Re: Rat Klunker (Paint-n-Polished!)
For those of you who are curious about the BB conversion, it went in pretty easily. I used a 4" bench vise to press in one cup at a time (making sure to cover the vice teeth with masking tape- 3 layers) and MAKE SURE you line up the holes in the cups before you press them in! Otherwise you will have to remove one, turn it, and press it back in. And no, I didn't do that! Just check twice, press them in once!
(EDIT) Also, make sure you install it with the cups on the correct side! A euro bottom bracket uses left-hand threads on the drive side, and right-hand on the other. You could theoretically run it backwards, but most Shimano BB's have plastic non-drive-side cups, so it would get trashed pretty quickly! Put the cup with the bolt heads on the LEFT side, and the cup with the threaded holes on the RIGHT side! (and no, I didn't do that either!)
Also hit it with another couple coats of flat black. The finish isn't perfect, there's a few spots I'm not happy with, but this is a Rat Rod bike! So I'm going to roll with it like it is. I picked up some Krylon X-Metal paint (in red of course) to give the bike some "color." Not sure if I"m going to hit the fork with it, or what... I'm tempted to paint the polished chainstays clear red, but they're so pretty! I don't know. Might do the stem and some other pieces instead. And just want till you see the chainring I ordered! You're gonna love it!
