24" Firestone - Tank art options??

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Re: Firestone Special Cruiser 24" - "Old School Blue"

If anyone can tell what brand this speedo is, that would be helpful. I might as well hunt down the cable and gear for it. 8)

Edit*

I was able to get the bezel off without damage. The lens is definitely shot and will need replaced. Obviously its made by Western Auto Supply Co. Now my new question is: Can someone date this speedo. My guess would be 40s/50s...
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Re: Firestone Special Cruiser 24" - "Old School Blue"

My son and I made a quick trip to the local crafts store to see if we could find something fitting for a new lens on the speedometer. We walked every aisle and weren't having any luck. As we started to walk out, we see a stack of do-it-yourself key chains that allow you to put a picture in it. It looked pretty close to the size we needed, and for .99 its no big loss if it didn't work. Well, turns out that the outter (larger) portion of the key chain was the exact diameter of the old faded yellow cracked lens.. score!! (still need a cable though :?)
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Re: Firestone Special Cruiser 24" - "Old School Blue"

We decided to use a 1930's Bosch headlight I had instead of the Royce headlight as we originally planned. The Royce had an offset mount, and any way we tried to come up with a mounting solution, it just didn't look right. So after we left the crafts store with our speedo lens, we headed over to Radio Shack for a switch, then to Harbor Freight for a cheap 32 LED flashlight so we could use the guts in the Bosch light.

$5.99
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The original switch hole in the headlight was too big for the new switch, so a couple of washers sandwiched it in there just fine.
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Out came the soldering iron and heat shrink! I like this picture. Someone had wrote in pencil "1932"... Its kind of funny to see circuits and LEDs inside a headlight thats possibly 79 years old!
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I used super glue to attach the LED cluster to the inner lens of the headlight (after removing the old bulb assembly). This light has seen some rough times so the lens and glass didn't seat into the outer bezel very well, and the glass was broke in two pieces. Super glue to the rescue!! After glueing the LED to the inner lens, I glued the glass back together and glued to to the inner lens. Unfortunately the glue fumes fogged up the inside of the glass and now there's now way to get in there and clean it. DANG!! no worries, the light still shines through just fine. :)
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Re: Firestone Special Cruiser 24" - LIGHTS!! 6/15

I picked up this old "suicide" steering wheel knob at a swap a while back thinking it would make a neat tail light.
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While at Harbor Freight we grabbed this flexible 1 LED pen light for $1.99. All I could do was hope I could make it work with the knob.
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As luck would have it, the 1 LED fit snugly into the back of the knob!!
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One rat tail light! I think we'll hide the battery pack behind the fender brace.
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Re: Firestone Special Cruiser 24" - LIGHTS!! 6/15

All I can say is - Awesome!

This is great stuff! Thanks for all the pics!
 
Re: Firestone Special Cruiser 24" - LIGHTS!! 6/15

Those new parts are great!!!! I am doing something similar with my head light. Keep up the great work
 
Re: 24" Firestone - DONE! pics

Heres how the tail light was mounted. I used a zip tie to secure the battery pack to the fender brace then hid the zip tie with some black leather strips I cobbled off an old baseball glove.
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Re: 24" Firestone - DONE! pics

We glass bead blasted the seat pan and clear coated it so it wont continue to rust. I just love those rust pit marks in the seat! Used the same paint from the wheels on the seat frame and detail on the pan. Added some new hardware and it came out great!
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Re: 24" Firestone - DONE! pics

What a GREAT build!...Pics of the TWO hot rods together is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. That's calendar "stuff" right there...NICE!
 
Re: 24" Firestone - DONE! pics

Very cool :shock: Love the big "Firestone" on the chainguard :wink: Top notch work :mrgreen: Nice Hudson Hornet :eek:
 
Re: 24" Firestone - DONE! pics

Well, My boy won for best kids bike at Karfer's show today. It was a good time, we enjoyed the whole day. I brought the Savage out (yellow one behind the Firestone) that I did for my lady, and it took home best cruiser as well. 8)

I also changed out the headlight. This one fit the look of the bike sooo much better.
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