my late entry just arrived girls firestone klunker named simply klunkin

[heartlandcruisers]

Simple and easy we like...

thanks funkme.
yeah I want to keep it simple and to the point.
like I told my wife I just wanted to be a part of it and admire all the talented builders in the buildoff and have a little fun while I do it.
plus, I cannot resist any opportunity to wrench away on a bicycle
as far as the bike itself goes, the tractor grip tire may not work as it is dryrotted and has a big gaping hole in it so safety is a concern.
I might have to run the original cruiser tire on the back or I may borrow my aqua treads from my Camaro.
next step is to go thru and tighten everything and re grease her up and call it done.
I did put a front caliper brake on her, but my camera is dead so once my camera charges I will snap some updated pics.
sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well after I regreased the rear wheel and reassembled it I got it running and realized the front sprocket was warped.
where it did work I decided it would be best to swap it with one I had in my parts pile.
so I put the 2 I had next to the original one and my wife chose the same one I chose the 56 Schwinn sprocket.
so after that I cleaned it up and mounted it to the original cranks and it looks fantastic.
here is the results.
the one on the left is the one I went with the one in the middle is the original and the one on the right is a huffy sprocket I may incorporate them in the build eventually but for now I chose the Schwinn sprocket.

the winner all cleaned up

here she is all mounted and rollin

I was also having issues with the large seat I chose so for now I am going to run the original seat on the bike until I can fix the large seat and make it safe to ride.

next step is cleaning and regreasing the front hub and making a few adjustments then off to decide if I am going to paint it or not.
more updates soon
sean

 

[Fv2]

The middle chain ring is cool,been holding on to one of those myself. Made a good choice with the schwinn given the other wasn't true.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

The middle chain ring is cool,been holding on to one of those myself. Made a good choice with the schwinn given the other wasn't true.

yeah I like the middle one a lot myself.
I am going to hang it on my wall I think my wife has a thing for cool chain rings and im thinking any I get that I do not use will become wall art and clocks.
the Schwinn sprocket is a lil out of true but it is not as bad as this one was.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Glad you changed the forks back, the suspension forks were the only thing I didn't like!

Luke.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

Glad you changed the forks back, the suspension forks were the only thing I didn't like!

Luke.

yeah I did not like them either their not in very good shape and their off a Royce union, which is basically a huffy so I do not trust them.
I am still undecided about painting the forks or not, but if I do the bars need painting as well.
they both have a weird paint job that looks like there is black paint splattered all over them and I am not really digging it.
but on the same sense I want this bike to look rough and tough and not painted and shiny so I may just leave them.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well having a few more issues with the knobbies.
when I aired them up they popped I guess they were no good.
so I have to swap the tires back to cruiser tires.
I still have the tractor grip on the back but the front is the original tire that was on the back when I got this bike.
with that being said I need to know if I can change the name since it is really not a klunker anymore?
I will snap some pictures today when my camera charges up.
more updates soon.
sean

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well I know this is not really bicycle related but it is related to my build as it is how I feel with this build right now lol
plus music always inspires me and makes me feel better besides how can you not like a little priest

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well I think this one is done.
did not take me long because I kept it simple.
no paint no polish no cleaning rust none of that fancy stuff .
I did mount an old rear rack I had on it and managed to get the large seat I wanted to use on it to work.
like I said it is not really a klunker anymore but since I already named it simply klunkin that's her name
here is the finished bike as of right now.
the tires may be replaced soon as their pretty dry and cracked bad but their all I had at this time.

sorry the flash kinda screwed this one up on me but the front view

I will have to re do this one but ehre is the rear rack and the alrge seat I managed to use.

before i declare her 100 percent done I am going to get more pictures but she is ride able I took her for a quick spin last night.
more updates soon.
sean

 

[Fv2]

Looks like a rider

 

[heartlandcruisers]

Looks like a rider

yup she rides just feels really tall and im getting used to the springy seat it has a lot of bounce I do not know if that is normal or because I am a larger person or both but it rides good. But I do not want to call it done just yet until I know for sure it is a rider, plus i want a better finished picture.
will have some pics of the finished bike later if all goes well and everything stays working.
sean

 

[Fv2]

In what little experience I have with old bikes all spring seats are different. Just depends on spring stiffness and possibly quality.

 

[Kevin Kanouff]

I really like the handlebars and fork.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

In what little experience I have with old bikes all spring seats are different. Just depends on spring stiffness and possibly quality.

yes I think you are right on that I think it is a persons seat but it is pretty worn I believe that contributes to it a lot.

I really like the handlebars and fork.

it's funny you mention the forks they are off an old huffy I parted out awhile ago the rear rack bars and fork are off a ladies huffy santa fe that had seen better days. their comfy but the paint is weird on them.

 

[heartlandcruisers]

well here are my pictures of the test ride it was successful she rides stops and turns all on her own with no issues so I can call her done.
the first picture of the ride a nice street side view

the front view as you can see it is rather tall even for me at 5 11.

I actually snapped this one after I stubbed my toe on the curb

the tractor grip tire looks better then it actually is.but the treads decent

the left side view looks decent enough.nice n ratty just the way I like it.

took it on a ride down a dried up drainage ditch to show it's klunker capable even with the worn out tires.

as you can see it likes to slide in the loose dirt but that is the fun part lol

the front view in the ditch.

finally on the trail behind my house to show it can be ridden both on and off road.

this was taken in my backyard next to a very old natural gas powered light I thought fit the bike pretty good.

that is all for now I guess I can move this to the finished thread now she is done and riding.
hope y'all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed building it.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Congrats on finishing!

Luke.

 

[Kevin Kanouff]

yes I think you are right on that I think it is a persons seat but it is pretty worn I believe that contributes to it a lot.

it's funny you mention the forks they are off an old huffy I parted out awhile ago the rear rack bars and fork are off a ladies huffy santa fe that had seen better days. their comfy but the paint is weird on them.

Man, I love splatter paint. So when you changed the fork, you got more points in my book!

 

[heartlandcruisers]

Man, I love splatter paint. So when you changed the fork, you got more points in my book!

thanks man I appreciate the positive comments
I almost repainted them but decided against it looks like I made the right decision.

Congrats on finishing!

Luke.

thanks luke this was a really simple bolt together build and since I sued all junk pile parts it didn't take much other then seeing what will work and what won't but yeah she's done and riding actually rides pretty good as long as I can get used to the seat being springy