The Rustoration Build Off

[BarelyAWake]

weekend-fun - That bike looks great for a motor! I love the tangs sweeping back from the dropouts! Despite the surface rust it seems in really good shape - heck, yer fenders seem to be in far better shape than mine and those are the biggest pain to fix up. Are you gonna strip her down and repaint or leave it a crusty cruiser for that truly old look?

doubledice - Wrong guy? lol - yus, the rear is a three-speed w/drum brake, the front a 6v 3w genny w/drum brake, they were a lil less than $80 each and I got them here: Bikeman

Bath Cycle and Ski (aka bikeman for the eCatalog) just keeps getting better and better in my experiences with them. Not only do they have a huge selection, they're really willing to go the extra mile for ya - more so if ya have a motorized bike project, unlike many other bike shops it seems. Two of the techs there have there own MBs and are workin' their next projects too - all of 'em are vintage bikes no less. Far from givin' me the crazyeye when I walked in with 70yo rims to get laced and trued - they got right into it, makin' me late for work again lol

I suppose it's not a surprise, when I went back yesterday to pick up my wheelset we got to chattin' again and they showed me a set of wooden rims they were in the process of gluing tires to, went on about the difficulty of squeezing an engine in an ol' JC Higgins 20" and chatted a bit about fixing up an old step-through... I found it really neat that despite all this vintage bike stuff, the bike on the stand right next to the JC was a smokin' titanium frame lol

Got some pics as I remembered my camera this time (click on thumbnail to view);



So... I cheated a lil, while it just means I have to take it all back apart again - I couldn't resist the need to see what my bike would look like with the shiny new hubs and freshly painted and laced rims. The frame and forks are still raw primer and I had to zip-tie the linkage blanks to the forks as I still haven't made the hardware... but... how could I not "test fit"? I needed to make sure they fit... right?

I tried my best to capture the semi-metallic slate gray color, but unless it's in direct sunlight it's really hard to see the rims aren't black. Gettin' them on the bike finalized the "look" the bike wants in my brain. A hybrid of new and old, brushed aluminum and steel - I'm gonna roll w/it and go with the slate gray and silver. Fortunate as there's no way I'll be able to resist puttin' one of SBP's tuned pipes on this sucker - I think if I extend the silencer/glasspack with a length of brushed aluminum conduit like I did with my Schwinn (but even a lil longer) and make my own headpipe to eliminate the hi-temp tubing, it'll look sweet as heck... and gimme that power increase I think she'll need as DANG this ol' girl is heavy! The wheelset alone is perilously close to the same weight as the entire Schwinn, minus the engine kit of course lol

I picked up a set of tires and tubes while I was at the shop, nothing special - at a whopping $12 a tire they got the rims off the ground lol He did say they're perfectly good tires with really good wear rates, doesn't matter to me heh - cheap or expensive I'll wear 'em out no doubt.

A few more pics, for those pickin' out detail - yeah there's no bearings in the headtube, fasteners are missing, the engine is far lower than it will be, and there's a plethora of other things "wrong" heh - the only one that matters is the rear hub's brake arm is on the wrong side of the chainstay. I'll hafta make a lil custom clamp for it as my dropouts aren't perfectly horizontal, it changes the angle of the bracket as the axle needs to align w/it and lock in place. It's an easy fix to make a lil strap though and everything clears just fine;

 

[silverbear]

Lookin' good, Barely! The wheels turned out really nice. It's gonna be a great ride, for sure. Strong frame, good brakes and solid wheels under you... that's the foundation for a great build. Can't wait to see it come together.
You're right about the fenders being a pain to work on. My tire for the Worksman front wheel came yesterday so I'll get the front drum brake hooked up next. Too cold to take the bike out for a trial run, but it is supposed to warm up a little by Monday, so will try it then. Going to work on the little in frame tank and the pedal chain guard today. They will be less work to get ready for paint than the fenders and fender skirts so I'll do them first. A little at a time...
SB

 

[BarelyAWake]

Thanks silver, don't forget to take the pics lol - no detail too petty for this thread I figure

I'd really like to see the fender skirts actually, they were in one of the other shots, but no detail - I'd like to see the other... tinwork? Is there a word for just the sheet metal accessories as a package on a bike? Chainguard, fenders... brightwork? No... that's a boat term lol

Still, ya know what I mean

OMG OMG OMG *dances with anticipation* I just got this wonderful notice in my email w00t!

