Apple Cider Special

[Dominicus]

A nod to the 1937 Orange Blossom Special pull truck of 80’s yore. Formerly the ”Krate-a-Bout” I’m going to restomod my recently thrown together Opaque red ‘74 stingray into a wheel standing hot rod. Plans start with a full kandy apple respray, matching painted rear fender, a painted wheelie bar built out of a couple springers so they look like part of the frame, truss rods out front, narrowed apes with bar extenders, repositioned graphics and a tank area insert. Maybes are either a 3 speed bendix Torpedo hub with 333 suicide shifter...or silver painted skyways. Hot cha!

 

[Dominicus]

Slooooowwww start...104 today. Working out the approximate springer wheelie bar geometry. These are from a 26”. I still have to get the other springer so a shorter one on the top bar would give more sweep & more wheelie. I like the swept back look rather than the usual straight rods on top & since the bars are kinda fat I may paint them to look like they’re part of the frame. Thoughts? Vintage Red sparkle Mesinger seat should be on the way so the painted look would be more contiguous.

 

[Captain Awesome]

Slooooowwww start...104 today. Working out the approximate springer wheelie bar geometry. These are from a 26”. I still have to get the other springer so a shorter one on the top bar would give more sweep & more wheelie. I like the swept back look rather than the usual straight rods on top & since the bars are kinda fat I may paint them to look like they’re part of the frame. Thoughts? Vintage Red sparkle Mesinger seat should be on the way so the painted look would be more contiguous.
View attachment 140123

I see you've been in my cranial storage cabinet

 

[Dominicus]

I see you've been in my cranial storage cabinet

Haha! I don’t know why I haven’t seen more of them built like this...or why the only one I saw for sale cost more than my bike I also had thought about making them into a rear rack...or a wing

 

[Captain Awesome]

Haha! I don’t know why I haven’t seen more of them built like this...or why the only one I saw for sale cost more than my bike I also had thought about making them into a rear rack...or a wing

I had some laid out just like yours once with 3 skateboard wheels in the middle. I stared. I drank beer. I stared some more. I drank some more. I woke up on the neighbors lawn

For some reason the project never got finished

 

[Dominicus]

I had some laid out just like yours once with 3 skateboard wheels in the middle. I stared. I drank beer. I stared some more. I drank some more. I woke up on the neighbors lawn

For some reason the project never got finished

Epic! That’s how R&D goes sometimes!

Part of the irony of my build page name is my wife decided to quit drinking & we can’t really hang with people so I stopped buying alcohol...to keep myself from going sane I put the saved entertainment expense money into the bIke! Crisis averted!

 

[Dominicus]

I have the leather armrest from a Volvo Bertone 262C...which slid right over the sissy bar....the proportions are just ridiculous and cartoonish enough to work. Or it may be too over the top which may nix it.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Is "too over the top" even a thing?

 

[Dominicus]

Well, I officially committed to going with the 3 speed ’66 Bendix Torpedo Hub & a shifter over silver skyways. The shifter is also going to secure the tank panel. I have a long handle 333 shifter that’s probably up for grabs. Need another springer, scooter wheels & a few odds & ends for the wheelie bar...some testing then it will be time to rip it apart for paint.

 

[Dominicus]

I have a black 24” springer on the way...these will be for the top part of the wheelie bar where it connects to the seat &will be painted to match the frame. Using 26” springer bars for the lowers. I will use the spring bracket to attach the tail light. I had to do a rendering before committing to the over all concept...so far I like where it is heading.

 

[Dominicus]

Paint test...best so far, metalspecks red.

 

[Dominicus]

It looked a bit too bronze to me, so I hit it with the Red metalcast. It did the trick and it reads a deep red. Feeble pics don’t do it justice.

 

[Captain Awesome]

It looked a bit too bronze to me, so I hit it with the Red metalcast. It did the trick and it reads a deep red. Feeble pics don’t do it justice. View attachment 141326View attachment 141327

Looks super rich and very deep. Love it

 

[Dominicus]

Welp...a few idears.
Imagine the black rear bars in red...and the forks chrome.

Bars turned down...inline wheels go at the end.

Turned up...I call this the Saab...

Turned up with the bars set forward. So far this and the one at the top are my favorites.

The wheelie is going to be steep if I go with the bars up.

 

[Captain Awesome]

I like the bars down and personally I think they should be all chrome

 

[Dominicus]

Kind of leaning chrome too...I can swap the springer from my Grape Krate. I had to make a couple renders to help myself visualize it In full & half red & with a red seat. Definitely going with the silver front forks. Yay technology!

Inline wheels arrive today, shifter arrived yesterday & picked up a 60’s *peeler/Krate chainguard locally...just waiting on a shift cable & some nuts n bolts to put it all together.
*If anyone needs a Lemmon guard to swap for an Apple let me know before I destroy the value by painting over it.

 

[Dominicus]

Requisite Buddy Holly specks & unsafe shoes...check...wheelie time!

 

[Dominicus]

Chainguard and fender got a respray.

The truss front end sure is different...it does nothing to the handling so...why?

The idea on this bike is to wheelie, and I found the springer was too heavy and hard to get back under control. Riding this bike you pedal a bit harder to lift the front wheel Instead of pulling up on the bars. I like the handling with these forks but it looked empty. The trusses are a bit more dragster.

The 19” apes look decent here but are just too wide...thinking of cutting out the center section for more V. I Need a longer neck bolt for the varsity stem which will add to the raked look up front. Not sure if I’m gonna go with the wheelie bars or not. Easy to add or delete though. Tried this thing with the Fastback front wheel and as cool as it looked it had too much wheelie!

 

[Captain Awesome]

I'd say you gotta go for the wheelie bars!!! And I agree with you on those apes. If they had a nice tapered V they would look even better

 

[Dominicus]

Headlight looks much better up. The 3 speed shifter is undergoing the faux aluminum look and is going in this spot. Yay fake silver forks to get the point across.