It looks like flat Mountain Dew. Nothing to see here. Just move along.
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(MBBO Class 1) "The Judge 5": Closing argument.
- Thread starter CRASH
- Start date
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The good news: I've been working feverishly on busting rust and restoring shine on this barn find bike. There's a ton of work involved.
The bad news: Wife found out my secret payment method, so the shenanigans are up! Luckily, I've got most of what I need, and will beg for the rest. But I'm in the dog house for a bit.
Ok, on to happier updates. Remember the "before" pick of those rims?
Here's the "after"
I didn't get a picture of the condition of the chrome, but both had a lot of corrosion to contend with. The Oxalic bath worked wonders, then balled up aluminum foil and hot water to beat down what was left, and finally a polishing wheel and Mothers mag polish.
With that done, I was ready to pulled some magic on the hubs. Both were just caked in barn crap. I completely overhauled the rear hub and it's all back together as you can see, but the front hub assembly is still soaking in kerosene to break down the hardened grease that's petrified all over the parts. But the hub shell polished out well after a lot of cleaning.
I gathered it all to bring them together.
And a while later...
I'll rebuild the front hub, then have to tension and true them, then I'll put sneakers on them and try some tricks I'm coming up with to give them the look this bike needs.
I'm also going to continue to clean and polish every part of this bike.
The bad news: Wife found out my secret payment method, so the shenanigans are up! Luckily, I've got most of what I need, and will beg for the rest. But I'm in the dog house for a bit.
Ok, on to happier updates. Remember the "before" pick of those rims?
Here's the "after"
I didn't get a picture of the condition of the chrome, but both had a lot of corrosion to contend with. The Oxalic bath worked wonders, then balled up aluminum foil and hot water to beat down what was left, and finally a polishing wheel and Mothers mag polish.
With that done, I was ready to pulled some magic on the hubs. Both were just caked in barn crap. I completely overhauled the rear hub and it's all back together as you can see, but the front hub assembly is still soaking in kerosene to break down the hardened grease that's petrified all over the parts. But the hub shell polished out well after a lot of cleaning.
I gathered it all to bring them together.
And a while later...
I'll rebuild the front hub, then have to tension and true them, then I'll put sneakers on them and try some tricks I'm coming up with to give them the look this bike needs.
I'm also going to continue to clean and polish every part of this bike.
Wow those rims came out nice. Wheels look great. Did a lot of the muscle bikes come with a 1 3/8 front?
I don't know what qualifies as "a lot". But I'm going to answer no to that, because I think more muscle bikes didn't have that size than did. However, for some reason I'm really pulled to that size. I had a 5-speed Sears Spyder 20" with that size, I built a AMF Renegade with that size (although every AMF I've seen had a standard 1.75 on the front)
I just realized how big that front looks in that pic! I took it at an angle so I didn't get the glare from my kitchen lights off my counter top.
I just realized how big that front looks in that pic! I took it at an angle so I didn't get the glare from my kitchen lights off my counter top.
Your Renegade was the first place I've seen it. So there are some bikes that came that way. Interesting. I tried my 1 3/8 wheel off the Fastback on the front of my '64 Stingray Saturday. Makes for a nice stagger. Makes more sense than a 16" front IMO. Looking forward to see what else you have in the works for this bike.
Funkme
𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐤𝐞.𝐧𝐮𝐭
They look like spanky new wheels.... Great work Crash(like all ways).
I am putting in more hours of polishing into this build than I have combined for all my other builds. Bringing the parts back from a rusty death is challenging!
No real progress pics. I'm also cleaning up a bike the wife wants me to sell, so my time is stretched!
No real progress pics. I'm also cleaning up a bike the wife wants me to sell, so my time is stretched!
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Oh man, wish I had found that before you. Still hoping to return my Judge to its former glory. This is my old bike from when I was a teenager. I found the chain guard but I'm still looking for the shifter and derailleur. My brother had one of these too, parts of this are his. Mine had the original Cheater Slick, he changed his out for this yellow knobby, they were really popular back then. The sissy bar is on backwards.
That's a great start... and you say it was YOUR actual bike you rode as a kid? How awesome is that? I'd be pouring money into that sucker because I would never sell it, just keep passing it down the family.
My plan is to do that, but I'm going to have a tangerine orange where yours is yellow, in the seat as well.
If you're ready to start tearing into that bad boy, and you don't want to have the pressure of the MBBO... start a build thread and we can talk about parts and sources.
My plan is to do that, but I'm going to have a tangerine orange where yours is yellow, in the seat as well.
If you're ready to start tearing into that bad boy, and you don't want to have the pressure of the MBBO... start a build thread and we can talk about parts and sources.
What year is yours? (serno?) And... could you take a picture of the seat tube? I want to see how the Huffy decal interacts with the BM/A 6 decal.
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Not sure on the year, early 70s is the best I can do. I see a lot of differences from the ad you posted, sissy bar, seat and color.
Here's the story: my parents hit some hard times and were pretty desperate for money. They raided our savings accounts, which probably didn't have more than a couple hundred total. Later, they paid us back with these bikes. We rode them pretty hard. I can remember taking mine over jumps and working it like it was a BMX bike. After awhile the only way to shift it was to push on the derailleur with my heel. THat's probably why the shifter is gone. Parts are there somewhere, but my dad was a notorious junk collector and there are multiple buildings full of stuff where it could be. There should be another complete bike too, but it's possible one of my nephews made off with it. We also had a yellow single speed Schwinn Fastback.