Hello Geoff,
Your package from Sick Bike Parts LLC is on its way.

1x Bottom Bracket Adapters
1x Deluxe HD Shifter Kit II
- Seat Tube Diameter: 1.125 inches
- Optional Sprocket: 11 Tooth

 

[bairdco]

geoff, that's really starting to come together. i like the slate gray, it looks, i dunno, mechanical. that seems like a good word for it.

i've got a line on another bike. if it's not raining all week, i'm gonna go check it out. so i might have 2 entries. don't hold your breath, though...

 

[fasteddy]

BarleyAWake, if you put sugar on that bike it couldn't be any sweeter.
I like the colour too. Sticking to a full resto on the Monark but the next one I won't restore. To darned restrictive as to what you can do.

Yipes, your ahead of the game on your bike, Silver bear is getting ready to ride his and Bairdco is looking at a second one.
Got a bad feeling I'm on a slippery slope and there is no bottom.

On the other hand I'm decking the side car and it is starting to look like it will come out looking good. Next one will be about half the weight and a little different design.
Thinking Barrelback Racer.

Brothers asking where I'm going to store these things. Now I'll have to make him one.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Barely,
Santa Claus is comin' eh? You must have either been a very good boy or you paid him off. Sounds like you've got some cool stuff on the way. Keep the pictures comin'.
Bairdco,
Another bike! Man, you're gonna end up lappin' us...Twice around the track while I'm still airin' up the tires and Barely's still putin' gas in the tank. Ha! I won't ask what it is since that might jinx the deal. Good luck.
Steve,
Update's on the photos, please. The first time on a project is the one that teaches the most. By the time you're done you know a lot more about how to go about it. My little gas tank cradle (mount?) is that way. I like it and can already see how to make it better. Yes, I will take photos tomorrow.

Like much of the country it is bitter cold here, so I haven't gotten much done on the bike. I do have the little in frame (non functional) tank ready to sand down... had one dink to pound out and smoothed it over with a bit of JB Weld as 'body filler'. I also got the chain guard tapped out to a point of good enough, fixed a couple of bad spots with silver solder and applied modest amounts of JB Weld in several spots. Tomorrow I hope to do some sanding and get those two items in primer. I'm kinda draggin' my feet on those fenders and skirt guards. I'll take a couple pictures tomorrow of how they are at this point. I also have one of two fender stays in pretty bad shape. I'd like to use it, since it is so much heavier than even the 50's Schwinn mangled fender & stay I brought along as a donor. The one Elgin stay is in good shape, but the other has been bent very badly. I think I could pound it straight but that would destroy the Kind of U shape it has for strength. Don't know if I'm describing that very clearly. Pictures will help. Any ideas on getting it straight and then returning the U shape to the straight sections will be appreciated. I'm picturing something like an electric fence rod to pound it on to give it the half round shape again. Don't know if that will work or not. I complain about the fenders and skirts, but part of the fun is in seeing what you can resurrect from the dead.
I thought the Worksman wheel was ready to mount, but discovered my tube is bad and also need a couple of axle nuts. Not that I'm goin' anywhere on it.

Weekend Fun,
What's the history of that bike? What make and year? I think you said it was a Schwinn, but as I look at the front fork that doesn't look like a Schwinn fork to me. It is more like the one on my Elgin, so maybe it is something else. Old Hawthornes and no doubt others had forks like yours, too. I'm talking about the upper part of the fork where it fits into the frame. I could be wrong as I'm no expert. If it's Schwinn, the serial numbers will tell you what year it is. If there is no match with a Schwinn serial number then it's time to do some more research. Any head badge or decals to help identify it? Did it have wheels and if so what size... 1.175 or 2.125? It looks like a nice frame.
SB

 

[BarelyAWake]

O'course I hadta pay that ol' bastid off... ever since I was a lil'un and accused his Kmart alter-ego of B&E and bein' a pedo I've gotten doodlysquat for Xmas

I'm "dragging my feet" on the fenders too TBH... I just can't bring myself to start on 'em heh I may see if my friend has another rear fender in slightly better shape (off a gir... urm... step-through bike mebbe). I could reverse the fender and trim it a bit to save some labor I suppose, but they're still low on the priority list at the moment. I guarantee that unless I replace it - yers will be better lookin' than mine fosho, oh patient one!

