50's higgins pragstreet makeover klunkerish

[heartlandcruisers]

after viewing a thread on some cool seats i have come to conclusion this may have been an exercise bike seat at one point.
i also have come up with the idea of recovering it eventually although i kinda like it the way it is.
as they always say petina tells a story that this bike has been used and has been enjoyed.
i did however get the fenders made a lil better and got them mocked up their gonna need a lot more work but their coming along.

got it setting without no bolts but it is getting the street sweeper look i want

cleaned up the typhoon cord tire i might runa set of these and paint the sidewalls white they look good on the bike just not whitewalls

more updates soon.
got a little more shaping to do and some grinding and then body filling and then more cutting and grinding and body filling and then cleaning and more bodywork..yaddayadda lol y'all get the point lots to do but its coming along.
Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well i got the fender on and all bolts in it and it still isn't lining up right.
so im gonna have to cut it and reweld it together and make a few adjustments.
i did however find an old light im gonna use with this build.
im gonna mount it to the front fender as such.

front view looks cool it definitely fits in my opinion but what do you guys think?

i also removed the pedals their going in my for sale thread

more updates soon.
sean

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Love that light, suits the bomb theme well!

Luke.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

thanks luke
i agree i really like the light
i got a 9 hole rack and some twist pedals en route
once i get those i will work on a taillight.
then im gonna redo the rear fender and make it look good.
i found out if i get a flat it.s not gonna be easy to change so hopefully no flats lol
Sean

 

[deven_science]

I like the light mounted to the fender, rather than the fork or headset. Nice choice.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

thanks devon science.
i agree it's just the right amount of rattiness to give it character.
now i gotta find a generator for it which i think i got somewhere.

 

[kingfish254]

Looking forward to rack and pedal pics!

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well i got my rear rack and twist pedals from kingfish today.
man these things are smoking and they really make the bike pop.
i am very happy with the way this is coming along.
but instead of bragging i will let the pics do the talking




now i just gotta finish the rear fender and do a lil touch up work and then paint this bad boy and add the wheels and i can ride it i cannot wait to ride this build.
i should have thought of this earlier and entered it n the winter build off.
more updates soon.
Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

forgot to add ignore the misalignment that rear wheel is severely warped im just using it fr mocking up .
wouldn't mind using the cord tire though but that wheel is beyond repair. otherwise i would use it.
Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well after chopping out the bad area on the rear fender i discovered to make it work i need about 15 inches of fender in between the two halves i got.
but once i hit the area swap meets and whatnot i will find it.
if anyone has a fender for sale message me .
i have a general mockup of what it's gonna look like.
if i pull it off its gonna be sweet
bear in mind this is my first ever attempt at making street sweepers so im learning thru trial and error.
i figure that's the best way to learn is thru actually doing it. and fenders are quite plentiful and cheap so it's OK if i chop up a few pairs and start over again.
here is the way i want them to look.

and the section i cut out is as follows

i will be removing that piece that's in there since its a cheesy fender and doesn't seem to be very useful.
im also gonna chop the front fender section off and replace it with a good piece.
i have discovered these old fenders are built to last man are they tough.
these new fenders don't hold a flame to them.
more updates soon
Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

also gonna use this trailer license plate in true ratrod fashion
old lawnmower pullstart string holding it on
i like it whaddayall think?
more updates soon
Sean.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

got the fenders i needed to make the streetsweepers.
im thinking one of those old circle mirrors as well might add a touch to it.
we shall see what i got after i get all the bodywork done my budgets going a lil high on this one but i expected as much i want this to be the one that puts me over the top so to speak most of my builds are just parts thrown together and barely enough to work.
but my creativeness(Gemini feature so i'm told lol) has taken over and im not holding back on it.
i feel personally this build has a lil flavor of all my fav.s in one; lil boardtrack, lil ratrod ;and lil lowrider bomb.
either way i am enjoying this build i should a thought about this before i did my camoliner but it's all good that ones cool too.
more updates soon
sean.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looking forward to seeing the street sweepers on it!

Luke.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

thanks luke.
i think i took on a bit more then my tiny cranium is allowing me to process.( only tiny part of me not to mention,) these street sweepers are really more tricky then i originally thought to get the curves to blend in correctly. but i think i am on the right track until i find another mistake i made.lol
but i am not giving up i got a vision in my head and it's gonna happen.as long as my budget,body,and wee cranium can take it lol.
more updates soon.
Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well i got my fender pieces i needed for this build.
after testing them and doing some mockup i cam up with an idea for the street sweepers.
why not go extreme and make both front and rear full fenders.
so with that idea in mind and thanks to randy for the fenders their perfect. here is what i got so far.

of course i will be cutting off the cheapo fender pieces in there.
and the front fender as such

im kinda going with a fleetline vibe on this and i think skipton nailed it on the fenders so that's my inspiration for the fenders.
then once i get them all welded and cut i am off to get fiberglass filler.not really wanting to use putty as it will shrink and crack. so im gonna attempt to either use fiberglass or the horsehair method to get these looking good.
might take me a couple days to get them made i kinda got swamped with other projects.
the weathers been in the 60's and 70's so people are coming to me to get their bikes fixed up.
but this ol girl needs my attention so im gonna focus on her this week between her and my Honda i will be busy.
more updates soon.
Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

got the fenders done somewhat.
the rear swings realllly low i mean within inches of the ground but thats what i want.

the front.... well umm that's an entirely different story:banghead:. i gotta do some remounting and more cutting and cobbling together but i think it will work great once its all done just looks like its way off right now. (kinda looks like a birds beak lol)

but i will get on it and do the proper adjustments and it will look as good as the rear does.
the rears done i just gotta clean it and final weld it and then fill it and its good to go.
i did notice that if i get a flat its gonna be a pain in the hind side to change a flat so i am gonna have to run some slime tubes to try and avoid flats.
more updates soon
sean

 

[deven_science]

Yup! Something went astray on that front. I'm sure you'll get it worked out.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Yep, fitting and removing the tire is the biggest problem with street sweepers, I am thinking about having them split at the seat stay and fork tube so I can undo the bolts and pull them aside if I get a flat.

Luke.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

that's actually not a bad idea. wish i thought of that before i welded these together.
maybe i can make a hinge on it just in case a flat does happen.
that's good thinking Luke.
more updates soon
Sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well i managed to fix the front fender.
turns out there was a flat spot i welded to and it caused the fender to extend rather then take shape.
i managed to get it more the way i want. it's still not perfect but im ok with it the way it is.
i also added another bracket to the front and when i mount it to the forks it should take shape fine
here is what i got so far.

and the full view excuse the bright sun shining but she is looking pretty good so far.

now im gonna take advantage of this fantastic weather and take the ol camoliner out.she's been sitting there waiting to be ridden.
more updates soon
Sean