Figured I would start on my 1966 Firestone GTO.
Ads and pictures of the 60's Firestone muscle bikes are few and far between. I've been doing a good bit of research. I've seen '66 Huffy ads and '66 Huffy built Monark ads. Both seemed to have the more traditional banana/polo style Persons seats. The Firestone badged bikes had Mesingers. The seat I have "might" actually be original to this bike, however I can't find any pics that support this. Honestly, I think it is a bit ugly, so I decided to go with the style in this 1966 photo and ad.
Jim (firstyearchevelle) came through with a nice deal on a glitter seat. It has a bit of yellowing, but I think it will work just fine. Jason (Jpromo) offered to give me a headbadge. Can't say enough about the cool people on this site.
Parts-wise, I need a nice rear fender, white Firestone grips, a kick stand and I need to figure out my tire situation. I am pretty sure it had Firestone tires, but I am not keen on dropping big money on this project. The back tire on it is a Sears All State slick. I am hoping this weekend to either find a decent front tire to match or to luck into a nice set of Firestones without blowing the budget.
Hoping to get it powder-coated fairly soon and then find someone who can recreate the chainguard graphics.
I think that is about all I need short of labor and elbow grease.
Ads and pictures of the 60's Firestone muscle bikes are few and far between. I've been doing a good bit of research. I've seen '66 Huffy ads and '66 Huffy built Monark ads. Both seemed to have the more traditional banana/polo style Persons seats. The Firestone badged bikes had Mesingers. The seat I have "might" actually be original to this bike, however I can't find any pics that support this. Honestly, I think it is a bit ugly, so I decided to go with the style in this 1966 photo and ad.
Jim (firstyearchevelle) came through with a nice deal on a glitter seat. It has a bit of yellowing, but I think it will work just fine. Jason (Jpromo) offered to give me a headbadge. Can't say enough about the cool people on this site.
Parts-wise, I need a nice rear fender, white Firestone grips, a kick stand and I need to figure out my tire situation. I am pretty sure it had Firestone tires, but I am not keen on dropping big money on this project. The back tire on it is a Sears All State slick. I am hoping this weekend to either find a decent front tire to match or to luck into a nice set of Firestones without blowing the budget.
Hoping to get it powder-coated fairly soon and then find someone who can recreate the chainguard graphics.
I think that is about all I need short of labor and elbow grease.
