50 Shades of Blue AKA HellCamino

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Love this bike!

 

[boro]

Update 5/31/15
Finally made some more progress. I'll start with the roller pic and work my way back:



So that's where I'm heading. In addition to the blue parts I'm running a chopper fork and black/black wheelset. I never really liked the chopper setups, but I wanted something different than my cantilever Spitfire so I decided to give it a shot. I dig. Running a vintage fender with these forks is a challenge, but I think I've got it buttoned up. Since the steer tube is completely open on these forks I installed a star nut in the bottom to give me a threaded insert to run a fastener. That got the fender on, but I had to run my Shelby fender braces outside the fork legs since they are too wide to run inside. That meant swapping out the front axle from this:



To this:



Now I can bolt the wheel to the fork, run a spacer between the fender braces and the first nut, then add a second nut on the outside. Still need to get the spacing right and add a shim between the fork and fender, but I think it's going to work.

Speaking of wheels, I'm using a Nirve hub 26" front wheel with a black 2.125 Quick Brick on the front and a 24 x 2.35" Thick Brick on the rear. Since I want this to be a rider, I need some gears. So I took these:



And made this:





A 24" x 57mm double walled aluminum rim with black 14 gauge DT Swiss spokes and the Shimano Inter8 8-speed internal hub. I haven't finished the tensioning yet, but it's all laced up. Spread the drops today to accommodate this beast...


...and I'm happy to report it fits like a glove.

Hoping to put some paint down tomorrow and maybe get the fork chopped. I can't believe the BO is 1/3rd over!

I've got similar setup on my Rollfast. A 26" 57mm wide rim and a nexus inter 8 hub. Works great, can go fast and climb steep hills[emoji41]

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[Chad T]

Diggin' the Hookworm on there.

 

[nateyboy]

I've got similar setup on my Rollfast. A 26" 57mm wide rim and a nexus inter 8 hub. Works great, can go fast and climb steep hills[emoji41]

Nice work on the Rollfast! Speed and hill-climbing are exactly what I'm after. Sounds like I'm on the right track.


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[boro]

Nice work on the Rollfast! Speed and hill-climbing are exactly what I'm after. Sounds like I'm on the right track.


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Just take care about right chainring/cog ratio. I've got 21 teeth cog and 53 teeth chainring. I've tried also a 44 chainring but than I would not move on the first 2 gears, just pedaling without any advance

 

[seangee]

I really like the way this one sits. Beefy modern old school. Great stance

 

[Jake Sensi]

This bike is TUFF!!

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[gsc]

I like the direction you're heading , very cool.

 

[nateyboy]

Made some more progress on the bike. Slowly chipping away at a host of things. One of the main things I wanted to do was a custom decal for the chainguard. I started brainstorming it last year and finally finished and had it sent to a vinyl decal place here in KC. I did easily a couple hundred versions based on Schwinn decals and frame lettering before landing on the final, which was inspired by some of the script they've used and then the '50s Hornet treatment. Here's the finished lettering:


Final size and placement:


Vinyl decal installed!


I also did some pinstriping on the "feathers" of the chainguard so they would match the tank. That was a complete debacle, but somehow managed to end well.

Along the way I was also working on the paint for the fender and rack. This is by far the best rattle can job I've ever done. I didn't bother making the metal perfect before I painted. There were a few dings in the fender and some rust pitting on the rack. Smoothed it out the best I could and went. Did a primer coat, followed by the Spitfire blue, then royal blue, then about five coats of clear. After that came wet sanding with 1k, 2k, and 3k paper and then a good polishing with the buffer and some scratch remover.

Paint


Then clear




Did a two tone on the end of the rear fender to tie into the front:


First round of wet sanding/hand polishing


This has been over a few weeks since it's been so rainy and humid. I actually did the wet sanding and buffing process twice because I just wasn't happy with the results. Once they were finished it was time for a mockup:

Rear fender first (paint is much better!):


Then rack and chainguard (sneak preview of the COOL Higgins rear rack reflector and housing):


Then threw the front fork assembly back on for a real mockup:


Really happy with how it's coming together. Shortened the rack braces so it sits level and here's how the old boy looks right now:


Whew! Sorry for the long update, but I'm really bad about documenting things as I go along. Lastly, Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there. This is my second without my Pop and I'm really glad I have this build to reflect on what he meant to me, and everything he taught me.

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Love...this...bike...


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[The Renaissance Man]

Just caught up with this one. So cool! I love how thick this bike is. For some reason I keep thinking 'police motorcycle' but I'm not sure why.
Looking forward to more!

