TRADITIONAL Doom Slug

[Pondo]

Life’s been happenin’ but we’re about to get back on it!

 

[Pondo]

Got a few of the last things finished up on this one. Clearanced the fender and guard to fit each other and the tire. Attached them both to the frame. That took much longer than I had hoped but I’m pleased with the results, they are solid and look good. I wasn’t sure how I was going to attach the rear of the guard. I wound up bending the tail of it around to use as a tab to bolt to an existing hole in the dropout.

I made some cable straps out of metal zip ties to clean up the cable run somewhat. I’m happy that all of these parts that are from different vintages and bikes are able to fit and have room for the chain to shift gears and not rub on anything. I threw on this cool headlight I got from AliExpress. I kind of like it on here. What do you guys think?

I’m very nearly done with this one now. In the morning I’ll age the front whitewall, rub the frame and tank down with WD40 and try to get some finished pics. I really like the way this bike turned out. It looks so cool now. It rides great too. In the future I want to add a front drum brake as the small rear brake needs help here in the mountains. If I keep the headlight on it I’d like to wire it to a battery in the tank. And try to get the horn working while I’m in there. For now it’s shower and dinner. Then to find a movie to pass out to this evening. Really fun day.

 

[kingfish254]

I like the cool chopper triangle light, but have you thought about pulling it back tighter to the bike. In my mind, it juts out a bit too far and would look better almost nestled between the truss rods.

 

[Pondo]

I like the cool chopper triangle light, but have you thought about pulling it back tighter to the bike. In my mind, it juts out a bit too far and would look better almost nestled between the truss rods.

It does jut out a bit. I'll take a look at it in the morning, see if I can pull it back a bit.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That's a killer rat. Can't wait to see it shine in the final pics. Bring it home, Pondo

 

[idiotboy]

Yup if you can tuck that light back just a bit… it goes great with the look of the bike. I think you nailed the vision you were going for, it looks like it was customized decades ago, and fun to ride!

 

[Pondo]

That's a killer rat. Can't wait to see it shine in the final pics. Bring it home, Pondo

Thanks Matti! I'm going to use a little steel wool with the WD on the tank chrome and head badge to bring up the shine just a tickle, since there are a few shinier bits on the bike now. In the future I want to experiment with using the dead-flat clear paint on shiny chrome to see if it ages it a bit and tones it down.

Yup if you can tuck that light back just a bit… it goes great with the look of the bike. I think you nailed the vision you were going for, it looks like it was customized decades ago, and fun to ride!

Thanks man! I've got some ideas for moving the headlight back, hopefully it won't need too much time. It's amazing how a quick detail can turn into a couple of hours. I have to try to get some pics in the good light this evening.

 

[OddJob]

@Pondo , here's one thought. It looks like the bolt from the light just runs straight down through the mounting tab? What if you chop the tab ( where my red line is) and then splay out the tab using a couple pliers / vice grips (where my green circle is) and then redrill a new mounting hole there?

 

[Pondo]

@Pondo , here's one thought. It looks like the bolt from the light just runs straight down through the mounting tab? What if you chop the tab ( where my red line is) and then splay out the tab using a couple pliers / vice grips (where my green circle is) and then redrill a new mounting hole there?

View attachment 274917

Thanks OJ. It's a good idea but the bracket is too narrow farther back to drill a new hole. I may have to make a new bracket or maybe I can modify the existing one to fit the headlight without using the current bolt. Something should pan out.

 

[Pondo]

@Pondo , here's one thought. It looks like the bolt from the light just runs straight down through the mounting tab? What if you chop the tab ( where my red line is) and then splay out the tab using a couple pliers / vice grips (where my green circle is) and then redrill a new mounting hole there?

View attachment 274917

I’m glad you brought this up, OJ. I double checked there is indeed enough room to drill a hole to mount the light farther back. This will be the first thing I try. Thanks again!

 

[Pondo]

I drilled a new hole in the mounting bracket and trimmed it down. The rough edges will rust over time, so much the better. The light is now pulled back and down and definitely looks better. I’ll trim the stud to the bottom of the nut so it looks cleaner and won’t try to rub the tire. Now on to tire aging and WD40 polish.

 

[Pondo]

Broke out my fancy new $15 internet paint set to age the front whitewall. I’m not an artist so this stuff is new to me.

I mixed up some dark taupe looking muck using the white, raw umber and yellow ochre. Icky enough for me.

I rubbed it on with a damp rag and used more water to spread and thin it out. It’s not perfect but I don’t think it’s supposed to be.

 

[Pondo]

I took the steel wool and WD to the tank chrome. Not dramatic but it is a bi shinier.

Same with the head badge.

I hit it with some metal polish too. I shouldn’t have as it took away some of the contrast but that will come back in time.

WD and a dirty old rag for the rest of the paint and bare metal. Looks cool cleaned up a bit.

I really like everything going on here.

I may have time for one more detail I haven’t gotten to yet. We’ll see how the afternoon transpires.

 

[Pondo]

I wanted to see what effect the dead-flat clear would have on chrome. This old drop bar had a little good chrome on it so I sprayed it. It does dull the shine down. I think another coat or 2 would be even better but didn’t want to waste the paint.

 

[Pondo]

Houston we have problems.

This chain ring looks too modern and shiny. I wanted to age it some so I took @Wildcat ’s advice and did a skip tooth conversion on it.

Still too shiny so I had to add some patina.
Using LocoJoe’s video

I got to work with a solution of hydrogen peroxide, white vinegar and salt. Before I applied the stuff I roughed up the chrome with a file, wire brush and 600 grit sandpaper.

Not getting rusty enough. To break the plating more I wet sanded it using the rust solution and 220 grit paper.

Several applications and hours later it was looking pretty good. I was hoping to get close to the one that was on here originally but that would have taken way too long. I’m happy with the results though.

 

[Pondo]

Looks good with the rest of the bike. I’m very pleased with my newly old skip tooth conversion.

 

[Pondo]

Doom Slug is done, at least for now. Now I need to try to get some decent pics. It's been yet another really fun project and I learned some great stuff along the way.

Before

After

 

[OddJob]

I like the transformation! Chain ring coverted to skippy, RaT-ina, de-whiting of the whitewall, parts swap, etc all good.

The back of that headlight might take pretty well to some of your newly learned tricks.

 

[Pondo]

I like the transformation! Chain ring coverted to skippy, RaT-ina, de-whiting of the whitewall, parts swap, etc all good.

The back of that headlight might take pretty well to some of your newly learned tricks.

Thanks OJ! The headlight is way too shiny for the bike. I’d love to give it some patina but for now I’m flat out of time. I work the next 4 days so I’ve just got a few evenings to try to get some ok pics. One of my next projects is going to be watching some photography videos.

 

[Pondo]

Just noodling around trying to luck into some decent shots. I’ll ride down to the beach in a while to see what happens there.