Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Wow the color combo comes out great without looking "Halloweenish". Love that shifter.
Wow the color combo comes out great without looking "Halloweenish". Love that shifter.
* GROUND ZERO * (Now I can have a cold one!)
- Thread starter NLCTVWguy
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Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Diggin' it 8) Reminds me of a Harley...orange and black :mrgreen:
Diggin' it 8) Reminds me of a Harley...orange and black :mrgreen:
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Thanks! Now that we're seeing it in paint, that's true, it does look like Harley's colors. My wife's even cool enough that she brought me back a shirt with those colors from the Harley factory in York, PA, in 1993! Her company at the time was a supplier of instruments to H-D.
That wasn't the intent of the work but I'll go with it for a couple reasons. The town where I'm doing most of the work has orange and black as their school colors. And what's cooler than old industrial machinery? The orange is Allis Chalmers tractor orange, and the black is Rustoleum Industrial Enamel black... seems appropriate since I work in one of the oldest continuously operating industrial sites in the country (making paper since 1860).
Today I got the rear rack put together. Separated and cleaned up the wood slats, and like most stuff on the bike, they looked better after an encounter with my wire wheel.
Cut to length...
Test fit:
Cross braces mounted, all stainless hardware.
Mounted to the rack with custom bent brackets.
Installed. I like the look!
This will be a busy weekend coming up, hopefully some of the remaining details will come together.
Lots more to come!
--Rob
SCHWINNRAY69 said:
Thanks! Now that we're seeing it in paint, that's true, it does look like Harley's colors. My wife's even cool enough that she brought me back a shirt with those colors from the Harley factory in York, PA, in 1993! Her company at the time was a supplier of instruments to H-D.
That wasn't the intent of the work but I'll go with it for a couple reasons. The town where I'm doing most of the work has orange and black as their school colors. And what's cooler than old industrial machinery? The orange is Allis Chalmers tractor orange, and the black is Rustoleum Industrial Enamel black... seems appropriate since I work in one of the oldest continuously operating industrial sites in the country (making paper since 1860).
Today I got the rear rack put together. Separated and cleaned up the wood slats, and like most stuff on the bike, they looked better after an encounter with my wire wheel.
Cut to length...
Test fit:
Cross braces mounted, all stainless hardware.
Mounted to the rack with custom bent brackets.
Installed. I like the look!
This will be a busy weekend coming up, hopefully some of the remaining details will come together.
Lots more to come!
--Rob
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Thanks! Here are some of the pics of how the shifter was built.
Ground the lever and ran a 1/4-20 die over it, then fitted a 1/4 inch coupling nut.
Drilled and tapped the awesome 3 ball for 1/4 inch threads.
Bent up a length of threaded rod using a tubing bender. One kick out and one 45° bend back.
2 layers of heat shrink tubing over the shaft.
After a great deal of trouble and arguing with a bolt, the shifter wrapped around the frame. That part wasn't fun.
Finished shifter swings from just behind the fork in 1st gear, to about 6" in front of the seat post in high.
The actual connection to the rear hub will be a little challenge, but I do have a frame mounted cable stop from a CCM Galaxie 3-speed that may come into play. A Schwinn or Raleigh style cable run with a fulcrum wheel will probably not be able to clear the rear tire.
--Rob
xddorox said:
Thanks! Here are some of the pics of how the shifter was built.
Ground the lever and ran a 1/4-20 die over it, then fitted a 1/4 inch coupling nut.
Drilled and tapped the awesome 3 ball for 1/4 inch threads.
Bent up a length of threaded rod using a tubing bender. One kick out and one 45° bend back.
2 layers of heat shrink tubing over the shaft.
After a great deal of trouble and arguing with a bolt, the shifter wrapped around the frame. That part wasn't fun.
Finished shifter swings from just behind the fork in 1st gear, to about 6" in front of the seat post in high.
The actual connection to the rear hub will be a little challenge, but I do have a frame mounted cable stop from a CCM Galaxie 3-speed that may come into play. A Schwinn or Raleigh style cable run with a fulcrum wheel will probably not be able to clear the rear tire.
--Rob
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Re: * GROUND ZERO *
Man, Rob, you've been busy! Lookin' good now, but lets see those new rollers! 8)
Man, Rob, you've been busy! Lookin' good now, but lets see those new rollers! 8)
And Dr. T gets my vote for RatRodBike "Hot Tip of the Month" for this one!Dr. Tankenstein said:
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
totaly awsome build!
totaly awsome build!