A lil bit of progress today, in about an hour or so I'm gonna head into work to use the lathe to fab up some fasteners to replace the missing ones on my springer - it was missing one of the two lower linkages and hardware. I suppose I could hunt around and find somethin' online, but why bother when I can just make them? With that in mind I spun up the ol' grinder at about 4am this mornin' and proceeded to make these, they're a touch rough... but I stopped workin' them cause I think they match the rest of the bike like this. If I get 'em all painted and on the bike and decide I don't like them I'll touch 'em up a bit/make new ones...

It's not much progress - but it's another lil thing outa the way;

 

[silverbear]

I have a few photos of the gas tank in place on the 39 Elgin. The can is a 48 oz. V8 juice can. Two holes were punched at one end, top and bottom for air vent and gas outlet (This is also how the juice was emptied from the can into another container). In the holes 1/4" copper tubing sections a couple inches long were silver soldered in place. At the other end of the can and on its side another hole was punched, drilled out a bit and then widened to 3/4" with a cone shaped grinding attachment to the drill. Into the hole a 3/4" male copper plumbing fitting was placed and silver soldered. A quick coat of primer and then black engine enamel followed. I had thought at the time it would later be covered in leather so didn't worry about runs... now that it is in place I've decided I like it just painted as it seems to fit this particular build, so I'll do another tank like it, but with more care in the soldering and painting since everything shows under gloss black paint. The little cradle I made to hold it in place is just a couple sections of aluminum angle which can be purchased a any hardware, Lowes or Home Depot. Under the rack I used a couple pieces of aluminum channel scraps and bolted through at four points. In the next mount I will use one piece of aluminum plate cut to size instead of the channel as it will look cleaner and take up less room. The channel may interfere with the rear fender later, where the plate won't for sure.
Also pictured are the little in frame and non functional tank and the chain guard pretty much ready for sanding and then paint. BarelyAwake has requested pictures of the fender skirts which will follow in another post.
By the way, I have taken screen shots along the way of this posting... using Picasa to reduce the photos and upload them to the forum. I'll use them along with verbal description to make a little tutorial on how to use Picasa for this purpose. I hope it will be of use. I will give it a new thread of it's own.
SB

 

[weekend-fun]

weekend-fun - That bike looks great for a motor! I love the tangs sweeping back from the dropouts! Despite the surface rust it seems in really good shape - heck, yer fenders seem to be in far better shape than mine and those are the biggest pain to fix up. Are you gonna strip her down and repaint or leave it a crusty cruiser for that truly old look?

I am not sure..... If I do paint it, it would be a old-looking scheme
0_o I am still trying to find a big enough wrench to remove the front sprocket and replace the bearings!!!
Once I get it off, I will decide A) repaint or B) leave it oringinal.

What do you think????

 

[BarelyAWake]

silverbear - I so really like that lil juice can tank man - a shame about the paint... still you can always save it and wrap it some other time. The chain guard and tank halves are lookin' real good! I see some heat discoloration on the guard - didja hafta solder it there?

lol - because of you I recommended Picasa to a co-worker BTW, Photoshop was waaaaay over her head so it was the ol "a buddy o'mine saz..." and away she went. Thanks for that heh, saved me endless hours of tryin' to explain PS to her.

weekend-fun - depends on what ya wanna do with the bike, I'd repaint it to prolong it's life - but that's just me, it is a bit of a pain. I used a high-speed wire brush in a 4 1/2" side handle grinder to clean up the Rollfast, it goes quick that way... but better count yer fingers lol

I managed to get those lil oddball fasteners for the linkages on my springer pretty much done, just need a lil touch-up with the dremel (length) and paint. It sure woulda been nice to just wander into the local hardware store and pick up a few... but there was no chance in **** that was gonna happen - lol, I work at the "local hardware store" and we didn't have anythin' even remotely like these.

There's two lil steps, one for the linkage and another for the fork itself - their pivot points... I thought about just stuffin' some regular ol' bolts in there, but I worried that there'd be too much slop - so I just made thems lol Of course there's the double ended ones too - for the fender mounts naturally.

