~Huff In Paint~ '55 Huffy Customliner

[Missing Link]

Another year, another build off, and I'll be rebuilding the same bike as last year.
Last winter I built up a '55 Huffy with some help from my son, Henry.

This year we'll be putting the original fenders, rack and chainguard back on and everthing will get fresh paint, right now its looking like semi gloss black on the frame/rack with red oxide fenders and chainguard. This should be a lot of fun, I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with this year.

 

[Scribble]

Looks like a good starting point !

 

[Funkme]

Welcome to another buildoff. Good bones to start with.

 

[kingfish254]

Can't go wrong with these Huffman frames. I like the build name too.

 

[Missing Link]

I had some free time this afternoon to get the rear rack, fenders and chainguard out of storage and throw together a little mock up.

I'm pretty sure the front fork/fender is not original or Huffy at that. It looks more like a late 50s AMF, so I'm thinking about possibly ditching the front fender and stock fork and using this repop springer off my Electra.

Maybe bob the rear fender just past the rack. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Wildcat]

From Dave's Vintage Bikes page, 1955 Customliner, looks like the right forks.

And a Huffy Radiobike, not sure of year.

 

[Missing Link]

Sorry, I meant just the fender, the front fender is off an AMF. The fork is original.
I mocked it up with the springer and the part of the fender that would be bobbed masked off with tape just to see how it would look.

I'm on the fence. I think I prefer the original fork. I think that if I reprofile the rear fender to match the front one it should match pretty well after paint.

 

[Missing Link]

After staring at it off and on today I think I've decided to use the stock fork and mismatched fenders after all. So with that settled I can take it all apart and get started with stripping all that paint.

 

[GuitarlCarl]

It's your bike so ultimately...
But IMO rear rack looks better with full fender. No rear rack gets a bob. So rock on bro, you got this.

Carl.

 

[Missing Link]

Everything's torn down and ready for stripping. Its going to be a sunny 65° in San Antonio tomorrow so it should be good weather for stripping paint.

 

[Missing Link]

I made some progress with the paint removal today. I had to order a new sprayer for the waterhose and a wire brush as the ones I had got lost when we moved last summer, but the replacements arrived today so I got on it.

 

[OddJob]

I think you are on the right track. I like the original fork + full fenders as well. Of course, to me, a clear over that brazed frame....

RaT oN!

 

[Missing Link]

Not too much to report folks, stripping paint is pretty boring business. I did do a bit of chrome removal on the front fender via flapwheel today.

and played around with the idea of a checkered fender tip on at least the rear fender, mocked up on the front fender. Does any of this make sense?

 

[Missing Link]

I like the idea w/ the checkering but I'm not sure if black on red works or if I should do black and white, aged, on the red oxide. Thoughts?

 

[metalchewy]

I like the idea w/ the checkering but I'm not sure if black on red works or if I should do black and white, aged, on the red oxide. Thoughts?

I like the checkers above. I like the idea now as well.[emoji106]

Red oxide would be cool

 

[kingfish254]

Love the idea of the checkered fender tip. May have to steal that idea someday.

 

[OddJob]

Yeah, that checkered fender has a real cool vibe to it for sure. Kind of like it just the way it sits. Kind of 'growing out' of the patina. I believe it was @The Renaissance Man that said of my ghost flames on One-Liner..."reminders of race days from the past".

 

[Missing Link]

After almost a month of stagnation due to weather (when it wasn't raining it was cold andvice versa) I finally got around to doing some work. Temps today were in the mid 70s and no rain gave me a chance to get the frame and fork stripped the rest of the way and a few coats of primer laid down.

Tomorrow if the weather stays decent I'll finish this off with a satin black top coat.
On a different note, I got an awesome deal on some Duro clay tires for this build but didn't take into consideration that the fenders are middle weight, so worst case, I ditch the fenders and rear rack, still using the chainguard, and possibly the front rack I had on it originally.
We'll see which direction it takes.

 

[OddJob]

Or bob the fenders for that 'overstuffed' look. Or in your case, 'oversniffed'.....

 

[toro1978]

I like the idea w/ the checkering but I'm not sure if black on red works or if I should do black and white, aged, on the red oxide. Thoughts?

Come on now, black and red is classic, there is even a novel by Stendhal called The black and the red. Red baron themed vehicles make good use of it too.

I would definitely use the springer, but for me suspension is a must, I weigh 210 pounds. Still, even purely for looks I find that a springer fork suits those vintage frames much better. Since it is a fork that isn't widely used nowadays it compliments the vintage look of such frame, unlike a normal fork one sees daily on every cheap bike.