'38 Special ------ Update July 2nd

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Re: '38 Special ------ Update #2 for May 2nd

Ape Stanger said:
Looks awesome! Okay, at first I thought what's a car doing on the velodrome then I saw the lion! What the?!
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That's the first thing I saw when I first looked at that pic - A LION? You are the first person to comment on it so I'm not really sure if anyone else saw the Kitty Kat. You look at the faces in the crowd and they all look like "been there, seen that" - no big deal. I guess what they took for grated in "those days" seems pretty odd to us. Robert
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update #2 for May 2nd

Love it....I have a '36 CWC frame identical to this. I REALLY considering using it in my build off, but the 24X3 back tire wouldn't fit without modification and I didn't want to do that to such a cool old frame. This will be one that I watch for sure.
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update #2 for May 2nd

Terry66 said:
Love it....I have a '36 CWC frame identical to this. I REALLY considering using it in my build off, but the 24X3 back tire wouldn't fit without modification and I didn't want to do that to such a cool old frame. This will be one that I watch for sure.
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Anytime I've tried 3" tires and it didn't go in was because it would drag on the chainstay curves - if that was squared off they might fit. What I've seen a lot of guys do especially in the buildoffs is fabricate an extension drop out plate that bolds to the existing dropout and pulls the wheel out away from the chainstay bends. It's worth a shot. Have Fun! Robert
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 3rd

I spent most of today doing yardwork - talk about tedious - rain, grass, mow, repeat. I figured I'd attack that '55 Columbia 5 Star Saddle - what's left of it anyways. I do really well with this menial labor crap because I have a ton of patience. Never met a nut & bolt I couldn't get apart. These weren't too bad - didn't have to heat them w/ the torch. Now that I've got it disassembled I can start my "White Vinegar" bath. I've tried fancier products but they are a lot more expensive than white vinegar and don't seem to work any faster.


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That's a 2 spring Messinger Saddle w/ the rubber cover from RRBBO5 above - those are the parts after the White Vinegar Bath. All I can say is it gets the job done cheap! As long as there's enough metal left after the rust is gone I'm going to just paint this pan. I noticed all the boardtrack bike pics I looked at they didn't bother with that padding & cover stuff - too much weight I guess. Tomorrow's another day. TBC! Robert


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Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 4th

Didn't have time to work on her today - it was errand day and I'm the go-fer. I did manage to swing by Lowes and pick up materials for my gas tank. I haven't quite figured out how I want to hold it on the frame yet - I could hang it from the top tube but I'd like it centered between the bars. With the outside diameter of this Schedule 40 PVC there isn't going to be much room left - I'll hack at it tomorrow. TBC! Robert


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Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 5th

Hi! Using PVC for a tank worked out better than I had imagined. The outside diameter of the pipe is still smaller than the distance between the bars but the outside diameter of the end caps is bigger. I was wondering how I was going to keep the pipe centered but that is no problem now. I filed both sides of the endcaps down till they slipped between the bars. I finished the day fileing smooth all the embossed markings and seams. Tomorrow I'll bend the pipe and devise some king of strapping to hold in place. I thought of a couple more ideas today - sometimes there isn't any end to what you want to do to these builds. TBC! Robert



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Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 5th

I love working with PVC, it paints really well too. I have a sled in my yard that I made one morning when I woke up to unexpected snow, all I had for runners was a spare piece of 3" PVC. I heated it over the stovetop and put a baseball bat in the end and bent up the ends. worked great, but beware, the fumes are very bad for you.
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 5th

Hi! Thanks for the "Fumes" Warning. I've been exposed to so much crap in my lifetime I'm beginning to think I am Bullet Proof. Spent many early years of construction out East tearing off asbestos siding and gutting the old furnace pipes that were wrapped in asbestos. Of course back in those days a lot of people knew it was unhealthy to be around, they just didn't advertise it. Robert
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 5th

PVC tank! Great idea! That will be usEd on my nbw find! Thanks
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 5th

