Keep being faced with the same Question

[Uncle Stretch]

As I collect more and more of my favorite bikes I still run up against the same question. To restore or not to restore. One line of thinking is,if it still looks like a bike ,leave it alone. There is that cute little catchy phrase ....I'TS ONLY ORIGINAL ONCE. Following that same idea then one should leave those nos fenders ,nos torrington pedals ,and all the other nos parts alone. The bike should be left as is, as found. I guess the only option would be to leave the original rotten split stock tires on it and use it as wall art. The only reason for whipping this dead horse , is my inner turmoil of maybe destroying all the peices of history that are being bestowed in my custody. For sure its mine and I can cut it up with a torch if I so desire. What if I stumbled into King Tut's tomb ...find the coffin and decide to spray it flat black because it looked so rat. There are some truths in life.....oil will eventually run out and so will old barn find bikes. Should we as custodians of the bike past ,change our ways ,and only put old bikes back like they were, with the parts we have available .Choosing to rat only the newer junk China bikes, that God willing , will never be collectable . We should search inside ourselves and decide if we are in fact wiping out a large part of history with our hobby as it is now. I have decided to turn over a new leaf and stop desecrating any old bike. Ol Tut's coffin would have looked cool with a spotlight and maybe some flames. :roll:

 

[Rat Rod]

It seems like it becomes a matter of taste.

I have seen some original paint bikes that looked incredible as is...with the exception of maybe new tires and other parts to make it rideable. Then I have seen original bikes that just looked ugly because of the deterioration and they definitely were improved by a total makeover.

It ends up being almost an art form to be able to determine the difference and build a cool bike either way.

My personal belief is if you like the original paint then keep it...if not, blast it off and start over. Either way your probably save it from the crusher.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

But what if the end of old bikes comes in our lifetime ,and the only thing we have to look back on, is a bunch of really cool looking bikes that bear no resimblance of what they looked like when they were produced. Are we the current holders of the past and we are ruining it in the name of a really cool rat?

 

[B607]

I doubt we'll run out of barn/basement/garage bikes in our lifetime. (I'm 55) Schwinn alone made MILLIONS of bikes in their 85 or so years in Chicago. Add all the other makers and there are a lot still out there, even if 75% of what was made are already melted down. I had no moral problem at all stripping and painting my 6 ballooners, mainly because when I found them they were far from complete. My bikes are all parts bikes. I had to buy 9 junk bikes to get all the parts I needed to complete one of them. I couldn't afford the nice *complete* originals I stumbled across, and I never got lucky and never found a $75 complete Phantom or equivelant you hear about. If a bike is within a part of two of being complete and has nice paint, I'd say leave it. For a rat rod about all you need is a frame to start with anyway and there are lots of them. Just my 2-cents. B607

 

[Bendix]

looking forward

personally i'm looking forward to a post-apocalyptic society where every classic bike ever produced has been made into a KLUNKER! just watch out for those roving bands of mutants scavenging for morrow hubs.....

 

[texasbigjon]

before that leaf gets turned over,i think you should cut up this colson imperial frame,i`ve been holdin`onto. :shock: it might help with your transition. one more frame,then all resto`s. seriously paul, i dig where your comin` from. i`ve got a spaceliner comin` in,and since it`s all complete,except for the tank,i kinda feel a duty to polish the heck out of it,put it back together,and leave it be.

 

[mrbill]

Hello Uncle Stretch,

I'm faced with the same dilema.
I'm restoring a old hornet and still need a tank set.
everything offered for sale has been too good to
to repaint although many would disagree and think
they were bad, So I hope I turn up a crappy tank
I won't have to question myself.

Cheers.

 

[user 135]

The only reason for whipping this dead horse , is my inner turmoil of maybe destroying all the peices of history that are being bestowed in my custody.

But what if the end of old bikes comes in our lifetime ,and the only thing we have to look back on, is a bunch of really cool looking bikes that bear no resimblance of what they looked like when they were produced. Are we the current holders of the past and we are ruining it in the name of a really cool rat?

I think it is great we can take what others may have cast aside and keep them riding one way or another. I hate prepping and painting so I keep the original paint when I can. I would guess there are enough collectors out there to keep the history part alive. That is why there is the CABE :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Schwinnspastic]

I like the fact that we can have the best of both worlds, I have my originals intact and would
not change a thing then I have all the rest and feel comfortable building them any way I choose.
A restored bike is just that... restored so why not customize a few :?:

 

[yeshoney]

Paul,

When you decide to cheange them you are simply rewriting history. Ford made thousands of '32 Fords. If you found one today would you keep it original or customize it? WHat did the Roth, Barris and other notable customizers do when they took in old cars? SOme they made into cooler cars ie. Hirohata Merc or the Mysterion. Some they made into UGLY customs - witness the Orbitron. Found outside an adult store in Tijuana (or some close suburb), Mexico. It was brought back to the states and painstakingly restored. Roth didn't like the car when it was done. It toured the cicuit for two years and he sold it cheap - real cheap!

