My 1936 CWC Build - A Work in Progress

[Jimbo1959]

I picked up this barn find at an Antique Store in Toledo, Ohio about a month ago. After checking with the fine folks on CABE, it was determined that I likely had a 1936 CWC Model bike, as the head badge is missing. My conundrum is what to call it?

It was thought that the paint was in great condition from the photographs I uploaded, but I knew differently as a simple spray of Simple Green caused the 2nd coming of the Red Sea. My 1st mistake.

After the waves parted, I didn't have much to work with and the wheels were a joke. Hence, I stripped the whole thing down and repainted with Rustoleum. My 2nd mistake.

After 7 calendar days, it appears that Rustoleum's claim of "Completely Dry after 48 Hours" is closer to 14 calender days or leap years, as I mounted the frame on my bike repair stand to complete the build. The paint on the seat post below the lower top tube decided to show me that it was still "wet" and detached itself. My 3rd mistake.

Hence, this bike will likely be stripped down again and the whole process started over. With either Krylon or Powder Coating this next time and to have the Blue "Sparks" painted back in with either Creme or Blue, as I found it very difficult to do this with masking/painting tape. Any pointers or tutorials how to do this correctly?

Having said all this, she rides very nice. The seat is in very good condition and bounces like a worn out mattress, which is just fine with me. I'm very likely to change the Wald handlebars as they seem a bit too long, I'm not a fan of the Chain Ring, and I think I can find a better tire than the Bontrager Cruizer Tires, which are okay, but I think Electra's Retro-Runners are far better. I have the original handlebars and truss rods that were painted with aluminum paint and simply need to be sandblasted to kingdom come and the truss rods will be attached once the paint job is corrected. The Fenders are beat up and I suspect that I should simply gut the braces and get some Wald braces so they look presentable. I will also get period correct handlebar grips as the current Bontrager Lockable ones are simply being used as a mock up. The Chain Ring is 44 teeth, which seems just a tad light for my preference, since I prefer 46 teeth, the cog at the rear wheel is 22 teeth, which is perfect. Finally, I need to get the correct kickstand which is mounted on the rear axle. The one I secured doesn't fit.

 

[Markm]

Nice!!!
I just went through New Troy today....by you?

 

[Jimbo1959]

Markim,

Not sure where New Troy is as I've never heard of it. Troy, Michigan was named after settlers from Troy, New York arrived here in the late 1800's.

Reportedly, Troy, Michigan is in the top 25 safest cities in the Country...and that is in spite of the mess/cesspool with the City and Mayor of Detroit, just 18 miles away.

Some day, it will sink to a level that it will simply have to be blown up and start over from scratch. That day can't come soon enough...

 

[TJK]

nice bike!!! Very nice lines.. keep em rollin'!

 

[Rustinkerer]

Looks like my bike has an older brother! ~Adam

 

[sensor]

looks great! do you have the truss rods for it? if not electra makes some that you could get away with(just get the longest ones they have and you can cut them down to the length you need)

 

[Jimbo1959]

Thanks for the nice comments...

Rustinkerer - hopefully, your bike is paying attention and will avoid his "older" brother's mistakes and that of its owner. 8) I like your chain ring...

Sensor - Funny you should mention that...I slipped in what I thought were Electra's longest truss rods and the angle on them is quite sharp as they get close to the handlebar stem, they don't meet up with the truss holes on the fork and the truss ends go about 1" - 2" past the handlebar stem towards the seat. Thus, they don't meet up at the front of the stem like the originals do. Perhaps I don't have the longest ones from Electra. But I never thought about cutting them to size, so I am going to have to look at this again. Thanks for the tip! :idea:

I have the originals truss rods and handlebars but they need a lot of paint removal...They are quite nasty looking. Everytime I pick them up, flakes of aluminum paint peel off everywhere.

 

[Mr. Farrell]

i was thinking about getting those bontrager cruizers. do you have any specific complaints?

 

[Jimbo1959]

Mr. Farrell - It all comes down to personal preference...I just happen to have an Electra Cruiser (Black, of course) with their Retro Runner tires and I just like how it rides. It just seems like a thicker tire to me and the central tread is flatter/wider and seems to roll better. But at our speeds on these type of bikes/tires, it probably doesn't matter one bit what tire one uses. :wink:

I will say this, the whitewalls seem to stay "white" longer on the Bontragers than they do on the Schwinn Grand Typhoons.

By the way, I do have Bontrager Wheels and Tires on my carbon fiber road bikes and I wouldn't run on anything else...so I'll vouch for them over Mavic, Shimano, etc. I've never had a flat or busted a wheel on these Bontrager combos and we have the worst roads in the country.

 

[Rustinkerer]

Rustinkerer - hopefully, your bike is paying attention and will avoid his "older" brother's mistakes and that of its owner. I like your chain ring...

Actually, this bike was completely disassembled, and when I put it back together, I put the wrong sprocket/crank on it! The correct one is the same, but a skip tooth. That one there is for my Monark. ~Adam

 

[Jimbo1959]

Rustinkerer - I also have the original skip tooth chain, crank, chain ring and wheels, but the wheels have different size spoke nipples and was painted as well and rebuilding both wheels will be my winter project. Having said that, I still like that Monark Chain Ring...it looks like a complete match to the original style wise. 8)

 

[sensor]

if the angle is abit off just clamp them in a vise(lined with wood or cardboard) and stick a small screwdriver in the hole and bend them to where they need to be.......once they line up if theyre still too long you can cut them as needed...it takes some patience but itll work......it also helps to use a wire coat hanger as a guide to get the shape you need :wink:

 

[Uncle Stretch]

I think your paint drying problem is not the brand ,but operator error. I have had the same problem when I got too much paint on at one time. If there is a high humidity factor or not letting the coats dry before spraying on more I have run into having paint that seems to never dry. :wink:

 

[Jimbo1959]

Uncle Stretch

Well, of course, it's always operator error...but I didn't have these problems when using Krylon with the same level of humidity...which has been excessive every time I paint on the weekends for some reason. A number of people in my geographical area have since told me that Krylon is better, perhaps because they have had the same problem. I'm still new at this and wanted Enamel instead of a Satin finish, hence ACE Hardware recommending the Other Brand. Live and Learn. :mrgreen:

My question for you is what is the best way to paint sparks since you seem to have it down perfectly? :?: :?: :?: I wanted to paint creme sparks coming from the headset area of the frame and gave up because the 3M Painting Masking Tape (it was bright Green if that means anything) was just sticking to everything in sight and I couldn't get the sparks lined up correctly and finally gave up.

I appreciate a tutorial or a link on this if it has been discussed on this...thanks!