 

[sleepy]

For some reason I keep thinking 'police motorcycle' but I'm not sure why.

I was thinking the same thing....wouldn't want to see it in my rearview mirror!

Fantastic build....everything about it is spot on and just right.

 

[topnotchlsx]

Awesome build so far. I love all the colors and am envious of your El Camino.

 

[OddJob]

Thick, heavy duty, powerful, ground hugging....these all come to mind when I see this. Reminds me of a '56 Chevy, lots of metal and that powerful "you don't want to get in my way" look.....I'm wondering if the ape bars will fit this or if you should go with a more traditional bar set up? Giving me more of a highway cruiser than beach cruiser vibe now.....
[URL=http://s1254.photobucket.com/user/erleeriser/media/fiftysix%20chevy%20belair.jpg.html] [/URL]

 

[kingfish254]

WOW!!! I am really loving how this is turning out!!!!

 

[gsc]

Nice ride my friend. .

 

[gowjobs]

Great proportions on this one.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Love the decal on the chainguard, came out really nice!

Luke.

 

[nateyboy]

I love how thick this bike is. For some reason I keep thinking 'police motorcycle' but I'm not sure why.
Looking forward to more!

I was thinking the same thing....wouldn't want to see it in my rearview mirror! Fantastic build....everything about it is spot on and just right.

Thanks guys! That must be my subconscious at work. I've always dug the vintage Harleys with the huge fenders and tanks as well as cars/trucks with the rounded, thick look. In fact, my high school car was a father/son project: a 1951 GMC 5-window 1/2 ton pickup.

We put a 350/Turbo drivetrain in it and replaced the bench seat with buckets and console (all from a '75 Camaro donor), and had a Mustang II front clip added by a local street rod builder to get power steering and disk brakes. My dad was old school; not only did I pay for the truck and all of the parts and labor (what little we didn't do ourselves), but I also had to help dig out and pour a new concrete floor in the horse barn we worked on the truck in. Needless to say, it took a while to get it on the road. He always said investing my own time and money would make me appreciate it more, and he was right.

Thick, heavy duty, powerful, ground hugging....these all come to mind when I see this. Reminds me of a '56 Chevy, lots of metal and that powerful "you don't want to get in my way" look.....

Mission accomplished.

I'm wondering if the ape bars will fit this or if you should go with a more traditional bar set up? Giving me more of a highway cruiser than beach cruiser vibe now.....

Definitely pickin' up what you're puttin' down. The challenge I'm facing is that I have to jack the seat up so high so this 6'2" frame can *comfortably* ride it. So many of my balloon tires bikes were relegated to "the museum" because they were killing my knees. You did get me thinking about a riser bar instead of full-on apes...I'll have to see how it works with the seat height. I did stumble across this photo for inspiration (definitely not mine):

Time will tell (and the clock is ticking!).

 

[OddJob]

Thanks guys! That must be my subconscious at work. I've always dug the vintage Harleys with the huge fenders and tanks as well as cars/trucks with the rounded, thick look. In fact, my high school car was a father/son project: a 1951 GMC 5-window 1/2 ton pickup.

We put a 350/Turbo drivetrain in it and replaced the bench seat with buckets and console (all from a '75 Camaro donor), and had a Mustang II front clip added by a local street rod builder to get power steering and disk brakes. My dad was old school; not only did I pay for the truck and all of the parts and labor, but I also had to help dig out and pour a new concrete floor in the horse barn we worked on the truck in. Needless to say, it took a while to get it on the road. He always said investing my own time and money would make me appreciate it more, and he was right.

Mission accomplished.



Definitely pickin' up what you're puttin' down. The challenge I'm facing is that I have to jack the seat up so high so this 6'2" frame can *comfortably* ride it. So many of my balloon tires bikes were relegated to "the museum" because they were killing my knees. You did get me thinking about a riser bar instead of full-on apes...I'll have to see how it works with the seat height. I did stumble across this photo for inspiration (definitely not mine):

Time will tell (and the clock is ticking!).

That old pick up is really cool! And the story behind it...Hey, I found these on the jbimporters.com site. It is a wholesale bicycle supply with locations all over the country. They carry a bunch of parts that work with cruisers ,etc. Here is the pic and the link to the product on their website. You can even go to the drop down "state location menu" to find if they are in stock near you. Most towns / cities will have a LBS that buys from J & B.

http://www.jbi.bike/web/checking_product_description.php?part_number=33435