Here I go again. The last time that I had a new bike was in the 1970s, a Ross Apollo 5 Speed. All of my bikes since have been rescued bare or nearly bare frames.
Rescued from the Delta Chi frat house dumpster at Ohio State U in 1989, then pieced back together.
Rescued from a field and pieced back together in 2000.
Rescued from Universal Studios by the man who sold it to me in 2006.
Even made my own headbadge.
Now for my next trick ... reviving a D.P. Harris Black Beauty.
No wheels, fenders, chain or handlebars. Everything is stuck, except the seat post and the truss rods. The chain adjusting bolts are broken off.
Someone cut a pedal off so close that I can't get a wrench on it.
The stem is stuck. Not regular stuck. I mean, stupid stuck ... trans-stuck stuck ... meta-stuck ... black hole stuck.
Today's exercise was a 3 hour attempt at removing the stem. I need it off ASAMFP so I can send the truss rods & brackets out for new chrome.
First sprayed with PB Blaster. Got the bolt and wedge free, but the stem won't move. More PB Blaster. I wedged a 2x4 between the forks and used a pry bar to try to turn the stem. No movement. More PB blaster and prying. Nothing. Several wraps on the top with a dead blow hammer. Didn't move down at all. Tried removing the wedge from the bottom. The wedge is too big to drop out. More PB blasting, prying, dead blows & swearing at it so that it knows how pissed I am. No movement. By 4pm it was 104 deg and I had enough. One more soaking of PB Blaster, then put the tools away and planning my next moves. I might try dry ice inside the stem to try and shrink it. If I attempt the dry ice method, I may video it.
Rescued from the Delta Chi frat house dumpster at Ohio State U in 1989, then pieced back together.
Rescued from a field and pieced back together in 2000.
Rescued from Universal Studios by the man who sold it to me in 2006.
Even made my own headbadge.
Now for my next trick ... reviving a D.P. Harris Black Beauty.
No wheels, fenders, chain or handlebars. Everything is stuck, except the seat post and the truss rods. The chain adjusting bolts are broken off.
Someone cut a pedal off so close that I can't get a wrench on it.
The stem is stuck. Not regular stuck. I mean, stupid stuck ... trans-stuck stuck ... meta-stuck ... black hole stuck.
Today's exercise was a 3 hour attempt at removing the stem. I need it off ASAMFP so I can send the truss rods & brackets out for new chrome.
First sprayed with PB Blaster. Got the bolt and wedge free, but the stem won't move. More PB Blaster. I wedged a 2x4 between the forks and used a pry bar to try to turn the stem. No movement. More PB blaster and prying. Nothing. Several wraps on the top with a dead blow hammer. Didn't move down at all. Tried removing the wedge from the bottom. The wedge is too big to drop out. More PB blasting, prying, dead blows & swearing at it so that it knows how pissed I am. No movement. By 4pm it was 104 deg and I had enough. One more soaking of PB Blaster, then put the tools away and planning my next moves. I might try dry ice inside the stem to try and shrink it. If I attempt the dry ice method, I may video it.