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Hah, I would if I could find it!
I have 2 '72 Lil Chik's, a '72 Stardust, and 1 72 Breeze in that color. (I sold one of them, and my wife put a flowered seat on the one we kept.)
Still need a Fairlady... anyone got one? I'll buy it!
--Rob
Hooch said:
Hah, I would if I could find it!
I have 2 '72 Lil Chik's, a '72 Stardust, and 1 72 Breeze in that color. (I sold one of them, and my wife put a flowered seat on the one we kept.)
Still need a Fairlady... anyone got one? I'll buy it!
--Rob
Re: * GROUND ZERO *
They're supposed to be done TODAY! I can't wait, we're going on a ride and then pick up the wheels... starting to get excited!
Been working on my handlebars today... pics soon!
--Rob
They're supposed to be done TODAY! I can't wait, we're going on a ride and then pick up the wheels... starting to get excited!
Been working on my handlebars today... pics soon!
--Rob
Fireproof said:
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Update: 5/30/11:
We had something of a setback when my wheel builder didn't have a spoke length that would work with the front drum setup. The rear wheel will be done soon.
I had a million other things to get to this weekend, and instead spent the time helping someone move... oh well.
Spent a little time with the bike tonight and came up with the following:
Seat post has been a problem since day 1. After beating, burning, and abusing the rusted old post out, silly me, I thought a new post would fix everything. Well guess what: these guys built it with a 7/8" post instead of a 13/16". And there was no way the binder bolt would close up the frame that 1/16 of an inch. At the same time, the 7/8 parts I had were super tight and would NOT go into the tube. I found this old stem with a stripped out clamp.... widened the inner clamp of the seat enough to fit it, had to drive it into the frame but it finally worked. Not going to be adjustable until I sit on it for a while I think!
You might notice another little goody under there... found a sweet little tiny taillight with a jet engine lens... fit right on the bolt for the keg mount. And some more digging in the parts boxes yielded this amazing full-width reflector. A cut and bent bracket from a parts bike made a nice mount, tucked right up under the back end. (Sorry for dark pic, was getting late.)
Finally got to work on the tank. Masked off the sides and went for it with my color scheme. Almost perfect, the paint followed a few rust pits and holes so I'll have just a tiny bit of touchup, but all in all I'm really happy with the paint and the color. Sets it off nicely.
Back on the bike...
Can't wait for the graphics and all the fun finishing touches!
See ya soon,
--Rob
Update: 5/30/11:
We had something of a setback when my wheel builder didn't have a spoke length that would work with the front drum setup. The rear wheel will be done soon.
I had a million other things to get to this weekend, and instead spent the time helping someone move... oh well.
Spent a little time with the bike tonight and came up with the following:
Seat post has been a problem since day 1. After beating, burning, and abusing the rusted old post out, silly me, I thought a new post would fix everything. Well guess what: these guys built it with a 7/8" post instead of a 13/16". And there was no way the binder bolt would close up the frame that 1/16 of an inch. At the same time, the 7/8 parts I had were super tight and would NOT go into the tube. I found this old stem with a stripped out clamp.... widened the inner clamp of the seat enough to fit it, had to drive it into the frame but it finally worked. Not going to be adjustable until I sit on it for a while I think!
You might notice another little goody under there... found a sweet little tiny taillight with a jet engine lens... fit right on the bolt for the keg mount. And some more digging in the parts boxes yielded this amazing full-width reflector. A cut and bent bracket from a parts bike made a nice mount, tucked right up under the back end. (Sorry for dark pic, was getting late.)
Finally got to work on the tank. Masked off the sides and went for it with my color scheme. Almost perfect, the paint followed a few rust pits and holes so I'll have just a tiny bit of touchup, but all in all I'm really happy with the paint and the color. Sets it off nicely.
Back on the bike...
Can't wait for the graphics and all the fun finishing touches!
See ya soon,
--Rob
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
That's one cool rear rack :wink:
That's one cool rear rack :wink:
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Small update 5/31/11:
Fooling around with some materials at work and found this cool perforated stainless sheet metal. Headbadge? Don't get your hand too close!
