Indian Tadpole

[Venice Motor Bikes]

That thing looks awesome!!! The gas tank looks very 'correct' for the style of the bike!!

It needs a couple of old timey brass lanterns on the front.

 

[fasteddy]

Not yet Tom. I have to find a computer repair place to get them out of Photobuckets clutches to make sure it's done properly. My nephew suggested that I do that because he hasn't tried getting the photos back and he's concerned that they will disappear if done wrong. Lots of computer repair people around us but it will be another month or so until I get it done.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Thank you, Venice Motor Bikes. I do have a couple of reproduction brass headlights that are 18650 cell battery powered. I put one one on the bike but I need to have the bike on the ground so I can be sure they are aimed right before I install them both. I'll look for the photos and post them. I also have a couple of brass horns and I'll install one of them when I make up my mind which one. I'm going to measure the length of brass hose that I need to reach from the handle bars to the horn itself and order it today.

The gas tank took a couple of tries to get the size right.

Steve

 

[fasteddy]

Lights and horns.

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

It's good that you are back at it Steve.
Activity besides the crypto currency crap has been pretty slim. There is the Gent from Pennsylvania that is going to motorize a 50's Schwinn.
Cheers!

Tom

 

[fasteddy]

I have had that same thought, Tom. I looked forward to seeing if I could crash their party and and report them. I looked up the bulb and brass hose set up for the horns but they are now $185 U.S. which in Canadian dollars converts to $285, I'll have to wait until the tri car is finished and then buy one.

Steve.

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

Pity about the horns Steve, either would, if anyone noticed the details lend a certain cashet.
Cheers

Tom

 

[Oldbiscuit]

Lights and horns.

Eddy, how did you coil the brass on the horn ? Or did you mate the horn head onto another tube ?

 

[fasteddy]

That's the way they came. They were made in India in the late 1950's or in the 1960's. They were available in a lot of tourist shops for around $12 to $15. The regular curved horns that are everywhere on the internet were usually $3.95. In the 70's they started to disappear as people lost interest in them. I paid around $150 U.S, each for them. They were on eBay. I looked the other day when I posted the photos and there was one for $250 which is about what they sell for usually. I just typed in vintage brass car horns in Google to see what came up.

I'll go out to the garage and see if I can find the curved one and get some close up photos.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Here is one that I found on eBay. There were two or three others but this one had the lowest price. Needs a lot of cleaning and there was a cleaner on for $95. I've haven't seen this many on there before and there was one straight one as well. I haven't found mine yet .

Rubber bulbs are available on eBay.

Steve.

Antique Vintage Brass Snake Serpent Dragon Car Auto Hot Rod Horn | eBay

<p dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0; margin-bottom:0;">See photos for a condition. I'm not an antiques dealer and really don't know how to grade these things. Seems to be in good condition considering the age</p>

www.ebay.com

 

[curtisfox]

A sorse of parts also, ........Curt https://www.modeltford.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopTdGGwrBNTqx3b7AP4UOWg-CfW-kQZ74nd_MnwuPQJdmGl_5tD

The Model T Parts Specialists​

 

[fasteddy]

I saw parts of the house that I haven't seen in years looking for the horns and if I'd just looked in the last place they would never be I'd have found them faster. I remember seeing these horns plain like this one is and some with a dash of red paint for eyes and the rarest ones with glass eyes glued in place.

I looked on Etsy about a year ago and found a good selection of plastic ones in a number of different sizes and bought a small bag of them from a seller about 20 miles from the house. I'll show some before and after photos. I glued then in with a dab of JB weld. I'll polish the horn when the weather gets better. The buffer dust goes everywhere.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

I had to make three at a time to use up the tank liner or throw it out. The last photo is the one I used to put the decal on. The rest of them are sitting on a shelf. The brass gas filler came from Home Depot. They are 3/4 inch garden hose parts made to join two hoses together and a brass cap to fit on the end of that to cap it off to keep insects and debris out if the hoses are taken apart. Threaded on both ends. A female fitting was soldered in to the inside top before it was put on the body of the tank.

The buck the tanks were formed on and solder was made from 3/4 inch MDF board cut to shape and glued and screwed together and then finish sanded to shape. I'll have to look tomorrow but I believe it is 3 inches wide. The side panels were cut out and clamped to the buck and the top was clamped on and the sides of the top were hammer formed over the side panels. Check for alignment while hammering. I hammered the front first and then hammered the middle and rear section so the top didn't slide out of shape then hammered everything else. Top and sides were soldered on the buck to retain the shape.

