1940 Schwinn / Sayre - former yard art- "Toad"

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My company does a ton of in mold contour shaped vinyl pieces with either fabric or foam scrim layers. We place the vinyl face down on a heat table (heated aluminum plate) at 160deg for a few minutes until it's pliable. Then through stretching and dogging it'll take almost any shape

You also have to consider the vinyl. There's most commonly 2 way and 4 way stretch vinyl. 4 way will take compounds and move in different directions far easier


https://www.sailrite.com/Vinyl-Stretch-Factor
 
My company does a ton of in mold contour shaped vinyl pieces with either fabric or foam scrim layers. We place the vinyl face down on a heat table (heated aluminum plate) at 160deg for a few minutes until it's pliable. Then through stretching and dogging it'll take almost any shape

You also have to consider the vinyl. There's most commonly 2 way and 4 way stretch vinyl. 4 way will take compounds and move in different directions far easier


https://www.sailrite.com/Vinyl-Stretch-Factor
Thanks for the info. The vinyl I have is green ostrich pattern that would look killer on this bike. I want it to work and it is bought and paid for so I'd rather wreck it trying than give up. I will try gluing it to the flat of the pan and after its stuck warming it with my heat gun. Hopefully it will hold the shape so it can be glued up after stretching it.
 
In a mad fit of mechanical fury I went after Toad with a vengeance. First things first, I honed the steering tube so the stem would fit correctly. A slotted piece of dowel rod with 36 grit emery cloth and a wrap of tape around the end to keep it from falling out.

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I left the stem in toad paint. The handlebars were also in toad paint but the nickel plating was flaking off making them extra scaly so I cleaned them up and burnished them with a twist cup brush in a die grinder. The right hand truss rod was boogered up so that got reshaped, the bolts are fine thread and really short so I had to cut a bolt to size. Every threaded part of the bike got chased.

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Old crusty handlebars get tan lines from where the old grips covered the ends protecting them. Fortunately, BMX grips tend to be longer hiding that. I found a set of green ones that have an unusual leafy grip surface. Oregano maybe? I'll leave that to the botanists to figure out.

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The copper head badge had reacted with the paint over the years causing it to blossom and raise the badge. I sanded down the surface and clear coated it. The head badge got a polish and clear coat. Some pinstriping was added above the badge because it came with the rest of the striping and that looked like as good a spot as any.

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The sprocket side threads on the crank were munged which explains the hole worn into the chainstay. In my young car building days there was Warshawsky and JC Whitney auto parts. They sold low buck parts to get that old bucket up and running with a little bling added. With that in mind, I replaced the crank and bottom bracket parts with Wald parts. Not the best but they will get it moving. I'm using the pedals that were on Toad for a different project. Therefore I got a set of green Wellgo bear traps. Crunchy out of the box and even after rebuilding them with quality grease, they suck. The chain is KMC and the sprocket is ????? Note how the red oxide primer that I sprayed over the frame repair became shiny red after clearcoating, not what I expected but a big whatever. The kickstand is also Wald as it didn't have one.

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I had a small red reflector that the mounting stud was damaged on. It got a new stud JB Welded into it and stuck out back.

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The seat is being a pain in the anatomy normally assigned to it. The way it curves makes recovering it an exercise in futility. I tried upholstery vinyl and leather and neither will stretch to fit the shape. I've recovered a few seats along the way and this one is trying my patience. I'm going to try another material that might work out. Here it is getting some high density foam glued on.

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Here is how it looks at the present. It is just a seat and seatpost away from being a rider. The post is being obstinate so the seat tube will need plenty more honing.

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I have placed a thin layer of open cell foam over the dense closed cell foam. I also made a mold of the pan with the closed cell foam out of drywall plaster. The seat, two foam layers and leather were pressed into the mold with spray contact cement and the leather pulled tight and trimmed and readjusted many times. It still had two small wrinkles on the back. I tried marine stretch vinyl, don’t bother, this wrinkles more than the regular marine vinyl. I also use rough sandpaper to contour the closed cell foam. Can’t get it perfect but close.
 
It's been a busy day in Couch Taters Spud & Kustom Shop. I spent more time looking for the thing I just had in my hand than actual wrenching.

First up, the chain guard got installed. Whoever invented those mounting brackets was pure evil.

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Next up was swapping out the front end. Super easy and I'm stoked with it. I'l have to devise a center mount for the fender but that can wait for the snow to fly.

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Finally back to the seat (or the saddle if you drink beer with your pinkie finger out). I went with the burlap coffee bean bag. I also hand sewed Toads name tag to it. 3M spray adhesive is wicked stuff and I shan't pet my dog again till next week. During the fast approaching off season it will get heavily brushed with polyurethane to make it plasticimized.

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A bike this fine needs a premium security system so I left the lock that was on it and I don't have a key for in place.

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I'll have to wait a day or two for the seat adhesive to dry so my britches don't get stuck to it before I can take it out for a romp. There are still things to do to it, but now it is a running machine.

A full side view.

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looks good! I've seen bikes in way worse shape get rescued, that one is nice. :)
 

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