It's the lil things that'll drive ya nuts, like the tiny bit of metal in my eye ATM... gotta suffer for the art I suppose lol

 

[silverbear]

silverbear - I so really like that lil juice can tank man - a shame about the paint... still you can always save it and wrap it some other time. The chain guard and tank halves are lookin' real good! I see some heat discoloration on the guard - didja hafta solder it there?

lol - because of you I recommended Picasa to a co-worker BTW, Photoshop was waaaaay over her head so it was the ol "a buddy o'mine saz..." and away she went. Thanks for that heh, saved me endless hours of tryin' to explain PS to her.

weekend-fun - depends on what ya wanna do with the bike, I'd repaint it to prolong it's life - but that's just me, it is a bit of a pain. I used a high-speed wire brush in a 4 1/2" side handle grinder to clean up the Rollfast, it goes quick that way... but better count yer fingers lol

I managed to get those lil oddball fasteners for the linkages on my springer pretty much done, just need a lil touch-up with the dremel (length) and paint. It sure woulda been nice to just wander into the local hardware store and pick up a few... but there was no chance in **** that was gonna happen - lol, I work at the "local hardware store" and we didn't have anythin' even remotely like these.

There's two lil steps, one for the linkage and another for the fork itself - their pivot points... I thought about just stuffin' some regular ol' bolts in there, but I worried that there'd be too much slop - so I just made thems lol Of course there's the double ended ones too - for the fender mounts naturally.

It's the lil things that'll drive ya nuts, like the tiny bit of metal in my eye ATM... gotta suffer for the art I suppose lol

Barely,
A tiny bit of metal in the eye feels the size of one of the fasteners you made! I hope it works it's way out without too much pain. Cool you could make the fasteners, though.
Doing another juice can tank is no problem as I have all of the materials and another tank ready for soldering up. The one with paint runs will get covered in leather for some other build later on. In the meantime I have a tank in place ready for a test ride. I just made a Lowe's run for 'stuff' with a stop at Napa on the way. I had thought Napa would have nuts that would fit on the Worksman front wheel axle, but no luck. They suggested a bicycle shop. I had thought maybe a motorcycle shop, but they thought not. So now I have to find a bicycle shop somewhere. Nothing is close by of course. It's interesting how sometimes it is seemingly little things that hang you up. I'll find 'em. At Lowes I picked up more gas tank fittings and more aluminum angle in a larger size which I think will llook better. We'll see. The sun is shining and for the moment anyway it looks like I can maybe fire up the Elgin for it's first ride as a motorbicycle. I have to slow myself down to be sure everything is right before taking off. Nuts tight, etc. Fender pictures later...
SB

 

[bairdco]

it's raining here, rained yesterday, right now, and supposed to through 2pm tomorrow.

yesterday i changed out my rear sprocket for the 28 tooth. i'm sick of only doing 45ish mph. i wanna break the 50mph barrier.

that was fun, making the chain fit without a tensioner. seemed like i was either half a link too short, or half a link too long, but in the end, i was pretty close. it's tighter on the engine side, with a little play on the pedal side, so after a week, the sprocket should wear in and i can move the wheel back.

i took off my clutch cover and sprayed the inside with rubberized undercoating to try to cut down the noise. since the intake's on the other side, you don't hear it that much, and that makes it the clutch's time to sing. just putting a hand over it really quiets it down, so i'm hoping the undercoating helps. i was thinking of cutting a cork gasket to fit and gluing it inside, but i don't have any cork gasket stuff, and it's raining.

made up some new brackets for my coaster brake and drum, no big deal, they just look cleaner. i'm gonna make an exhaust hanger today, i think. i want to get the weight off the studs.

i'm also thinking of an air filter / velocity stack set up. i want to get the illusion of "ram air."

tried to get those cheap whitewalls lined up with the high spots on the tire on the low spots on the wheel (the wheels are really straight, but there's always gonna be a tiny bit of a hop or a wobble) but it just made them worse. seems like the tires just deform any which way, so i ordered some new Kenda Kiniption 24 x 2.3's. they're blackwall, but they're awesome tires. they'll be great for cornering at 50...