The bottom was shaped like the top and inset into the tank and soldered. I used silver solder on everything. The end of the gas tank was formed over a block of wood. There is an oil tank in front of the gas tank. Only the earlier bikes had them. They had a different oil tank later on. The rear fender mount was riveted on. The tank liner sealed everything.

The decals came from the U.K.. Purchased from Classic Transfers. They now carry a full line of parts for British motorcycles as well. The transfers cost 7 pounds-$8.70 U.S.- $12.45 Canadian each. Look for the British and U.S. decal listing. There Is a full listing for all the years of Indians.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Some more photos. The section with the hole is the the end of the gas tank with the outlet for the gas line. Once again I used brass fittings. The section with the notches is the bottom of the tank. The other two are just the before and after I painted them. I believe the overhang on the top that was hammered over was 3/8 of an inch. All this was done in 2019 so I'm trying to remember the details while looking at the photos. Any questions or if you would like me to send you a pattern for the side panels send a PM and I'll get back to you. I may still have patterns for the oil tank as well. This was patterned after a 1905 after a 1905 Indian. I think in 1907 they did away with the oil tank on the gas tank and just had a flat piece of tin on the inside of the seat struts that held the gas tank in place.

Steve,

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

Your photos continue to amaze me Steve. How did you get to be such a good Tin Smith?

Tom

 

[fasteddy]

Tom, It was simply desperation. I need it, no one is doing it so I have to. Also fifty years of making fake antique furniture that wasn't two hundred years old helped. I fooled a lot of knowledgeable antiques dealers along the way, They would look it all over and see the construction was right. No obvious fakery evident and the dealing was on. Then I'd tell them it was made by me and they wouldn't believe me. Point of pride for me and I'd sell it and then I'd hear that they sold it not mentioning its true origins. Kind of fun hearing about this fantastic piece of furniture they had found and sold for some formidable amount. Everyone's amazed that he or she found it. Old wood and old tools used with some knowledge of chemicals to give the new work an old look. Some black smith skills for hardware and nails helped.

These tanks are the third round of them. Make one, look at it compared to the original photo and see if all the points match. Is my tank in line with the seat for height? Is the length of the tank stopping in line with where the original did? Visual clues mainly. What is inline on the frame below it. How close to the fender strut or how far away from the axle on the rear wheel? I think the original one is still in the shop. It truly was cringe worthy and then the second one was about an inch and a half short of hitting all the points then the third time was the charm and I was happy. Getting the height of the curve of the tank right compared to where it was on the fender was the hardest part.

From what I read the original tanks were poor quality. They were made of thin tin and they would leak at the seams from the vibration. I used 20 gauge galvanized steel. Then it was simple matter of figuring out how to make it look like the way they were originally made.

Glad you enjoyed them.

Steve.

 

[curtisfox]

Tom, It was simply desperation. I need it, no one is doing it so I have to. Also fifty years of making fake antique furniture that wasn't two hundred years old helped. I fooled a lot of knowledgeable antiques dealers along the way, They would look it all over and see the construction was right. No obvious fakery evident and the dealing was on. Then I'd tell them it was made by me and they wouldn't believe me. Point of pride for me and I'd sell it and then I'd hear that they sold it not mentioning its true origins. Kind of fun hearing about this fantastic piece of furniture they had found and sold for some formidable amount. Everyone's amazed that he or she found it. Old wood and old tools used with some knowledge of chemicals to give the new work an old look. Some black smith skills for hardware and nails helped.

These tanks are the third round of them. Make one, look at it compared to the original photo and see if all the points match. Is my tank in line with the seat for height? Is the length of the tank stopping in line with where the original did? Visual clues mainly. What is inline on the frame below it. How close to the fender strut or how far away from the axle on the rear wheel? I think the original one is still in the shop. It truly was cringe worthy and then the second one was about an inch and a half short of hitting all the points then the third time was the charm and I was happy. Getting the height of the curve of the tank right compared to where it was on the fender was the hardest part.

From what I read the original tanks were poor quality. They were made of thin tin and they would leak at the seams from the vibration. I used 20 gauge galvanized steel. Then it was simple matter of figuring out how to make it look like the way they were originally made.

Glad you enjoyed them.

Steve.

So KOOL I remember when you did them, took a little while. ............Curt

 

[fasteddy]

Given time and life my plans are to buy one of Pat's frame packages with his Indian gas tanks and add this sidecar. The motor won't happen but look would be there. That should stretch the metal working abilities to the limit. It's a 1917 Indian.

Steve.