Here's a pic, let me know if you want any more. And if you find a source for the Cheater Slick and the front tire, let me know. My front is original, and it's in pretty bad shape.
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Here's the story: my parents hit some hard times and were pretty desperate for money. They raided our savings accounts, which probably didn't have more than a couple hundred total. Later, they paid us back with these bikes. We rode them pretty hard. I can remember taking mine over jumps and working it like it was a BMX bike. After awhile the only way to shift it was to push on the derailleur with my heel. THat's probably why the shifter is gone. Parts are there somewhere, but my dad was a notorious junk collector and there are multiple buildings full of stuff where it could be. There should be another complete bike too, but it's possible one of my nephews made off with it. We also had a yellow single speed Schwinn Fastback.
Here's a pic, let me know if you want any more. And if you find a source for the Cheater Slick and the front tire, let me know. My front is original, and it's in pretty bad shape.
Tires: A good pair of Cheater Slicks is going to cost you major money... if you can find a set. I'm looking, but pretty much giving up and going with an aftermarket set that I'm going to paint the billboards on. That's "cheating", but I call it improvising. If it's just going to be a show bike, not going to be ridden, I have a cheater slick set that came off mine. One side has the sidewalls blown out, so can't be ridden, but will hold air and can be used to display a bike if cleaned up.
Shifter/derailleur: If you can find any of the hardware, do it. They do come up on Ebay, but they aren't cheap, especially in nice shape.
Seat/Sissy: Yours are gold. From the pics they look great. If you've got some corrosion you can clean that up pretty easy. If your seat isn't ripped or cracked then you've got a big bonus.
Bars/post: Yours look rusty. They may clean up with a lot of elbow grease, or you could get them rechromed, or you could replace them. That goes for ALL the chrome, but that back fender is another piece of gold.
Any missing part from that bike... if you can find it, you'll save a lot of money. Your paint can be cleaned up, but I see a lot of corrosion around the chain stay, so depending on what you want to do with it, you may want to repaint it.
YEAR: Look on the back of the left side rear wheel drop out. (Where the rear wheel bolts to the frame) You'll see the serial number stamped there. The first two number/letters are the only ones that count. 0H, 1H, 2H... something like that. I'm going to guess 0H, as you don't have the BM/A-6 (safety certification) decal that was required as of July 1971.
Shifter/derailleur: If you can find any of the hardware, do it. They do come up on Ebay, but they aren't cheap, especially in nice shape.
Seat/Sissy: Yours are gold. From the pics they look great. If you've got some corrosion you can clean that up pretty easy. If your seat isn't ripped or cracked then you've got a big bonus.
Bars/post: Yours look rusty. They may clean up with a lot of elbow grease, or you could get them rechromed, or you could replace them. That goes for ALL the chrome, but that back fender is another piece of gold.
Any missing part from that bike... if you can find it, you'll save a lot of money. Your paint can be cleaned up, but I see a lot of corrosion around the chain stay, so depending on what you want to do with it, you may want to repaint it.
YEAR: Look on the back of the left side rear wheel drop out. (Where the rear wheel bolts to the frame) You'll see the serial number stamped there. The first two number/letters are the only ones that count. 0H, 1H, 2H... something like that. I'm going to guess 0H, as you don't have the BM/A-6 (safety certification) decal that was required as of July 1971.
It doesn't. I reacts with the rust itself. If the chrome isn't damaged (meaning the rust hasn't broken through it) then the rust will dissolve or wipe away.
Barkeepers Friend has Oxalid acid in it, and I use it for minor cleanup. Evaporust does the same thing as Wood Bleach, it just costs more. I've used both. I like Evaporust, but don't like to pay for it.
Another important trick is to not scratch the chrome when you're cleaning it up. For tougher jobs I use balled up aluminum foil. The foil beats off the rust, but is weak enough that the chrome doesn't care. Also copper Chore Boy pads work well, but if you really lean on a Chore Boy you can scratch the chrome. Some folks use 0000 steel wool, but I've found that: A) it doesn't hit the rust hard enough if you use it lightly, and B) If you use it hard enough to hit the rust, you scratch the chrome.
Barkeepers Friend has Oxalid acid in it, and I use it for minor cleanup. Evaporust does the same thing as Wood Bleach, it just costs more. I've used both. I like Evaporust, but don't like to pay for it.
Another important trick is to not scratch the chrome when you're cleaning it up. For tougher jobs I use balled up aluminum foil. The foil beats off the rust, but is weak enough that the chrome doesn't care. Also copper Chore Boy pads work well, but if you really lean on a Chore Boy you can scratch the chrome. Some folks use 0000 steel wool, but I've found that: A) it doesn't hit the rust hard enough if you use it lightly, and B) If you use it hard enough to hit the rust, you scratch the chrome.
Dilute it with water (not sure of the amount, I just guess) Not a lot though. If I had to guess I would say a tablespoon or two per gallon. Use hot water, which will help it dissolve and dilute.
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I can't seem to find wood bleach powder anymore. It used to be common. I've used OxySolve to satisfying result, but it too was pre-mixed and expensive. Be careful with the Chore Boy pads--they're not pure copper and can scratch once the plating wears thin. Libmans are better, but you pay for it.
It's common and pretty cheap online. Search for Savogran Wood Bleach.
Did you guys see they where using a Molasses slury on youtube to eat rust ?
