BLACKBIRD (Skylark Convertible)

[The Renaissance Man]

Thanks everyone! I've been waiting to see this together and it's been worth the wait. Man they had some great designers back in the 30's!

Looks like there should be a V-twin sitting in the frame.

I can see that!

I'm lost , where did the piece that runs from the bottom of skirt
guard to the bottom of the fender come from . It blends in so
good .

It should blend good, they are original Skylark fender braces. The braces were among some of the missing parts to this bike when I got it. And just like everything else on this rare bird it's not something that is easy to find. Needless to say those two little stamped pieces of sheet metal where not cheap! I bought these from someone parting out a Skylark back when I decided to create the mullet fenders. The main reason for buying them was to make sure that my fiberglass fenders would fit the original Skylarks and Bluebirds correctly. Otherwise, I probably would have just made something myself.

Maybe I should've named this build "Rare Bird".

 

[sandman]

Thanks everyone! I've been waiting to see this together and it's been worth the wait. Man they had some great designers back in the 30's!


I can see that!

It should blend good, they are original Skylark fender braces. The braces were among some of the missing parts to this bike when I got it. And just like everything else on this rare bird it's not something that is easy to find. Needless to say those two little stamped pieces of sheet metal where not cheap! I bought these from someone parting out a Skylark back when I decided to create the mullet fenders. The main reason for buying them was to make sure that my fiberglass fenders would fit the original Skylarks and Bluebirds correctly. Otherwise, I probably would have just made something myself.

Maybe I should've named this build "Rare Bird".

I'm ready to throw in the towel . This going to be another one
those bikes . What are you using for wheels ? The wheels from my donor Elgin are starting to clean up and there the art deco
air cooled with zerk fittings ?

 

[toro1978]

I sooo love Art Deco.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

What are you using for wheels ? The wheels from my donor Elgin are starting to clean up and there the art deco
air cooled with zerk fittings ?

I've got the Elgin air cooled wheels that came with it but I'm thinking that I'll only use the hubs. I'd like to use some 50mm rims but I'm not sure about clearance problems if I do. I guess the best way to check is to get a set and try them. Anyone got any for sale?

I sooo love Art Deco.

Me too!!!

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Got a little bit done this weekend. Very little.
But I made (not finished) a missing chain guard bracket. Like I said before, finding original parts is next to imposible and expensive. So I dug through some thrift store junk that I collect for projects like this and found some BBQ tongs that looked just right. I really liked the little strengthening ribs so I used that part of the tongs.

Here's a picture of the original part:

I made one piece but wasn't happy with it so I used the other end of the tongs and made another with improvements. The first one had the correct twist but I decided that to me it looks better twisting in the other direction. I also planned ahead better for the ribs to end just short of the bolt hole.

Still have to tap the holes and round the ends but it's mostly done.

I'm not 100 percent sure that I'll keep it, but at least I have something to use for now.

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Hotdog tongs huh?

Merle.

 

[SpikeFC]

Oh please keep those. They look great!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Been soaking some parts in vinegar for the past couple of days hoping for a miracle underneath the rust. As expected the result was just some pitted metal and scraps of chrome.

So I spent a little time with the bead blasting cabinet.

All of this will get a coat of paint or possibly powder coat later on.
Looks like I'll be out of the running for an 'OddJob' award this year.

 

[sandman]

Hotdog tongs huh?

Merle.

"planned ahead better for the ribs " I like Rib's more better .

 

[OddJob]

 

[Fv2]

Everyone needs refrigerator art.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

It's been another 'life trumps bikes' week. Between working on my wifes car to helping with my daughter's ballet production, nothing has been happening with the Skylark.
Just so the entire week wasn't a wash, I disassembled the wheels today. I'm planning on using the stock Elgin air cooled hubs and rims. It's a mismatched set but will all get cleaned, painted and new spokes.

It's interesting what you find when you start breaking this stuff down. On the surface the front wheel looked like original paint. However, after removing the hard as a rock dryed out tire I discovered that the wheel was originally white and someone had painted it blue with a brush and then hand striped it! I would love to know the story behind it!

Here's all of the internals ready for a good bath (maybe tomorrow if I can get the car finished).

 

[Chad T]

Can see why those hubs are called air cooled now....because they're cool!..

Rim was probably painted by one of our rat rodding ancestors. Except he didn't have to take pictures and come up with a spiel.......Was that on the bike you got? Would be interesting to see what the whole color scheme on the bike it came off of was. Wonder if he spun the wheel to do the stripe.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

The blue wheel was included with the bike when I got it, but wasn't on it originally. No idea what bike it came from.

Got everything cleaned up today.

Obviously the front hub has no sign of chrome left, so it and the rear will both be painted. If this were going to be a patinated bike I would've just left them alone. But it's not, so I didn't!

 

[Scribble]

No matter how long it takes you to finish your builds, it's worth the wait !!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Got the hubs bead blasted. The front is very pitted but I think it'll be fine after some paint prep.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Took the rims down to bare metal. They are not an exact match but I have another wheel on the way from a fellow build off member!

First step was using paint stripper, then scraped and washed them. Final step was a trip to the bead blasting cabinet.

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Rims look great!
One question, just for my personal knowledge, if they were going to be bead blasted, why go through the trouble of stripping them?
I’m sure it makes the blasting go faster, less ‘yuck’ to clean up, etc. Just seems like an extra equally ‘yucky’ step.

Again, not criticizing, just curious.


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[The Renaissance Man]

They were both painted over, but the silver one was painted over nickle plating and I wanted to see if it was in good shape before committing to the bead blaster. So it was just as easy to strip both together which made the blasting go quicker also. (The nickle finish wasn't worth saving.)

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

They were both painted over, but the silver one was painted over nickle plating and I wanted to see if it was in good shape before committing to the bead blaster. So it was just as easy to strip both together which made the blasting go quicker also. (The nickle finish wasn't worth saving.)

Ah, that makes sense!
Too bad about the nickel rim......


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[The Renaissance Man]

Finally started work on the front fender today. This will probably be the most involved part of the build as I will be taking one of my Mullet rear fenders and making a Bluebird front fender out of it.

The TRM fiberglass fenders are wider than stock Bluebird fenders (by design) so the first step was to relieve it on each side so that it will fit between the fork blades.

Next I located the top center and drilled it for a bolt.

Tomorrow I'll work on the brace.