'68 Sting Rat

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Thanks guys for saving me some work...:thumbsup:

I agree with RustyG's assessment ^ completely. I'd leave em stock. Adds to the more overall 'beefy' and tough look to this one.

Yeah Rusty hit the nail on the head. Won't work like it did on the daintier Fastback fork. + I agree they have a nice beefy look as is. Glad I asked.

(though I'm not sure how safe I would feel with swiss cheesed blade forks...and I do a LOT of stupid stuff :blackeye:).

Probably an extra bad idea with the hydraulic disc brakes....:eek:...:p...plus trying to lighten a Schwinn part with drilling is like peeing in the ocean. Stock '68 5-speed Sting Ray weighed in at 41 lbs!! yikes. Shifter alone was probably 2-3 lbs. Will be lucky to get this one close to 35. Last Canti Ray I did was 34 lbs and it had threadless carbon forks and only one brake.

Thanks again guys. Now I can install the new headset. Chain ring is supposed to arrive today so hopefully can clean up the cranks, easy-off the black from the chain ring and maybe even install the derailleur.
 
Yeah! Chad's got a very RaT-isfying weekend ahead of him. RaT oN~!
 
Lookin good Chad ! , looks like this bike definitely went too the right guy , B.T.W.
You are the 3rd owner, I got it from the Og.
Owner who's father bought it from a bicycle shop in Chico, Ca. Back in the day.

Enjoy!
Rafael
 
Lookin good Chad ! , looks like this bike definitely went too the right guy , B.T.W.
You are the 3rd owner, I got it from the Og.
Owner who's father bought it from a bicycle shop in Chico, Ca. Back in the day.

Enjoy!
Rafael

Thank you for the history. Glad you approve of the plan! Still has the sticker from that Chino bike shop but I wiped some of the lettering off cleaning the seat tube. Felt worse than putting a chip in a brand new paint job. It's still there though.

:13:

... that's some seriously shocking tonnage!

Krates were 49 lbs and I think the disc brake ones broke 50. This is a different frame from the 5-speeds so hopefully a shade lighter. That yellow Fastback is 32.5 lbs..(stock 5-speed FB=39 lb)....what can I say...muscle is heavy...:p...I'll be happy if it's lighter than a Continental..:giggle:

Got a little work done today out in the heat. Got the chain line looking decent.

chline.jpg


Hard part on these coaster Rays is the chain guard line. Front has to be farther out and the back has to be tucked in to clear the cranks. This one was tricky because of the wing tip and it looks like Schwinn kept the short frame guard when they re-did the frame mid '65 so it's a tight fit even with the stock 36t sprocket. 40t is what's coming for this one.

chline2.jpg


chline3.jpg


Getting close. Will finish that up when everything is in place and torqued down.

Got the new headset installed. Thought about purple but went with black. Porkchop sells these. Cartridge bearings and a direct fit for a Schwinn...almost...cups are a little loose and the crown race is tight tight but still pretty much plug and play. I use the Schwinn nut with these as it fits better with the Schwinn stem and is threaded all the way to the bottom and there aren't many threads left on the steerer with this headset.

hs1.jpg


hs2.jpg
 
This thing is KRAZY KOOL :thumbsup:
 
Man, this is loaded with killer goodies! That wheelset is a work or art.
 
Hey guys...thanks so much for the encouragement!

Promised myself I wouldn't put purple chainring bolts on this but the purple ano-itis struck again when I came across these Wolf Tooth jobbers while shopping for parts for the brake hose swap.

cranks7.jpg


Had to polish up the drive crank. No before pic but there were some deep gouges from being on a BMX bike. Also wanted to clean up the mounting surfaces on the outside as these will show with the chianring mounted on the back.

cranks6.jpg



Also going to try leaving the chianring black. I don't really like that look as I think it's too mountainbikey but this ring will barely be bigger than the spider and I think it might look cool with the nickel plated chain. Diggin the black with the green on this too. We'll see. I can always strip it later if it doesn't look good.

Got a quick after pic of the bottom bracket/sprag area while the cranks were off.

Before.

sr2.jpg


bb.jpg


Cups cleaned up nice didn't they?...:p
 
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Thanks Spike. It's 1/2 of a 600 crankset. Non-drive arm was bent. Was able to get enough of a refund from the seller to get an orphan SR arm for the non-drive side. Will never buy another set of used cranks that says BMX in the title.

Looking for opinions on something. Wanted to try a larger 180 mm brake rotor on the front wheel to make it more like a sport bike motorcycle.

Not sure about it....:39:



brotor3.jpg


Pic of the other 160 mm rotor.

sr7.jpg
 
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That big rotor really draws your eye to the front end. I'd say don't decide until you get some more 'junk in the trunk'. :p
i.e. saddle, rail, etc.

Personally, I kind of like it!
 
Just noticed that you're using a Shimano 600 crankset, that's a nice piece!

600 Arabesque....:)...Thanks for noticing. Been wanting to try a set of vintage cranks for a while. Could be the first set tucked inside a '68 Sting Ray wing tip guard.

Personally, I kind of like it!

I kind of like it too but for some reason it disappears behind the spokes. Gonna try the other one again I think. like the design of the 160 too.

Was going to play with the brakes/hoses today but need to install the adaptors and calipers before I can mess with the hoses....sooo...

Decided to bolt the chain guard down and see how it is going to fit.

Hardware on this has a really nice smooth brown rustina on it. Must be the California air it was in. Cranks came from cali too and could still have some old BMX track dirt on them.

cg2.jpg





Elongated the mount holes to be able to move it forward just a tad.

cg9.jpg


cg8.jpg


cg6.jpg


cg7.jpg


When I came inside I found the chainring I've been waiting for had arrived. That opens up a whole plethora of pics and potentially pleasurable projects. Will probably end up just playing with purple parts though.

.....Gotta get to those brakes one of these days.

brake2.jpg


brake3.jpg
 
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."..whole plethora of pics and potentially pleasurable projects. Will probably end up just playing with purple parts though..."

I'm anxiously awaiting the annexation of additional annodized accessories!:smug:
 

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