Re: OCC Stingray gets a second lease on life
Okay, this next part is not really talking to anyone... I'm just laying out my thought process for building this.
Basically, I want to make this bike ridable for long distances. I've removed the chainguard and rear fender mounts, and will remove the welded kickstand. The rear wheel is a 20x4" wheel, and the rear hub is extremely wide so the chain will clear the 4" wide rim. The rear dropouts are 170mm apart, and normal bicycles are 135mm. Big problem! No aftermarket hubs will fit without narrowing the rear end except the Sturmey SX-RK3, SX-RB3, or a Chris King tandem hub. If I had the choice between a $150 3-speed, or a $150 8-speed, I'll take the 8-speed.
I'm also wanting to convert the rear wheel to a 24" (like the WCC bikes) for better gearing and smoother rolling. But if I put a taller tire in the back, it will jack up the rear of the bike, and I don't want that.
So I will solve this with a single solution: 1/4" aluminum plates to raise the rear axle. I can get a foot of 4" wide 1/4" thick 6160 bar stock for about $8. I'll bolt a 4x6" plate into each dropout, sticking straight up, and cut new dropout slots about 4" higher than the original dropout slots. This also narrows the rear of the bike from 170mm to about 155mm, which is close enough to use standard 135mm hubs. I could even s-bend them slightly to narrow it further. This will let me use hubs like the Sturmey-Archer 8-speed rear hub, or any cheap 3-speed. Lace this to a 24" rim and a 24x3" whitewall, and bam! We're in business. The resulting rear end would actually sit about a half inch lower than the original 20" wheel. I could even cut the dropout extensions with decorative stuff. For strength, I'd probably make the new dropout slots ovals (not opening to the outside) for strength.
The only problem with this setup is the lower chain would rub on the frame. Thankfully, someone on RatRodBikes figured this out! I can put a cheap chain tensioner over the chainstay.
So now that I've got most of the back end figured out, I need to turn my attention to the middle and front. I'll probably just use the comfort saddle I found (recovered) and a layback seatpost to get it where I want it. And for the front, well, I'd like to extend the forks and make them lighter... but I will probably re-use the stock fork and lace up a 27" front wheel to keep the bike proportioned correctly. If I have the money, I might replace the fork legs with aluminum. I wonder how many choppers have been done with a 27" front wheel? I might have to extend the forks anyway.
I've found aluminum handlebars that I like too, so once I've got everything assembled, I'm expecting the bike to look like a chopper, but ride like a road machine. More pics to come!
Also, I found a cheap Bell comfort saddle in the trash down my street yesterday, and the covering was worn out... I pulled the skin off and now I'm thinking about recovering it with snakeskin Tolex, costs about $17 a yard. 