The parallel here is that the bikes - you, I and all the other Rat Freaks build here are witnessed by a following and that is cause for history being written, documented and maybe one day, after we have passed on, people will breathe new life into these incarnations for future generations to ogle over!

You never know!

Joe

 

[tikiharl]

To me I think it all depends on how complete the bike is.If it is 90% complete, make it rideable maybe paint it and enjoy. If it is just a frame add what you have alter as you wish and make it yours.Here in AZ there are not alot of old bikes to be found,thats why I tend to get cheap cruiser frames and try to make them cool and comfortable rides. :wink:

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Everybody's ideas are very good. I guess that the Cabe bunch will save all the really good bikes for prosperity. It started me thinking when I read about the Levi factory burning down and the first pairs of their bluejeans burned up. Some guy found an old dirty pair in a mine shaft somewhere and they recoginized them as one of the first pair Levi made.Its all they have left to show . Now I'm not into old bluejeans ,but what if not knowing or careing we change forever the real history of what a stock bike really looked like. Now I know there will always be pictures of them ,but are we messing up by having my attitude of a cool paint job looks better than what all the great builders of bikes came up with. I say this because I want to fix the paint on the Westfield and I'm tortured about messing up a probably 90% good painted complete bike for a really nice repaint.
I use to cut up any old car and streetrod them. Ripped out the old and replaced it with new modern stuff. They have made great strides in car stuff since 1932....but you sure dont see very many steel body coupes around anymore.
Just sometime maybe we ought to step back and slap ourselves and realize what we are doing. ...Just a worthless two cents. :roll:

 

[CCR]

ehh, do what you want, ive seen a few "serious bike collectors" that have had their stuff redone, it seems as long as they paid a "professional" to do it and it wins some random bike show trophies or ribbons they can take their picture with, in their minds its still all original and they will tell you it is with a straight face. i know it takes alot of money to do it right but the "its only original once" keeps ringing in my ears.

i cant keep from wanting to paint a bike myself though, and ive had a few that ive sold just because i dont want to be the one that ruins a survivor with some minor battlescars :lol: you should do what you want, heck, ill even make you a ribbon to take your picture with if it makes you feel better :mrgreen:

 

[Uncle Stretch]

i cant keep from wanting to paint a bike myself though, and ive had a few that ive sold just because i dont want to be the one that ruins a survivor with some minor battlescars

Thats the answer CCR nailed it . If a bike gets close to 90% sell it on the Cabe and they will keep it unrestored for prosperity , and if its not then sandblast it and do our magical touches to it. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[texasbigjon]

you are a wise man! :lol:

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Thanks John but once I figured if there are 1900 or so people grabbing every bike that hits a garage sale,yard sale,ebay ...all over the country. How many do we tear up....er change a year? In reality when you bid on ebay chances are your bidding against a fellow rat rodder.

 

[Rat Rod]

Please don't paint the Westfield.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

I was going to try a touchup on the paint but now im just going to match the paint on the tank and leave it at that. I hate to have a matching tank and not use it . :wink:

 

[yeshoney]

Just a suggestion. Have a pinstriper work there magic on the tank and then you don't even have to deal with matching it. Good pinstripers can share your vision or you can let them loose with there own ideas. I have also found that stripers like to come to your house to do there work. It allows them to see your styles and ideas and it gives them a basis for complementing your creations.

I also vote that you leave the laint alone. The decision is always made easier if the paint is already original and not repainted and then how well the repaint actually is.

Joe

I was going to try a touchup on the paint but now im just going to match the paint on the tank and leave it at that. I hate to have a matching tank and not use it . :wink:

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Joe pinstripping will not help that tank. Its one of the $25 repop ones from memory lane classics. I bought 8 cans of everbody's blue and three cans of off white thinking I could match one color or the other with no luck. The bike had nothing on it from the factory . A strip down poor people bike. No light ,no strutt rods ...nothing. I hate to have a tank that fits perfect and not use it because I'm too lame to match a paint. I went to the paint mixing place yesterday and looked at blue paint chips till i was blue in the face. :lol: too purple too light too everything. I love the bike . I have cleaned everything as good as it would clean and I may just stop there. It was a fantastic deal Thanks again Thatismytruck. It has a home now. just wish I could touch up a couple spots.