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.
View attachment 132436
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.
View attachment 132437
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.
View attachment 132442
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.
View attachment 132459
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.
View attachment 132460
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.
View attachment 132461
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.
View attachment 132462
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.
View attachment 132467
