1945 Elgin

[junknutz1975]

5/21/14


I have to work today, but I got a few hours beforehand to do a quick mock up.....

I went to my storage garage today and dug out the fork I planned on using. It was buried and still attached to the bike it came with. I removed it there and brought it home ( CERTAINLY don't need yet another bike crowding my work space )



I love these forks!

PLUS.... they've got a few quirks that make me love them even more

A: BENT



B: MISMATCHED HARDWARE



C: TOO SHORT








Gumby Rumpus approves.....














Obviously I've got some tinkering to make these forks work. But what fun is just bolting things right up ?


Stay Tuned!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

But what fun is just bolting things right up ?

Agreed!

Luke.

 

[HuffDaddy]

Nice job, looks great!

 

[Scribble]

Can't believe I missed this one, fantastic work man

 

[kingfish254]

I wonder if Gumby Rumpus is gonna be jealous when you are done?

 

[idiotboy]

Watching what you've done to this bike makes me want to learn how to weld! I would have stripped it for parts, and you're turning into something awesome instead!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[oldfart36]

You name dropper you!!

You just had to mention what in my opinion is one of the coolest builds to date,"Gumby Rumpus". Looks like maybe, just maybe, his new little brother will give him a run for his money!!!

 

[Moisstink]

Yep, I can see this one coming along quite nice. I am sure it will tear it up when it's done!

 

[junknutz1975]

5/29/14



Today was my scheduled day off from work after a long stretch of days on ( including working on Memorial Day..... Darned retail ! ).... But, I got called in and worked today anyways because of someone elses schedule being screwed up......SO, needless to say I didn't get to tinker as I had planned.....

After work I decided to jump on my 87 GT Performer and go for a ride to a local cruise night ( maybe 5 miles round trip ) and walk around, listen to some Golden Oldies , and see some sweet rides . It was a beautiful day for a long overdue bike ride instead of dragging out all my tools and welding some more ( sometimes it kinda feels like I spend more time building than riding )

Well , the funniest thing of all..... was meeting Schwinnray69 there. Nice to meet you!
Great jibber jabberin with ya Nick!

It's weird how things work out sometimes......

Tomorrow I go in at 2:00 P.M. .....so ,New England permitting, I hope to tinker for a few before work.

Stay Tuned!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Love this picture...

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

5/29/14



Today was my scheduled day off from work after a long stretch of days on ( including working on Memorial Day..... Darned retail ! ).... But, I got called in and worked today anyways because of someone elses schedule being screwed up......SO, needless to say I didn't get to tinker as I had planned.....

After work I decided to jump on my 87 GT Performer and go for a ride to a local cruise night ( maybe 5 miles round trip ) and walk around, listen to some Golden Oldies , and see some sweet rides . It was a beautiful day for a long overdue bike ride instead of dragging out all my tools and welding some more ( sometimes it kinda feels like I spend more time building than riding )

Well , the funniest thing of all..... was meeting Schwinnray69 there. Nice to meet you!
Great jibber jabberin with ya Nick!

It's weird how things work out sometimes......

Tomorrow I go in at 2:00 P.M. .....so ,New England permitting, I hope to tinker for a few before work.

Stay Tuned!

Nice to meet you as well! It's nice talking bikes with someone who understands the sickness!

 

[junknutz1975]

5/30/14


I was able to play outside for a few hours before work today.
I had to tackle the very bent / too short Beehive....







Carefully took it apart as to not disturb any patina .....



Cut off the Beehive at the farthest straight part. ( remember , I don't have a bench. Or a means by which to straighten the bends... in 2 directions )
I looked through my junk pile to see if there were any less cool forks I could chop up. Unfortunately none of them would work with the neck that I wanted to use.... SO , chop up the original 1945 Elgin forks it was



High tech magnetic balancing act









Zap Zap Zap.....


Test fit......

Straight AND long enough now!!

















Some progress is still progress ...

Now clean up & off to work

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Looking good! That fork fits the bike very well!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Good work!

Luke.

 

[junknutz1975]

6/02/14


It's "officially" a project now.....
A little boo boo





Had today off from work and the weather is absolutely perfect to play on the Elgin....

This is the crank setup that came on the bike when I got it.




It was just.... ok... Needed something to jazz it up ....

I think the original crank arms are kindda boring, so I dug up the awesome peaked ones I bought a while ago from forum member P.N.A


I think it dresses it up just enough.





Degreased everything and assembled the lower end dry ( grease is always the last step, just in case something cooler comes along and changes my mind )




I like it much better! Hardly any frame clearance... I'll have to zing it a bit with the grinder so it clears......Just barely hits, but it does






....Next up was to figure out if I wanted to bob the fender or not..... Broke out the electrical tape for the visual mock up......






I liked it..... so I grabbed a nail off the floor and " scribbed " out the rough draft....





No turnin back now...




Trimmed it up , finished it off with the grinder. Chopped off the excess down by the crank , redrilled the holes, mounted it .....Came out pretty cool I think







Then I started playin with the scrap half.... Drilled off the extra brace, cleaned up the sloppy chopped off part, contoured it a bit..... and mocked it to the front for the heck of it









I LOVE the rear bob fender .... gotta sleep on the front one for now.....

Mocked up the seat on my trusty magnet ..... Gotta order me up a Slowriderz seatpost for sure!!!


Cleaned up , gonna grab a quick bite to eat, and go for a ride on Gumby Rumpus....
Absolutely perfect weather!


Stay Tuned!

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Nice work! I like both the fenders!!

 

[Moisstink]

I usually go for the back fender only, but your set up looks goooood! Either way I am sure it will look tight. Maybe the final step on the commitment.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Love the work on both fenders!

Luke.

 

[kingfish254]

The bobbed fenders are perfect for this build and good call on the peaked dogleg!

 

[DeuceWheeler]

This is an amazing build and I have to say, the way the colors are now, they look awesome. Part blue, part scuffed up metal, part rust , etc...