, and a wheel lock key directly on the metal to see if the powder can stay put on the metal with little to no surface prep since it definitely looks best on top of the bare metal instead of the Krome coat which darkens the green quite a bit. Otherwise, the 2 rectangular engine mount brackets in the picture above came out a really nice color, but I do want the green to be lighter and brighter...
Everything on this build will either be black or the lime green, then once I got the frame prepped and painted black I'm going to airbrush in some green realistic flames and top it off with House of Kolor clear

 

[Panhead]

Quite a project - that should be an eye-catching color combination, for sure!

 

[maniac57]

That's a nice looking install... do you have any close ups of how you made that jack shaft? is yours a 3 speed or is the jack shaft just so you can run a single chain to the rear wheel? It looks nice, clean, and out of the way...

Jackshaft is much modified early prototype of pedalchopper system. Runs to a 5 speed rear cassette/derailleur installed on stock freewheel threaded hub.






Originally jackshaft was attached to motor plate and moved with engine, but I cut and modified it to allow independant chain adjustments for jackshaft/pedal side and engine jackshaft side. Made keeping chains properly adjusted MUCH easier. Used to tend to pull pedal side chain far too tight which wears on freewheel. Had some issues keeping jackshaft tight until I switched to taller Fredhead nuts with more thread. Jackshaft studs are 8mm tensioner bolts welded to jackshaft tube sliding in more tensioner mounting plates cut and welded together and to frame.

 

[Ron344]

Hey Dave, I just wanted to tell I just picked up one of those OCC stingray's last week for 20 dollars. I was thinking of making one to look like my chopper that I just finished and painting it the same color. Right now it just in the planing stage it will probably have a china girl motor,

 

[Ron344]

Dave here is a preview of the project.

 

[Davezilla]

Nice score on the Stingray for $20...
Very nice chopper too...
My project slowed down to a crawl since business at the shop has picked up considerably and there's not a lot of time for messing with it right now... hopefully I can hire a full time mechanic to help me get the work out quicker so I can make more time for this again real soon... got a bare frame, a few powder coated parts, and a partially built engine sitting on my desk over here... the engine is done except for setting the squish clearance and port timing, then I can torque it down and set it aside until the frame is prepped and ready.

For the frame, I got it stripped to bare metal and need to weld in a few gussets and stiffeners then it'll be ready for paint. If I can get my powder coat oven built soon enough I'll powder coat the frame too, but that's gotta wait til I can free up more time too...

 

[Ron344]

Dave I hope you can get back to it soon. I'm thinking of putting a jack shaft on mine so not to offset the motor too much. I want to do something with frame to but I don't know what yet, probable make it look more like a Harley frame. The motor I might go case induction again seeing the first one came out so good.

 

[Davezilla]

I've been thinking about doing the jack shaft and a 3 speed hub on mine since Pedalchopper has a setup that matches the mounts I got, it's a little pricy but the way business is going it's a lot easier for me to buy the parts than it is to find the time to make the parts or even assemble the bike... lol

I'm also re thinking my engine choice since I would have to modify the billet mounts I got to accept the Super Rat engine so I'm going to go with another Dax bottom/my top end combination like my other bike since that engine ran very strong and very smoothly. I'll just save the Super rat for another project since it's got some extensive porting done to it and I don't want to let it just sit... I may just buy an ebay fixie for that engine just to get me back on the road while I'm waiting for the right opportunity to weld up my old frame and also the time to gusset up the Stingray frame so the same thing don't happen to it too... I just purchased 2 more Dax bottom ends and I got a few very well ported jugs over here so I'll have a good one for the Stingray for sure.

 

[maniac57]

I've been thinking about doing the jack shaft and a 3 speed hub on mine since Pedalchopper has a setup that matches the mounts I got, it's a little pricy but the way business is going it's a lot easier for me to buy the parts than it is to find the time to make the parts or even assemble the bike... lol

I'm also re thinking my engine choice since I would have to modify the billet mounts I got to accept the Super Rat engine so I'm going to go with another Dax bottom/my top end combination like my other bike since that engine ran very strong and very smoothly. I'll just save the Super rat for another project since it's got some extensive porting done to it and I don't want to let it just sit... I may just buy an ebay fixie for that engine just to get me back on the road while I'm waiting for the right opportunity to weld up my old frame and also the time to gusset up the Stingray frame so the same thing don't happen to it too... I just purchased 2 more Dax bottom ends and I got a few very well ported jugs over here so I'll have a good one for the Stingray for sure.

I run a similar setup with a jackshafted 5 speed conventional derailleur cassette on stock wheel and I can tell you one thing:
If you decide to go with a jackshaft, use the nicest engine you can. It's totally worth it! The multi-speed options let you easily choose your cruise speed and RPM and the Occ frame really benefits from vibration reduction that comes with the better engines and reduced RPM's required for a given speed.
While the billet Pedalchopper setup is expensive, it is truly excellent quality and is well backed by the maker. You will NOT feel like you wasted your money and Jim Wilson is one of the most helpful and honest vendors I have ever dealt with in ANY hobby.
My set up is a pale shadow of the billet parts and is simply outstanding! I don't even LIKE choppers and I HAD to build one for the gears.
When combined with the three speed hub, this system is like no other available and is one of the best, most reliable, consistent and easy to use systems out there. The three speed makes it durable and easy to use with no derailleur hassles or upkeep and no more chain issues.
I'm 250+ lbs and Mine has only tossed one chain due to user error (shifting under power). The three speed hub is reliable enough for anyone to ride without the risk of damage that comes with inexperience and derailleurs.
It makes a conventional shift kit look like it's held on with scotch tape. No front freewheel means no expensive FRAGILE parts to break. Uses common, cheap BMX freewheel for pedal cranks.
My ratty cobbled together imitation is easily in the 45-50 MPH range with a bone stock ebay motor and a billet head.
I STRONGLY urge you to go for it if interested...You won't regret it!

 

[Davezilla]

I fully agree with you and want to go all out on this one so I got the billed pedalchopper mounts and they look great, I powder coated mine in candy lime green to get the look I'm going after and decided on the Dax engine for proven performance and reliability as well as smoothness second to none. I've purchased a nice fixie bike to build and sell which will get me enough funding to do the jack shafts and 3 speed sturmey hub that I can lace in with 12 GA spokes. For the chain I've been looking at those all half link chains and another called the exo chain which looks to be super strong and really cool looking as it looks more like a metal belt than a chain. Whichever route I go with the chain I will need to buy 2 and graft them together to get enough links, but I can definitely see the advantage of having more than one gear with these both for acceleration and smoothness at cruise along with a really nice top speed.
I'm also looking at better front end options and may build a cool looking girder type since I like how stable my other bike is with that type front end, I will need to find another girvin or noleen cross link front end then make the fork legs longer. These will be fairly easy to make out of either round or oval steel tubing with stock type dropouts and a disk caliper mount welded in. I really like the 24 inch front rim with the radially laced spokes but can easily upgrade to a 26 inch rim with a disc hub. I'm also planning on using a motorcycle tire on the back rim and a really good road bike tire up front, I do have both wheels with tires on them now so that part of the build could be done after its finished but I will most likely do everything the way I want before it's rideable so all the upgrades will be done.
There are a few more occ frames on ebay right now for cheap but I want to have mine finished before I build another chopper...