A.S.BOLTNUT
He who dies with the most toys ,still dies No Fear
Lookin good , let me dig around a lil, and see if I can solve your brake arm dilemma.
Manta Racer MBBO class 2
- Thread starter ParkRNDL
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Dude, I'll be staffing at the local bike co-op on Tuesday night, so permit me to check our small-parts bin for that style of anchor. Those guys love their road bikes, so there are always scads of side-pull calipers laying about...mostly Dia-Compe. Will let you know.
Thanks, man, I appreciate it. I am always so jealous when I hear people talk about bike co-ops. That must be a big city thing. We don't have anything like that around here (southern central semi-rural PA).
Thanks! Yeah, to tell the truth, gumwalls wouldn't be my first choice for this type bike either, but I'm trying to keep it low budget and the tires that are on it are in such good shape... it would bug me to get essentially the same tires in black wall. Now, if I could get an affordable rear slick in that size, that would definitely justify getting a pair of blackwalls. I have even checked wheelchair parts websites, as many of them apparently use that size rim... the only interesting option is a grey version of essentially the same tire.
Looking awesome!
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I can understand the budget issue. That's why I'm using an old tractor tread front from the 70s. I really just like the way that blue pops and the tires pull your eye away abit.
Tire paint isn't too outrageous... Maybe stick on letters, in a cool Muscle Bike Phrase and then spray black over it. Peel off the letters and BINGO Gumwall racing letters... add a red stripe and ya got something. I've seen some cool stuff here in the past. I've got a similar idea in mind for mine.
Carl.
Carl.
Those pesky budgets always get in the way. Tires cost more than most of the bikes I buy
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guard is maaaayyyyyyyybeeee getting near straight enough? body work was never my thing...
Turned out good from what I can see from my phone.
Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving...
First of all, I do not possess the skills or the equipment to straighten bent metal with any sort of competence. So the dents in the guard still looked kind of junky, though the primer in that photo hid it pretty well. I figured if the paint laid down okay and the graphics I want to use work out, maybe they'd hide it.
But second, I apparently lack the skills to paint, too...
I had this can of Dupli-Color that I thought would be a good match.
Also, I know that Schwinn painted their candy colors over an aluminized base, and I had a few different chrome/aluminum/silver spray bombs around, so I tried spraying the blue over them on some scrap and it seemed to come out okay.
However, it seems that the silver didn't like the primer I used on the guard, and it just got worse when I put the blue over it.
Time for Plan B. Now, @modelcarjedi was kind enough to offer me a guard that was the same as the one I just mutilated minus the dents, but that would still involve sanding and priming and painting. I am open to getting the right primer and trying it all again if I have to, but if I can avoid it by getting a guard in the right color to begin with, well, why not? And this one even has some wear and tear to match the bike. (Yes, I realize the paint won't match perfectly.)
So we shall see how this goes. I will have to try to gently take the star graphic off this one without boogering up the paint too bad. If I can do that, I have some ideas about getting some interesting graphics on it.
Side note: I have a TON of respect and admiration for you guys on the board who can paint and weld and fabricate. The stuff you turn out is AMAZING. The best I can do is creative parts swapping.
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Yeah, mixing formulas can often end badly, though I think the color is a pretty fair match. Were it me, I'd probably wet-sand the fouled guard until the crazing was eliminated, then re-spray the blue topcoat. Who knows--it might turn out okay. In many ways, these builds are learning experiences. One doesn't gain skills repeating what you already know.
I may try that yet, just to see how it goes. I'd like to have the "canvas" to experiment with creating guard graphics.
I always use the same brands to help eliminate any paint shenanigans.
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Nice looking project here.
I feel like I'm missing something with the guard dilema though. Didn't the speedster have a decent matching guard on it? Looks like it just needs some touch up.
For touch up you can spray some of your paint into the lid and apply it with a toothpick. Chrysler Intense Blue Pearl Effect is an almost exact match for the Schwinn sky blue.
I feel like I'm missing something with the guard dilema though. Didn't the speedster have a decent matching guard on it? Looks like it just needs some touch up.
For touch up you can spray some of your paint into the lid and apply it with a toothpick. Chrysler Intense Blue Pearl Effect is an almost exact match for the Schwinn sky blue.
I feel like I'm missing something with the guard dilema though. Didn't the speedster have a decent matching guard on it? Looks like it just needs some touch up.
For touch up you can spray some of your paint into the lid and apply it with a toothpick. Chrysler Intense Blue Pearl Effect is an almost exact match for the Schwinn sky blue.
You are correct, the Speedster guard isn't bad. However, I want to do a separate guard with some custom graphics on it and tuck the Speedster guard away along with the fenders, seat, and bars. ( yeah, I know the Speedster isn't that valuable a bike, but I like the idea of being able to put it all back to original.)
Thanks for the tip on the Chrysler paint, I'm sure that will come in handy.
Would you ever put it back to original? I know I’d never do it to my manta-clone [emoji41]
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Nothing wrong with creative parts swapping!
a couple more little changes...
I got this shifter around the time I first discovered RRB, probably 10 or 12 years ago, with intentions of using it on a Spaceliner-type build with 24x3 tires in a 26" frame. The project was a mess and never went very far. So a year or two ago, when I came across this 24" Ross, I figured it was a good chance to use it.
Yeah, it ended up being a horrible hack job. But when this Speedster/Manta project came along, it seemed like a much better home for the shifter.
I got it on and adjusted and it seems to shift nice. Just gotta replace that little L-shaped piece of spring steel that attaches to the pulley and keeps the cable in line when it goes slack in 3rd gear.
I also swapped out the sissy bar for another one I had laying around. The rear mounting holes in this seat are really far forward, and the first sissy I had on there put the loop in a place where it was really uncomfortable when you leaned back into the seat. This one works much better in that respect, and I kinda like the lines and angles better too, though I was hoping to keep it looking like something Schwinn would have built, and I don't think they ever used a bar with a loop like that. Whatever, this is what I had on hand and I like it.
I got this shifter around the time I first discovered RRB, probably 10 or 12 years ago, with intentions of using it on a Spaceliner-type build with 24x3 tires in a 26" frame. The project was a mess and never went very far. So a year or two ago, when I came across this 24" Ross, I figured it was a good chance to use it.
Yeah, it ended up being a horrible hack job. But when this Speedster/Manta project came along, it seemed like a much better home for the shifter.
I got it on and adjusted and it seems to shift nice. Just gotta replace that little L-shaped piece of spring steel that attaches to the pulley and keeps the cable in line when it goes slack in 3rd gear.
I also swapped out the sissy bar for another one I had laying around. The rear mounting holes in this seat are really far forward, and the first sissy I had on there put the loop in a place where it was really uncomfortable when you leaned back into the seat. This one works much better in that respect, and I kinda like the lines and angles better too, though I was hoping to keep it looking like something Schwinn would have built, and I don't think they ever used a bar with a loop like that. Whatever, this is what I had on hand and I like it.