That pvc idea is too cool! , might have to barrow that for a faux oil tank on my motobike to hold my tools and innertubes.
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 14

Hi! I was out 9 days with an infection that spread from a sore tooth and swelled up the whole right side of my face, but I'm back now. I was just about to install my PVC faux Gas Tank when I left off. I don't have the luxury of a heating blanket so I did it the old way - with a torch. You just keep going back and forth till you can wiggle it like a worm and then she's ready. I used a 2x6 for my base support and then a 2x4 short enough not to interfere with the end caps. After it was heated I lowered it between the bars making sure the straight stock was resting full length on the 2x4 and then shimmed a little on the sides to hold the spacing until it set up.

This is an econo build and the only thing I had laying around to use for straps was some aluminum stock - white one side, brown the other - that's normally used to wrap bare wood, etc. I used a utility knife and straight edge to indent a line across it, fold & break off. 2 pieces 1" x 12" and some screws that were still stuck to my magnetic dish and we're done. Don't know yet if these straps will be permanent but the PVC doesn't weigh much and these AL strips will hold it fine.

I sanded everything as I went so it would be ready for paint - did the PVC entirely w/ 100 grit sandpaper and took all the snaggy edges off the strips. Finished the day trying to make the handlebars presentable. I kept them from a girls 1941 Columbia I parted out. They had pitted type rust - I tried chrome cleaner & didn't even dent it so I just assumed there wasn't going to be any chrome look. I figured I'd go for the brushed metal look - drill and wire wheel attachment. Before I started there was a palm sander w/ 100 grit laying beside me so on a whim I started on the bars with it. Guess what? Not all chrome is created equal - I ground on them until most of the pits disappeared and there was still chrome there. That's definitely the best chrome job I ever saw. Haven't decided what to do next but there's plenty to do. TBC! Robert


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Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 14th

DANG Roadmaster!!!
I am not exaggerating when I say that, that is THE coolest idea I have ever seen in this site. I really regret selling that frame that I just had lying around.
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 14th

A+++ job on your tank. Can not wait to see what you do next.
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 14th

You did a great job bending that PVC, I was a little concerned that the PVC wouldn't bend as good as it did and that you would have trouble getting the bend in the right spot, but it's dead on!
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 14th

Hi! Bending PVC is not difficult, it just takes a lot of patience and a little concentration - the patience is the length of time it takes to heat it up so when you shake one end of it back and forth it's as loose as a wet noodle and the concentration is to go back & forth but not so close you melt it down. A little browning doesn't hurt it at all. The wood support was to keep the PVC from bending side to side (with bike in upright position). It's always fun when you get an out of the box idea and it actually goes as you wanted it to - I just chuckled, too easy. Actually, where I got the idea was from looking at pics of board trackers and every one had a gas tank that was built to fit the space between the bars. In this case the bars are perfectly parallel so one size fit all. I just couldn't think of anything else that I could shape to fit the curve. In 45 years of working as an electrician I've probably bent pipe with a torch a hundred times. This was only 2" Schedule 40 in the nice warm sun. My best bend was 2 1/2" Schedule 80 in the middle of the winter on a cold concrete garage floor - I needed a 6" offset in 5' for a Service Conduit to clear a footer. I had to get that one real loose. Bending PVC is not as difficult as you may think plus if you have a wild imagination you can create all sorts of unique projects. Give it a shot and Have Fun! Robert
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 14th

I agree, that tank looks like it was made for that frame.... Oh Yeah it Was.... Good Job....
I want to see those handlebars you were talking about....
Keep going....
 
Re: '38 Special ------ Update May 14th

That's one of the great things about this site. When someone comes up with a cool idea, they usually don't just post two pics of it like "Here is the PVC pipe, and here it is as my awesome tank!". Most people know that others will want to know how it was done, so by nature we take photos as we progress along with the execution of the idea.

AWESOME TANK! Outstanding idea and documentation! Love your build so far.
 

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