>> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat <<Feb 5 - 98% Finis!

[bombshelterbikes]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << Tuesday, Day5

Also, the funky fender stays don't look right. Yeah, they are Shelby original but it makes the lines of the bike look like it has braces on buck teeth!

I'll but those stays from you if you don't want them. I have s Shelby with bent ones that need replacing. Keep me in mind. Thanks! Brad

PS....Really digging the build, I have wanted to see a rat version of this style of Shelby for a long time! Keep it up!

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << Tuesday, Day5

looks great Joe. the black high flange front hub is awesome. too late to make the Nexus hub black huh? how about a wide piece of black tape in the middle of of it to kick up the black thing you got going?

 

[Skipton]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << Tuesday, Day5

Love the look! fork,hubs,tank all cool! Thanks for sharing

 

[yeshoney]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << Thursday, Day6 @@

Got the other tank half stripped of paint and the horn button cleaned up. No pics of that because, well, it is just like the side I already posted. It was time to decide what to do with the fenders. Really hating the braces the more I looked at them I thought about a set of Prewar flat braces, but I was not happy with the placement of the braces and the lines of the frame. Soo, I went bobbin'! Moved it around up and down around the tire until I got the look I wanted, Pic 1. used some blue painter's tape to mask the lines and used a tape measure to mimic the original dimensions, Pic 2. I then fired up my Dremel and with a diamond wheel cut off the excess. Retested the fit and then filed down the rough edges.Pic 3 and 4 and 5. That's all for this evening. Enjoy.

 

[thatismytruck]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << Thursday, Day6 @@

Very nice.

Have you considered a name?

 

[yeshoney]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

Busy, busy, busy leading up to the holidays but after the leftovers were put away and the kids tucked into bed after wearing themselves out playing Wii games and a 2 hour family BINGO marathon (with prizes!) I was able to relax in the shop and get some more work done on the Shelby. I was able to get the fenders stripped and mocked up against the frame. I still have to rig up a set of braces for the front fender. I am think of making a curved set similar to the older Shelby ones and making them out of flat bar aluminum and drilling them to give it that lightweight racy look. Neck and bars were stripped and the bars were flipped. This thing is starting to look good! I am gonna make a seat post that sets the seat a bit farther back, but keeps it low to the fender. Here is a few more pics. Enjoy!

 

[KOTA]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

ANOTHER work of "art"! You are a true Craftsman! You show everyone that you don't NEED high tech tools to make a masterpiece. Just determination and commitment, something most of us lack. I can't wait to see this bike in person!

 

[jojobiker13]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

Good stuff man. That thing is going to be cool!!

 

[Skipton]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

Thanks for the update. This time of the year is so busy with kids and family. the bike looks great :!:

Skip

 

[Boardtrack fan]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

Great looking bike! Some really choice parts too.

 

[ratina]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

I hope your not going to paint it, it looks perfect as is!

 

[g kustom kuhl]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

love the look you've got...love the parts...love the no paint look!

 

[sensor]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

well im going to agree with the others....id leave the frame as is in those pics the feathered raw look works well on it!(just my useless $.01)
cant wait too see what else youve got planned

 

[BankerRAt]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

Love the wheels.. where did u get them?

 

[yeshoney]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

The wheels are Sun Double Wide factory seconds. As far as I know the white ones were never offered through an American distributor. I have never seen them available here. I bought them on ebay about 3 years ago. THey are are marked "2nds" scratched into the inside of the rim. The only thing I see wrong with them is the white powdercoating is thin on one side of each rim. Not a major deal, but you barely nick it with a screwdriver or something blunt and it chips. I gotta be careful around it. I ordered the tires yesterday, no hints yet, but they are gonne kick butt on here. As for paint, hmmm, I have not made any kind of decision. My biggest issue with not painting is I already have two bikes that I decided to leave raw and I was hoping to give this one some kind of paint scheme. We shall see. I will have an update with a very cool design feature I put on it and I got the parts from the plumbing parts bin at Home Depot, mmmmmm.

Joe

Love the wheels.. where did u get them?

 

[KOTA]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

Hey Joe............PAINT IT!

 

[Markm]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

candy apple colors over raw steel then clearcoated!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[user 135]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << XMAS Day UPDATE!

. We shall see. I will have an update with a very cool design feature I put on it and I got the parts from the plumbing parts bin at Home Depot, mmmmmm.

Joe

Exhaust pipes like the painted ones on the JC Higgins tank :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[yeshoney]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << Tues 12/30 UPDATE@@

As I mentioned before the fender braces needed some attention. On my way this morning to running errands for my wife I happened by the Home Depot to look for some aluminum bar stock only too find nothing in the thickness and width I was looking for. I started to look around up and down aisles for something that might work. I then wound up in the plumbing aisle and spied these copper plated pipe hangars. After some careful measuring to line up the holes properly and figure out how many I needed I put my plan into action. A little cutting here and some grindinh there and a careful use of the existing screws led to these ver slick looking braces made from very lightweight material that looks cool when polished and will age a nice green if I don't potect it. I also put the crank and sprocket in it so I could make the final trimming to the fender for chain clearance. Added the chainguard and straightened things out so there was no rubbing. I may not use this sprocket as it is aluminum and is a bit warped. I tried to straighten it but was not successful. It works but I wouldn't trust riding it 50 miles without the chain jumping off at high speed :shock: :shock:

 

[Skipton]

Re: >> Daily Chronicles of the Shelby Rat << Tues 12/30 UPDATE@@

Nice work on the bike I like the fender braces. cant wait to see the tires on the bike

Thanks for sharing
Skip