Dawn the Beachcruiser

[Steve Hammons]

alright - here goes - i did a preservation restoration on my first one (an old AMF Texas Ranger - i call him Chuck Norris)

thread here:
http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/chuck-norris-texas-ranger-build.84831/

now you guys have inspired me to do a little more outside the box - found an old Goodyear Hi-Way Patrol girls bike and decided to do a tiki theme on it

may i present to you, the start of the Dawn the Beachcruiser - this one may take a bit - please chime in if you have any ideas as i'm still pretty new to the bike scene

parts after teardown:




first coat of airplane stripper applied:


after 3 coats:


wire brushes and a drill to finish it off:


here's where it starts to get fun - applied a mix of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and salt and started rusting it away. it started rusting as i sprayed it on. first coat:


after a couple more coats:
<a href="http://s288.photobucket.com/user/stevekh/media/Dawn the Beachcruiser/DTB8.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll191/stevekh/Dawn the Beachcruiser/DTB8.jpg" border="0" alt="after a couple coats of rust photo DTB8.jpg"/></a>



the last couple coats, i busted out the MAP gas torch, heated the frame, sprayed, burned it off, sprayed, burned, then went over whole thing really slow with torch:






that's where i'm at after a few days of spare time

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looks good! The heat and spray method looks to work really well!

Luke.

 

[Steve Hammons]

progress update:

progress has been slow - been tweaking the chain ring i'm designing and waiting on some parts (sissy bar, fenders)

waiting on powdercoat to arrive, as it's not one my guy stocks as well

on the plus side, the guys at Jones & Son Headbadges took a file i designed and made a KILLER headbadge for it - nickel plated!

here's the link to their facebook page
Jones & Son Headbadges

here's the pic

 

[raggedjim]

Terry does great work on the head badges. I had him make a couple a few years back, but I've started making them myself. The rust solution worked great!

Have you tried cutting the chainring yet?

Great job so far, Rg

 

[Steve Hammons]

on the chain ring, i've imported my file in, haven't cut it yet, as i saw some spots that wouldn't work once i simulated the tool path - i'm going to import it in again and check it out and try to get it on the machine this week (hopefully)

as always, the paying jobs take precedence over the hobby!

 

[Steve Hammons]

Terry does great work on the head badges. I had him make a couple a few years back, but I've started making them myself. The rust solution worked great!

Have you tried cutting the chainring yet?

Great job so far, Rg

well here's how it turned out - looks great - i think it's going to work, unfortunately i used a version of the file that didn't have the 2nd smaller hole for the crankset, so i'll have to re-cut it when i get back from a little fly fishing in colorado

 

[raggedjim]

Holy cow! That is awesome!

 

[Steve Hammons]

turns out I could use it after all - i didn't have the small hole to hold the crank in place, but i did allow for it (see the lower left surfboard and tiki heads) so i just got the drill out and took care of it!

here's a mock up of how it fits with the crank - going to be powdercoated a wrinkle white when finished



close up:


also scored these sweet shorty fenders - i'm planning on rusting them, then pinstriping:

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Cool! Glad you got that cool sprocket to work!

Luke.

 

[Steve Hammons]

OK - so here's the rest of the build - got sidetracked with a kustom kulture inspired shirt line i started, so finally had time to button her up

got the parts powdercoated with a matte white wrinkle powder - looks wicked:


close up:


now the fun part - tooled leather banana seat and grips (i designed, my buddy did the tooling):







done! i may pinstripe it later, but took her on her maiden ride tonight and she did awesome!

 

[77XLT]

Nice tikis. that's mo betta.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

LOVE THAT SEAT!

Luke.

 

[Dingus Khan]

That is a rad color combination. Great build.

 

[Araya51]

This one cool concept of a build. Nice leather work and I dig the head badge also..

 

[Steve Hammons]

thanks guys - i really wish the pictures did the powdercoated part justice - it has a killer wrinkle texture on it

 

[alistair clark]

Really like the seat,chainring and....Actually like the whole build on this bike.