50's higgins pragstreet makeover klunkerish

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yup not much left to do now.i am super excited this bike being built is really something i have been toying with for a long time.
this higgins frame just called out bomb so i went with it.
im kinda shying away form the whole bomb theme but i am gonna add more tricks to it once i get the bodywork done.
im thinking some gold leafing but that stuff is. mad expensive so i gotta make sure i know what im doing before i gold leaf the scallops on the tank but it may happen.
next step is filling in the welds and smoothing them down and final welding.
never thought my lil arc welder could do this but my father in law taught me how to use it and its worked perfectly ever since.
guitarlcarl gave me an idea on my twisted sister build that i might use with using old wire to give the frame a twisted look on the rear stays and maybe the seat tube. i might also get a twisted fork for it there's a guy around here that makes twisted forks and they look sweet.
more updates soon its about time to begin the final bodywork on this build and get her painted.then choose wheels once i get the color laid down.
Sean
 
well i have been doing some final thoughts for ideas on the ol higgns and i came up with a name and theme.
dead mans higgins will be her name. i am gonna paint her satin black and paint the dead mans hand on the tank pieces.
i also have an idea fora chain guard.
i have an abundance of old bicycle chains so i am gonna make the chain guard entirely out of bicycle chain.
it will be time consuming but i think the finished product will look sweet.
gotta do some measurements and see what i got and what i will need but i have at least 20 bicycle chains and i have not seen this done if at all not very often. so i can make it original and mine.
i will still most likely use gold leafing on the outline of the card hand my plan is do a hand entirely in gold leafing and then put the dead mans hand over the gold leaf(if i can get it to work).
i contacted a wheel builder about my wheel choice their gonna be fan wheels black spokes black hoops and gold hubs and nipples. possibly do a white outer trim on the hoops but undecided on that yet.
i am als0 gonna be recovering the seat and repainting the pan
then the tires im gonna go with either whitewalls or i was thinking a set of creme bricks. i am undecided on tires just yet. but that's my plans for right now.
as close as i am there is still a lot to do to get everything working as it should.
more updates soon as i figure out how i am gonna make the chain guard.
Sean
 
thanks luke.
the idea came to me after i was cleaning and they all fell of the self
after looking at them i put a couple out and i came up with the thought.
migh paint it with gold after i build it.
more updates soon
sean
 
well i got the chain guard idea in its planning stages.
its a lil different then what i was gonna do but i like this way better.
plan is do this twice and use pieces of link to connect both sections together.
i used an old amf sprocket for mockup so i am sure i will have to make a few adjustments.

as you can see i have plenty of 'material" lol.

more updates soon
sean
 
well i didnt get the fan wheels i wanted.
i was my lbs on another unrelated matter and i found this heavy duty rear wheel.

so i decided to buy it and go with it for now it accepted the Schwinn typhoon cord tire but i really should replace this thing with a new one it looks really cool though.


so now she rides all i gotta do is paint and a little body filling and she's done.
more updates soon
Sean
 
well i started the bodywork on the higgins.
basically spent all day tearing it down and re welding the fenders to make them secure.
i also spray bombed it with black primer which i really wasn't planning on doing.
but i wanted to see what i had to work with with paint on it so now i know.
basically not too bad just a lot of sanding and repainting.
she has some really god bones to start with.
i did get the tank top bonded but i will have to do more to it.
here is my progress so far.


other then cleaning up parts and sanding that's really all i got done at this time.
more updates soon
Sean.
 
so i made a few changes on this build.
i am thinking more of a dragster/ratrod/pro srteet look for it
the colors are gonna be red frame
.rack forks are blacked flat black and the chrome rims and crank set and pedals stay chrome or plated nickel whatever it is their called.
i might add red tires but im not sure just yet.
gonna run a skinny front wheel more then likely from a road bike.
i am also gonna run a pair of atb bars i had laying around.
almost done just gotta paint a lil more and assemble and this is finally done.
probably gonna run different fenders as well if any.
Sean
 
thanks luke
i decided that the lowrider bikes are kinda overplayed.be it they are cool just not my thing.
plus the budget kinda stopped me form doing what i wanted to do.
so i went with the pro street theme
we shall see how it comes out
sean
 
well she is done!!!!
not what i originally planned but i change my mind literally every hour.
this is the flavor that was appealing to me lately and here is my pro street/drag/ratrod Higgins
fittingly called pragstreet.
i will more then likely do a better paint job as this paint mainly the red looks very 1st grader(1st grader prolly would have done better lol) but it captures the vision i had in my head.
so without further rambling here she is.


ran out of room so i mounted the coaster brake to the arm of the rack hopefully it works.


now this is my last project time to be looking for more builds and comb craigslist and ebay.
thanks for all who viewed and sorry it wasn't as originally planned,but this is a better fit for this build i feel.
road-test in the am we shall see what needs adjusting and what works.
Sean
 
i noticed when i was taking the picture the front tire went flat on me:banghead: DOH that's what that loud pop was i heard lol.
oh well guess im not totally done tube blew right off the wheel.
 
thanls luke
i still gotta do a better paintjob on her but i like it so far.
i rode it this morning with no issues so shes a rider too.
now onto the next big thing lol
sean
 
well i changed the bars out.
the upside down bars were not friendly with my back so i swapped them with these atb bars i had on my onex.
they feel a lot better and i have more control and less "power sliding " and nosediving. when i stand up.
im too old to be doing endos lol
i also added this lil bat Halloween decoration in honor of kingfish when he said this reminded him of a batman bike lol.

i like the lil bat decoration so i think i will keep it on there
Sean
 
Somehow I missed the follow up posts on this build. I like the way it turned out though! The tank makes the bike and I really like that seat a lot!!
Cool bat too.
NICE WORK!!
 
Somehow I missed the follow up posts on this build. I like the way it turned out though! The tank makes the bike and I really like that seat a lot!!
Cool bat too.
NICE WORK!!
thanks bro.
glad you could catch up
it wasn't quite what i wanted but i like the way it turned out.
the bat was inspired by you when you told me it reminded you of a batman bike lol.
i found it on the floor in my shop and figured id add it.
it still needs some slight tweaking but its pretty much done for now.
Sean
 
well i was fiddling around with my bikes and after catching the license plate in the rear wheel and proving fat guys can indeed fly be it not far. i decided a remount was necessary for the license plate.
i also decided im gonna mount some lights on her in the position the pics shows.
first up is the front light.9bear in mind the reflectors were just to get an idea of how the lights will be mounted and will be removed once i put the actual lights on.

the rear light will be mounted as such.(sorry for the gritty pic i will try to get a better shot.)

the license plate remounted as so.

i may have a thing for bikes with license plates.
i also noticed the irony as to how this bike sits higher then my genesis by a couple inches.

also added this padlock as bling in the header on the home page there is a bike with a padlock on it that looked kinda cool so i "borrowed" the idea.
whoever owns that bike thanks for the idea and hope im not stealing you're thunder i just thought it looked cool.

more updates soon.
sean
 

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