The handlebars will get welded up tomorrow. A friend at work is happy to TIG weld the pieces together for me. I've prepped the crossbar and uprights. They'll also gain about 3" of length in the grip area with some pieces snipped from a 1969 Schwinn bar... the donor was hopelessly rusty on one side but yielded a bunch of little segments to play with.
This should give you an idea what they'll look like finished.
Also had to tear down the triple-tree and tighten up the bearings- the lower cup must have re-seated in the frame and loosened up quite a bit. Back in good shape now. Got an offer from a local artist for tank stenciling... don't think I can turn it down!
More soon,
--Rob
Small update 5/31/11:
Fooling around with some materials at work and found this cool perforated stainless sheet metal. Headbadge? Don't get your hand too close!
The handlebars will get welded up tomorrow. A friend at work is happy to TIG weld the pieces together for me. I've prepped the crossbar and uprights. They'll also gain about 3" of length in the grip area with some pieces snipped from a 1969 Schwinn bar... the donor was hopelessly rusty on one side but yielded a bunch of little segments to play with.
This should give you an idea what they'll look like finished.
Also had to tear down the triple-tree and tighten up the bearings- the lower cup must have re-seated in the frame and loosened up quite a bit. Back in good shape now. Got an offer from a local artist for tank stenciling... don't think I can turn it down!
More soon,
--Rob
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Lovin' those bars! You have some good friends... I need to buddy up with a TIG welder!
Lovin' those bars! You have some good friends... I need to buddy up with a TIG welder!
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Thanks for a great build thread lots of great info here!.... I love to see the ideas come together.....orange looks great on the tank..."headbadge" looks cool!
Thanks for a great build thread lots of great info here!.... I love to see the ideas come together.....orange looks great on the tank..."headbadge" looks cool!
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Thanks guys for all the comments... Rat Rods' folks are the best! We all learn from each other, and come up with better ways to do our own thing!
Got a small update today, 6/3/11:
:arrow: Had to order spokes for the drum brake wheel... nothing was working out with the strange diameters.
:arrow: I have a real good friend who comes out and rides with us on the group rides, restores old bikes and motor scooters as well as 60's Honda Dreams. He came with us on last ride on a 28" rod-brake 3-speed Dunelt, a huge old English bike. Anyway his wife is an amazing artist. She offered to do the tank Ground Zero graphics as a painted stencil... I can't wait, it will be amazing! Should have that back in a few days. Our town has so many artists in it, we are very lucky!
:arrow: Resolved some issues with proper seat mounting so now it's secure.
:arrow: Located some small parts... a 3-speed cable stop that fits the chain stays (from a 71 CCM Galaxie ladies 3-speed!) Found a cool vintage chrome brake handle for the front brake... found some funky yellow-orange grips.
:arrow: The big news, heading for completion- I needed bars and handlebar clamps. I cut tubing and stripped chrome and handed all the pieces to our top welder at work... we set up a makeshift jig on the welding bench and he went to town with the TIG machine.
Welded in the crossbar at the bottom...
And 3" extensions at the top, where the welds will be hidden by the grips!
:arrow: I did bribe our machinist with beer... and he came up with a solution to the lost handlebar clamps that looks good and works better. He turned a donut shape out of solid aluminum on the lathe, cut it in half on the bandsaw, drilled and counterbored the bolt holes for M6 screws. The results are a close match for the original blocks.
:arrow: Found I needed to trim a tiny bit off the bottom of the bars... one last trip to the grinding wheel and they're mounted!
Tall, crazy looking, and lined straight up with the forks... just what I wanted!
Later today there should be some more updates, if I don't get tied up pulling an engine... :shock:
--Rob
Thanks guys for all the comments... Rat Rods' folks are the best! We all learn from each other, and come up with better ways to do our own thing!
Got a small update today, 6/3/11:
:arrow: Had to order spokes for the drum brake wheel... nothing was working out with the strange diameters.
:arrow: I have a real good friend who comes out and rides with us on the group rides, restores old bikes and motor scooters as well as 60's Honda Dreams. He came with us on last ride on a 28" rod-brake 3-speed Dunelt, a huge old English bike. Anyway his wife is an amazing artist. She offered to do the tank Ground Zero graphics as a painted stencil... I can't wait, it will be amazing! Should have that back in a few days. Our town has so many artists in it, we are very lucky!
:arrow: Resolved some issues with proper seat mounting so now it's secure.
