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Dear Mr. Dogg: Is the stem stuck or just the wedge at the bottom of the stem? In the latter case, you can completely unscrew the bolt and pull the stem out. Then you can try a couple of strategies for removing the wedge. First, rethread the bolt into the wedge (without the stem) and yank and...

Back in the day, my dad used Brillo pads on the whitewalls of his cars. In generic terms, steel wool and soap.

Anybody want a Dana automatic transmission? There's a Craigslist ad for an AMF cruiser with a trans on the Jersey shore. Go to Craigslist, central NJ, 1980's? AMF bike - $100 (long branch).

See Sheldon Brown's article on frame sizing, including references: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html

In my experience, the potential problem with this flow chart is the decision point at "can you fix it?" That is the point where things can go south. A decision based on lack of knowledge (you don't know what you don't know) or hubris (I can fix anything) can quickly result in an arrow to "can...

I recall that some gentle soul on this forum (I apologize for not remembering his name) posted "I have a grinder and I'm not afraid to use it." Words to live by.

Another, more reversible, approach might be to add extensions to the lower ends of the supports that attach to the dropouts. Looks like that might fit with little or no bending. I've done something similar with supports for sissy bars. That's a cool frame; tell us about it, please.

Dear Mr. Klunknoob: All depends on the look that you're striving for. Boiled linseed oil applied on the rust might do the trick. This is a common technique with bikes that have rusted naturally. But since you're considering taking it down to bare metal, you could instead paint it with a...

Fellow Ratters, you inspired me! I found a plywood box that once contained a couple of bottles of wine, attached a cleat to the bottom that fits into the rear rack, hit it with the rattle can paint, and fastened it with a bungie. I believe that it does add to the military feel. Thanks! p.s. Do...

Homemade adjustable truing stand. I used to use an old fork, but some wheels didn't fit. This one is from scrap 1 X 4 lumber, bits of 1/8" aluminum, carriage bolts, wing nuts, and screws. Clamp it in a vice to use.

Cap'n Awesome, gotta love the duffles! Gonna see if I can find something along that line.

A friend with a pickup truck (it's good to have friends with pickups) dropped off some curb finds. Included was a Huffy Tundra MTB, which is the red bike in the foreground in the photo below. It was in fair shape and I was able to get it on the road pretty quick. It rode well. For some reason...

Dear Mr. Honcho: The amazing quality of that photo made me suspicious, because I'm used to tacky snapshots from that era. So I checked on the copyright holder indicated on the photo, Dave Gelinas. He specializes in collecting vintage photos (1940's - 1960's) with emphasis on cars. So it appears...

Sandman: All of the advice above is worthwhile. The reality is that the best method for a particular bike depends on the characteristics of the original paint and the characteristics of the secondary paint. I've had some good results with acetone. In any case, the best idea is to try out the...

The blue-handle Park cone wrenches are nice, but pricey. Cheaper are their double-end cone wrenches (blue pic below). There are also other manufacturers of these, like Pedro's. Also, Grand Rapids Industrial Products makes sets of thin wrenches in metric and SAE sizes (red pic below). I'm not...

There is a long tradition of painting something to look like something else. It's called "trompe l'oeil," which is French for "fool the eye." There are tools available in craft stores for faux wood grain painting and lots of info online.

Good discussion, but I would like to add a little broad perspective relative to braking. No matter how well a coaster brake stops the rear wheel from turning, it will take much longer to stop with only a rear brake. Maximum stopping power occurs just before the wheel locks up. This comes into...

Spike: How do you fasten the LED flashlights into the headlamps in your conversions? Be well

1) Bought a little LED flashlight for a dollar at the dollar store (sorry, I forgot to take a pic before installation) 2) Removed the original bulb base and made the hole in the reflector bigger to accommodate flashlight 3) Fastened flashlight in place with hot glue Other obvious steps include...