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DiscoStu

DiscoStu

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Mar 7, 2008
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So picked up this Huffy Impala out in Stillwater today. Looks by the stickers on it, that she was branded to be sold at the Holiday gas stations. Interesting.

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Now I've torn down all my racing bikes and done all my own maintenace, but this will be my first go at something like this. It's funny though, I had all my bike tools out and ready to start ripping this thing down. Ha, you'll note below there are 4 tools needed for disassembly; crecent wrench, 1/2 wrench, standard screw driver and a hammer (to tap out the fork). I was amazed at the pure simplicity of how these bikes were assembled, 15 minutes was all I needed to get to here. wow.

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So now the fun part starts; if any of you guys know some good places to look for parts around the twin cities, let me know. I'd like to put a different crank, chainring and rear cog on her as well as a different set of bars. Been trolling around craigs list but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of parts for sale. If you got the lowdown on good pawn shops, LBS, or someones back yard :wink: let me know.

-DiscoStu
 
Re: this is where it starts...

Huffy made an Impala?!? I'd love to see a pic of the guard if you got one...

yeah, I love how quick'n'easy these come apart... :mrgreen:

--rick
 
Re: this is where it starts...

I'm not going to claim that Huffy made an Impala, but the chain guard on the bike says Impala... Seems to match the bike pretty well, so I'm going with a definite probably... :?

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Re: this is where it starts...

hey, I wasn't questioning whether or not it's real, I just think it's cool because I never saw one and I have a '65 Chevy Impala... :mrgreen:

--rick
 
Re: this is where it starts...

I just picked up a ladies version of this bike today for ten bucks. Yours is in a little better condition than mine though. I've never seen one before and was trying to figure out what it was. The stickers on mine don't say Huffy anywhere. I'm gonna make it a project for my wife.
 
Re: this is where it starts...

DiscoStu said:
. Ha, you'll note below there are 4 tools needed for disassembly; crecent wrench, 1/2 wrench, standard screw driver and a hammer (to tap out the fork). I was amazed at the pure simplicity of how these bikes were assembled, 15 minutes was all I needed to get to here. wow.-DiscoStu
Click to expand...

Mine usually take 2 hours, must not be enough RUST. :p :p Just kidding that will be a great base to start from.
 
Re: this is where it starts...

ParkRNDL said:
hey, I wasn't questioning whether or not it's real, I just think it's cool because I never saw one and I have a '65 Chevy Impala... :mrgreen:

--rick
Click to expand...
no worries there Rick, I think I picked the wrong smiley face guy on my post. I was a bit suprised by it myself, honestly. If you're driving a '65 Impala, I'm jealous!
 
Re: this is where it starts...

sundevil91 said:
I just picked up a ladies version of this bike today for ten bucks. Yours is in a little better condition than mine though. I've never seen one before and was trying to figure out what it was. The stickers on mine don't say Huffy anywhere. I'm gonna make it a project for my wife.
Click to expand...

very cool, I'll be curious to see what it comes out like. I did get lucky, some people really liked this bike to be in this good of shape, especially in the midwest rust belt.
 
Re: this is where it starts...

cman said:
DiscoStu said:
. Ha, you'll note below there are 4 tools needed for disassembly; crecent wrench, 1/2 wrench, standard screw driver and a hammer (to tap out the fork). I was amazed at the pure simplicity of how these bikes were assembled, 15 minutes was all I needed to get to here. wow.-DiscoStu
Click to expand...

Mine usually take 2 hours, must not be enough RUST. :p :p Just kidding that will be a great base to start from.
Click to expand...

got to be careful when there is that much rust, you may want to use bondo and clear coat, it may be the only thing holding it together !! :lol:
 
Re: this is where it starts...

DiscoStu said:
So picked up this Huffy Impala out in Stillwater today. Looks by the stickers on it, that she was branded to be sold at the Holiday gas stations. Interesting.-DiscoStu
Click to expand...
Holiday had the bigger stores, also. They sold clothes, sporting goods, food, music (bought my first records at a Holiday)...I think it was the same company/brothers that own the Holiday Station Stores and I THINK it was the sporting goods department that spawned Gander Mountain (or they bought them or something)...
 
Re: this is where it starts...

new_dharma said:
DiscoStu said:
So picked up this Huffy Impala out in Stillwater today. Looks by the stickers on it, that she was branded to be sold at the Holiday gas stations. Interesting.-DiscoStu
Click to expand...
Holiday had the bigger stores, also. They sold clothes, sporting goods, food, music (bought my first records at a Holiday)...I think it was the same company/brothers that own the Holiday Station Stores and I THINK it was the sporting goods department that spawned Gander Mountain (or they bought them or something)...
Click to expand...

No kidding. Hmmm, I'll have to go do a little research on that. That is pretty cool, I was actually going to take the bike over to the Holiday corporate office here in the Twin Cities and take a picture of it infront of their sign just for kicks.
 
Re: this is where it starts...

Progress! a few hours with the wire brush attachment for the drill, a razor blade and some sanding pads and I have the rims, frame and fork ready for the first coat of paint.

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Honestly, I was so freakin excited to start shooting color, I made myself go eat some food then come back. :mrgreen: so here is the frame and fork with the first coat. The fork has a pretty cool triple plate crown on it, but I'm noticing that getting the paint inside those layers is going to be a trick. Anyone with some paint tips for rattle cans and tight areas like this? Was thinking about just using a Q-tip and smearing some in there. The gaps are about 1/8" so it's not like it has to be perfect, but the original red really shows through. Just want to get it covered nicely.

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http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2071/232 ... 0f5c31.jpg

I was a little disappointed with myself becuase I got some deep scratches from the wire brush and they really show through on the fork. Guess it's back to the sanding pad and maybe a litle filler to clean it up if they don't come out.

Well, I'm going to get the rims taped up and ready for their first shots of color and call it a night :!:
 
Re: this is where it starts...

Filler and sandpaper? Yuppie! Just kidding :D I smooth out my oops's with lead and a file, but some rough spots are rat rod characteristics :mrgreen:
 
Re: this is where it starts...

bigredddaddy said:
Filler and sandpaper? Yuppie! Just kidding :D I smooth out my oops's with lead and a file, but some rough spots are rat rod characteristics :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

:) Ha, yeah, you are probably right, got to keep reminding myself about that whole "rat" part of this. Maybe I'll just sand er down in a few places and let some of that old red show through then clear coat.
 
Well boys, it's done for now. Still need to find some bars, pedals and a taller seat post to finish it up, but I think it looks pretty classic. In the words of HomeStarRunner: "nuthin fancy, nuthin fancy". In honor of being called a "Yuppie" by bigreddaddy on my first rat build, I've decided this one is named Biff! Doesn't get much more country club yuppie than that. :D

As it stands, Biff needs a little bit of fine tuning to ride a bit smoother, I think I over tigentened the rear axle and bottom bracket so its a bit stiff on the pedals. I am happy that I left the original red on under the black. It shows through in the sunlight giving it a bit of a red tint under the flat black. So now we'll just let her get nicked up a bit over the summer and some love rubs before I give it a final sand in the fall and clear coat it to preserve the first summer in the sun.

So here are the last build shots and the finished product:

Painting the rims firetruck red:
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Prebuild:
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Biff rises from the deep!!!
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lookin Biffy!
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Biff chillin in the sun...
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smoooth 8)
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Spliff Biff!

DiscoStu
 

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