Geoff, if you read my other thread, you saw that i'm done with analog speedos. toasted the two i had. you could hear the cables spinning around inside like a drill. these bikes are way too fast for them. i suggest keeping your's on a shelf where it looks pretty.

dunno if i'm getting that other bike, but i'm keeping my eyes out for others. can never have enough bikes, right? plus, i'd like to build one up and sell it, if the price was right. the way i look at it, the bikes i see around here are your average low budget build, and there's nothing like mine around. i even got a compliment from some guy the other day who's neighbor kid has one. he told me, "i hate that kid's stupid bike, but your's looks really professional..." or something like that.

i'll post some pics later of anything new i mighta done...

(EDIT) oh yeah, SB, about those fender struts. what i do is bend them as straight as possible by hand. if you can bend them all the way out so they're in a straight line, carefully, so they don't crack, it's easier to fix them. once they're straight, i lay them on the side on a hard smooth surface and slowly beat on the bent parts with a rubber mallet. flip them over a few times till you get them mostly straight. then put them flat with the outside up, and tap out some more dents. if you start to deform the "u," then flip them on their side again, tap it back into shape, etc...keep flipping until they're straight enough for you. it's a lot simpler than it reads... when they're straight, slowly bend them around something round to get them into the shape of the fenders. work your way through the bend, don't just put pressure in one place. you can use the rubber mallet and tap it around. when they look good, match them up to the inside of the fender. check the hi and low spots, put them back on a hard round surface and beat them into shape. you want them to fit in there real nice. don't think tightening them down will work them into shape. those little bolts will pull through, and if they don't, your fenders will rattle.

now, for a non-rattle, super-tight fender trick, get some heat shrink ( i use 1/2") and cut a piece as wide as the fender, slide it on the strut and shrink it on there...

 

[BarelyAWake]

ROFL - dude, seriously when I saw you post I thought fosho you were gonna say "yer on crack Geoff, you can get those springer fasteners at any bike shop" lol

I've done the rubberized undercoating trick on my Schwinn and with a coupla coats it really does seem to help quite a bit so defo go for it! I did see yer other thread (I see EVERYTHING o.o) and that ol' speedo is gonna stay on the shelf its on. It wouldn't work anyway as the lil dealie on the wheel just will not fit on the drum brake hub. I suppose I could make it fit... but that would be silly as I'd most likely burn it out.

"i hate that kid's stupid bike, but your's looks really professional..." < Kinda makes me wonder if the kid pulled the endcap off Seriously tho - that's high praise from someone irritated by these things to begin with!

 

[bairdco]

dude, after seeing all the tools you have at your disposal? i'd make every nut and bolt on my bike. heck, i'd make my own bike...

 

[BarelyAWake]

I did think about it a bit before I found the Rollfast, I was gettin' kinda desperate for a winter project... but TBH I'm not all that keen on scratch-building a bike...

yet...

mebbe next winter lol

 

[bairdco]

built a heat shield and an exhaust mount. was gonna mount the exhaust bracket to the clutch cover, so it'd move with the engine, but it wasn't workin' out the way i wanted it, so i just went to the frame with a piece of rubber around the seat stay. the motor doesn't move anyway, so it should be fine.

just gotta polish out the scratches and it's done. i'm just sick of working on it. i'm outta smokes, it's raining, and cold. wahhh...

 

[BarelyAWake]

What didja make the heat shield outa? It looks awesome! Have ya had a chance to not destroy yer sneakers yet?


"Use when temperature is between 50°F and 90°F (10-32°C)"

 

[Humsuckler]

^lmao. that looks like a piece of bike shop art....

 

[BarelyAWake]

What's crazy is other than a few fork bits - that's almost all just the seat lol

 

[silverbear]

Bairdco,
Raining and freezing to ice here, so I'm glad I got in a couple mile ride yesterday when I could. Very solid ride, comfortable and I LIKE IT. Your bike keeps getting better. No fired leg now, eh?
Barely,
That's some heavy duty wind chime, more for gale winds I would think. Below are the photos you requested. The fenders and guards are coming along, but look better in the pictures than they are. Even so, I like them and know they're going to really set that bike apart as an eye catcher. I do love these old Elgins.
How's that eye?
SB