Huffy Scout

[RZ94]

1983 Huffy Scout 10 speed "All Terrain" bike....found left for dead on a garbage pile

after clean up, changeover from 26 X 2.125 tires/ wheels to 27 x 1 1/4 (donated from my son's Raleigh Sprite which is undergoing a total restoration), from thumb shifters to tube shifters, from 10 speed to 12, recabled, new (from the stash) stem, bars, grips, brake levers, and a much more comfortable seat.

first version:

final version:

A dead silent smooth rider now back from the dead.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

cool, nice n fast. great around towner.

 

[FaceOFFbikes]

One man's trash is another man's commuter.. Good job. I wonder if I can put my 27's on my Ross all terrain..hmmm.

 

[RZ94]

The only issue I ran into with the 27's is I had to trim a section of the rear bridge. There was a "tab" that came down and then towards the front of the bike that was not welded to the stays. The magic Dremel tool and cutoff wheel resolved that for perfect clearance. And I had to use a set of brake calipers off of a road bike (the same bike that donated the 27's as a matter of fact). And that was it!

 

[FaceOFFbikes]

The only issue I ran into with the 27's is I had to trim a section of the rear bridge. There was a "tab" that came down and then towards the front of the bike that was not welded to the stays. The magic Dremel tool and cutoff wheel resolved that for perfect clearance. And I had to use a set of brake calipers off of a road bike (the same bike that donated the 27's as a matter of fact). And that was it!

Well I have everything from my road bike (frame to small) so I can donate to the taller Ross frame.. Thanks for the idea.

 

[RZ94]

Glad I could help! Between all of us helping each other, and the fact that Sheldon Brown (God rest his soul) left us a wealth of information, we can build ANYTHING!!!!

 

[RZ94]

(this was in response to a not so friendly or gracious post from a newbie....which was deleted by the moderators Thank you very much!)

Thank you for your unconstructive critique. If you haven't noticed, this site is for building/ modding/ customizing/ restoring/ refurbing bikes ANY WAY THE OWNER OF THE BIKE sees fit.

So, I'll address your concerns that I have destroyed a peice of American heritage.

Wheels changed from 26" to 27" because the originals were rust rotted unsafe crap and the donor wheels were in my inventory (read FREE).
I see you don't know how to measure a frame. Top of seat tube to center of crank.......this is an 18" frame.
I had a Huffy Scout road bike....the frame geometry is IDENTICAL to this bike, only it was equipped with 26 X 1 3/8 tire/ wheels. Not uncommon for the same frame to be built in different configurations for department store bikes....how do you think they kept the prices down, besides lower quality components???
The bike was surely one of a kind......not......just another old bike left to rot on a garbage pile by its FORMER owner who you should charge with attempting to destroy it.

You make it sound like I took an Elgin Bluebird or a Monark Silverking and hacked it up into something unrecognizable or useless. :roll:

How I found it:

How it turned out, and by the way, the NEW owner was VERY happy with it after she rode three other bikes I had for sale and she chose this one:

Geez......its a department store bike......not the original copy of the US Constitution or Bill of Rights......which guarantee your right to your opinion, and my freedom to build my bikes however I see fit. I've been a member of this forum for years and I think your post is the FIRST negative one I've seen.....are you sure you belong here???? Just my humble opinion.......

Oh....so you can sleep tonight....I AM NOT HACKING THESE UP................ :lol:

 

[deorman]

I'm not sure why someone would ignore the entire basis of the forum, to make one post disparaging one light modification job on a dime store bike. One of 12 million.

 

[RZ94]

Thank you deorman........the point of my response in a complete and concise statement. I just don't get where kingkoeller is coming from, except somewhere in deep deep deep left field.....

oh king....I neglected to show you how I MOLESTED my 1971 Murray road bike that I've owned since NEW........damn me.....I replaced the drop bars and brake levers with bull bars and compatible brake levers... :lol:

Oh wait!!! Hold the press!!!! Two more Huffy victims of my evil senseless destruction of American Icons.....yeah, they're BOTH Huffys....or, can you not tell the bike with the apes is a Chinese made Huffy...does this count against me or should I be on the look out for the Red Army???? :wink: :wink: :wink:

here's the violations list/ charges so you may file your complaints:
Springer front end, lengthened stem, pull back bars, black sparkle grips, Grand Tycoon red tires, black Nirve wheels with a Sturmey Archer three speed hub, Monarch 52T chainring Electra seat, and lest I forget, "bullet" valve stem caps

Ape hanger bars, black sparkle grips, front hand brake, rear 24 X 3 tire/wheel, and a freewheel.


You'd better call the Ohio State Police and report me...sounds like I'll get 20 to life.....

 

[kingkoeller]

My original post was deleted. Please don't delete my posts. I 'm not trying to sound negative. Please don't state that I don't know the proper way to measure a frame, I've been building bikes since 1968. I will apologize to every one here, yes, I'm new to this forum. The correct term for what I do is restore bikes to factory correctness, ya''ll love to modify and customize the classic American cruisers. Very cool. When I first saw this post , I was very interested. The builder did a great job bringing the bike back to life. All I was trying to say, if it were me, I would have kept the 26" mountain wheels. If the original wheels were rotted away I would have purchased replacements. I'm not criticizing his judgements, but trying to figure out how he came to certain decisions. Every one was quick to defend the original poster, and attack me, as being a new-be. There is a lot of creativity with the rat rod culture. I guess I'm not really a Rat Rodder, but an old school Vintage Light Weight Road bikes(Colnago, Raleigh, Bob Jackson, Centurion) and 40's and 50's American Cruisers(J.C Higgins, Schwinn, Elgin) kind of person. I love old Huffys. They were made right here in my town of Dayton, Ohio. About 4 days ago, I saw a mint 1983 huffy scout mountain bike that spent it's entire life in somebody's garage. Absolutely cherry! It was like some kind of time travel, so when i saw the original posters bike, I was wondering why he didn't restore it to factory specs, instead of modifying it. oh well...didn't mean to upset anybody...

Thanks for your time
Kingkoeller.

 

[RZ94]

Your original post was "not in the spirit" of this forum. If you take the time to go through ALL posts, you will see bikes that are restored back to their original glory, some slightly modified, some wildly modified, some made totally unrecognizable from what they started as, and many just "cleaned up" so they can be enjoyed in their well earned patina.

The tone of your original post made me feel as if I destroyed something as vauable or rare as a Bowden Spacelander.......

If you looked at my subsequent posts, you'll see that I usually DON'T radically change my bikes, but try to enhance them. If you see my "tanker" bike picture, you'll see my two red ones are in their original state, and the blue one was 100% restored back to original condition.

And talk about your love for Huffy's......if you look up my posts, you will see I share that.....look at my Black Good Vibrations with the springer front end.....and I say that because I own at least 25 bikes right now ranging from basket cases to my $4000 BMW mountain bike........this Huffy that I bought from a thrift store 2 years ago is my favorite.

This forum is about freedom of expression when it comes to our passion for bicycles of any and all kinds. We even ask for opinions from each other at times during builds, and no matter what the outcome, it is always appreciated......thats all.

Apology accepted!