- Joined
- May 12, 2009
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Howdy! This is something I've been fiddling around with the last few weeks when I can. I wanted some cheap transportation and I've got plenty of bikes so why not a Motorbike? And I figure I might as well do it in style so I'm using my '47 CWC Frame as a base.
Quick story on the frame - a guy advertised a complete bike on Chicago Craig's List. It looked like a Schwinn because of the Schwinn style parts and stickers but I spotted that CWC frame immediately. I called the guy up, got the serial number and relayed it to Phil Marshall where he dated it 1947. I didn't have one at the time so I bought the whole bike just the way it is in the first pic for $120. He says he ships bikes all the time and for $35 he'd ship it to me - SOLD!
It's sat like this for a couple years now. He brazed on a couple tabs to mount the chain guard to and pretty much outfitted it with Schwinn or Schwinn Style Parts including all the Schwinn stickers. It looked pretty good.
So I stripped all the Schwinn looking stuff off it and started mocking it up with other parts. Very first thing I did was rebuild a CWC springer. One fork leg was bent out some and an upper truss was bent badly right on the threads just above the spring. I straightened, degreased, sanded, primed, silver sprayed and clear coated. It's not the same shade of silver as the frame but I really like the look of the silver paint, chrome and shiney bare metal parts so I stuck with it. I noticed a number of small dents in the frame that were not taken care of before it was painted but if I leave this together I might have the whole thing repainted someday.
Big issue was the seat post. As you see it it's in upside down - they pounded it in till it wouldn't go any farther and then cut it to the length they wanted. Then they took that liquid metal and filled all of the cracks between the tube, shims and seat post and painted it. I had to say a few Hail Mary's the day I tackled that mess. Had to beat the crap out of the seat post clamp to get it off. I finally cut the seat post off just below the knuckle and then cut it in half lengthwise following the slots on either side of the seat tube where the clamp goes - aaarrrggg!!!
I've had one of those Stewart Warner Speedos for about three years and figured this would be a good project for it - it's from the Columbia '41 repop parts. Somebody on ebay was selling the consoles pretty cheap so I thought that would look cool. After I got it I emailed the seller to ask if they knew where I could get a clock to fill the hole - they sent me a clock (gold trim) and a bezel. No way to wind it up or set the time but it will fill the hole. After I mocked it up with a Columbia repop cross braced handlebar I found out there isn't enough rise to clear the tank so that one goes.
I like the skip tooth look so I'm staying with that and I'll put on one of those custom made skip tooth sprockets that fit on the modern hubs. The saddle is one of two NOS Persons extra wide - 12" - saddles I picked up on ebay - perfect for long rides on a motorbike - the other one is on my Dyno Roadster. This is going to be a gas to ride. Guess that's all I got for today - TBC! (to be continued) Robert
Quick story on the frame - a guy advertised a complete bike on Chicago Craig's List. It looked like a Schwinn because of the Schwinn style parts and stickers but I spotted that CWC frame immediately. I called the guy up, got the serial number and relayed it to Phil Marshall where he dated it 1947. I didn't have one at the time so I bought the whole bike just the way it is in the first pic for $120. He says he ships bikes all the time and for $35 he'd ship it to me - SOLD!
It's sat like this for a couple years now. He brazed on a couple tabs to mount the chain guard to and pretty much outfitted it with Schwinn or Schwinn Style Parts including all the Schwinn stickers. It looked pretty good.
So I stripped all the Schwinn looking stuff off it and started mocking it up with other parts. Very first thing I did was rebuild a CWC springer. One fork leg was bent out some and an upper truss was bent badly right on the threads just above the spring. I straightened, degreased, sanded, primed, silver sprayed and clear coated. It's not the same shade of silver as the frame but I really like the look of the silver paint, chrome and shiney bare metal parts so I stuck with it. I noticed a number of small dents in the frame that were not taken care of before it was painted but if I leave this together I might have the whole thing repainted someday.
Big issue was the seat post. As you see it it's in upside down - they pounded it in till it wouldn't go any farther and then cut it to the length they wanted. Then they took that liquid metal and filled all of the cracks between the tube, shims and seat post and painted it. I had to say a few Hail Mary's the day I tackled that mess. Had to beat the crap out of the seat post clamp to get it off. I finally cut the seat post off just below the knuckle and then cut it in half lengthwise following the slots on either side of the seat tube where the clamp goes - aaarrrggg!!!
I've had one of those Stewart Warner Speedos for about three years and figured this would be a good project for it - it's from the Columbia '41 repop parts. Somebody on ebay was selling the consoles pretty cheap so I thought that would look cool. After I got it I emailed the seller to ask if they knew where I could get a clock to fill the hole - they sent me a clock (gold trim) and a bezel. No way to wind it up or set the time but it will fill the hole. After I mocked it up with a Columbia repop cross braced handlebar I found out there isn't enough rise to clear the tank so that one goes.
I like the skip tooth look so I'm staying with that and I'll put on one of those custom made skip tooth sprockets that fit on the modern hubs. The saddle is one of two NOS Persons extra wide - 12" - saddles I picked up on ebay - perfect for long rides on a motorbike - the other one is on my Dyno Roadster. This is going to be a gas to ride. Guess that's all I got for today - TBC! (to be continued) Robert