:arrow: Located some small parts... a 3-speed cable stop that fits the chain stays (from a 71 CCM Galaxie ladies 3-speed!) Found a cool vintage chrome brake handle for the front brake... found some funky yellow-orange grips.
:arrow: The big news, heading for completion- I needed bars and handlebar clamps. I cut tubing and stripped chrome and handed all the pieces to our top welder at work... we set up a makeshift jig on the welding bench and he went to town with the TIG machine.
Welded in the crossbar at the bottom...
And 3" extensions at the top, where the welds will be hidden by the grips!
:arrow: I did bribe our machinist with beer... and he came up with a solution to the lost handlebar clamps that looks good and works better. He turned a donut shape out of solid aluminum on the lathe, cut it in half on the bandsaw, drilled and counterbored the bolt holes for M6 screws. The results are a close match for the original blocks.
:arrow: Found I needed to trim a tiny bit off the bottom of the bars... one last trip to the grinding wheel and they're mounted!
Tall, crazy looking, and lined straight up with the forks... just what I wanted!
Later today there should be some more updates, if I don't get tied up pulling an engine... :shock:
--Rob
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Love the bars and fork combo, great job!
Love the bars and fork combo, great job!
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
My eyes are burning from the welding pics!!! :lol: Great lookin bike, lots of progress here! 8)
My eyes are burning from the welding pics!!! :lol: Great lookin bike, lots of progress here! 8)
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
LOVE the bars and entire front end!.........This is the best build off ever! EVERYONE is bringing their "A" game. 8)
LOVE the bars and entire front end!.........This is the best build off ever! EVERYONE is bringing their "A" game. 8)
Re: * GROUND ZERO * (Rollin' around!)
Update 6/4/11:
I finally got a little time to spend working on Ground Zero, and not having to do anything else for a little while. Got another 24" mountain bike wheel built up with my fat Kenda tires just to check fit with all the other pieces while waiting for the real rims... and blew up a tube in my face! Oh that was exciting- tube ripped along its length and almost threw the tire off the rim. This rim I grabbed is narrower than the first set, and didn't grip the tire as well. So second time around I left the tire real soft... it gets that dragster wrinkle-wall look and I like it!
Everything's a good fit in back. Ran off to the bike shop to get some little parts, will hopefully come up with a different cap nut for the top of the stem and some other odds n ends. Turns out the shop around the corner stocks the pedals I mail-ordered... figures, right?
:arrow: Up front, I drilled a bracket to mount the headlights. Figured this will be simplest - mounted to the 2 holes for the original reflector bracket on the fork. Oddly, these identical Union lights had the pressed in lockwasher on opposite sides of their mounting tabs, and one mounting hole was smaller than the other.
While I had the bike out at the bike shop, I attracted the attention of at least 15 kids walking by on the street. They all stopped and came up to the shop and checked it out, asked a million questions. They wanted to know mainly what it all cost. Kind of hard to put a price on it! The feedback from the kids was all positive- they think it's cool!
It's getting there! There may still be a surprise or two before I call it finished though... :lol:
--Rob
Update 6/4/11:
I finally got a little time to spend working on Ground Zero, and not having to do anything else for a little while. Got another 24" mountain bike wheel built up with my fat Kenda tires just to check fit with all the other pieces while waiting for the real rims... and blew up a tube in my face! Oh that was exciting- tube ripped along its length and almost threw the tire off the rim. This rim I grabbed is narrower than the first set, and didn't grip the tire as well. So second time around I left the tire real soft... it gets that dragster wrinkle-wall look and I like it!
Everything's a good fit in back. Ran off to the bike shop to get some little parts, will hopefully come up with a different cap nut for the top of the stem and some other odds n ends. Turns out the shop around the corner stocks the pedals I mail-ordered... figures, right?
:arrow: Up front, I drilled a bracket to mount the headlights. Figured this will be simplest - mounted to the 2 holes for the original reflector bracket on the fork. Oddly, these identical Union lights had the pressed in lockwasher on opposite sides of their mounting tabs, and one mounting hole was smaller than the other.
While I had the bike out at the bike shop, I attracted the attention of at least 15 kids walking by on the street. They all stopped and came up to the shop and checked it out, asked a million questions. They wanted to know mainly what it all cost. Kind of hard to put a price on it! The feedback from the kids was all positive- they think it's cool!
It's getting there! There may still be a surprise or two before I call it finished though... :lol:
--Rob
