Oriolus Rattus- photo update, call it done 6/17 - I lied 8/5

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Re: 37/38 Elgin Oriole Rat Rod

Not a real fan of WW tires but the red rims were looking plain, dialed up Felt and a new mockup, I suppose I need at least one archetype "Rat Rod" with red rims, WWs, & rust

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Re: 37/38 Elgin Oriole Rat Rod

Thanks for the comments, I must say out in the sun it definitely has a classic look to it. I still need to deal with the fork struts a bit. The original bike these were on probably had about a 4.5" heatube cuz they're about half inch short on this so I need to get some longer bolts and a short spacer to bolt them to the headset bracket, I cheated a bit for the mockup. I can only get a few turns on teh topnut so I'll probably use a nothread converter with bmx stem to keep the nut locked down. I've got a solid black bmx chainring reminiscent of the old Elgin chainrings and an old 1-pc black crankset to go with it.
 
Re: Elgin Oriole Rat Rod

Tried some nylon bushings for now, spaces the truss rids down into perfect position, need to get some steel spacers for real use.
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Robbed the handlebars from my Nirve for mock-up as I'm trying to find the desired pullback, may have to nab a pair of old bars somewhere like they used to use on these things longhorn style, was going to use this plain black sprocket but the Primo raw finish in the second shot might get the nod. Black cranks will be replaced by some old rusty dog-legs.

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Re: Elgin Oriole Rat Rod - update 4/11

Forgot I had these ladies Elgin truss rods, put a stem extender is for now, will tap and cut later, just a quick rideable mockup and off the the street fair for a shakedown, need to see how the micro-drive feels. Just need to find the Elgin badge I stashed away. dogleg cranks aren't really wide enough for these thick bmx sprockets.

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Re: Elgin Oriole Rat Rod - update 4/26

What is the gearing on the microdrive? That chain looks beefy.
 
Re: Elgin Oriole Rat Rod - update 4/26

cman - the gearing is 30/13, feels about like a 2:1 due to the tire size diff from a true 26", chain is a KMC 415H 1/2 X 3/16". Beefy indeed gives a real industrial look, close-up below. Actually runs alot smoother than I expected

Thanks JoeyMac its been a real adventure on this build trying to get stuff to fit when I don't really have the right components.

After riding this bike for the afternoon, I still need to get the ride position/seat/bars thing worked out a little better. Overall it was a pretty nice rider though, stable and nimble handling. A very low feel to this compared to all my other bikes. Definitely need some chain adjuster screws to lock the rear in better

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Re: Elgin Rat - update 4/26

Mini-update, added about 1.5 inch of thread to each truss rod came out clean, after hacksawing off the first inch plus and about a dozen trips to the vise with a pipe and pliers for the bracket, the rods seem to fit pretty good and I don't have to jury rig it.

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Re: Tuco (known as "The Rat")

Thanks Blaze!

When I first started messing with this fork I laid it down on the workbench noticed the legs were whacked, after a few visits to the vise I had them aligned.... or so I thought. After taking it out again today with the truss rods dialed in I really noticed the fork and wheel are off kilter. Hard to show it in the pic below but like alot of this old prewar stuff things are not always very straight(the frame is the same way), in fact the whole fork is kind of whacked so now I need to re-visit the vise and bend the legs back. Bottom line the wheel sits off axis, functional but it drives me nuts. That means re-bending the truss rods also.

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Re: Tuco (known as "The Rat")

deorman said:
Be careful buddy, the more you shift that old iron the softer it gets.
Click to expand...

Maybe if I was heating it, but cold setting tends to work harden steel. In any case the amount of bend we're talking about is pretty small.

Had to break down and get some bars with alot of pullback to get a comfy ride, sits just right now. Might have to age them a bit though.

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Re: Tuco (known as "The Rat")

JoeyMac said:
Lookin real good. I like that micro-drive setup a lot. Might have to try that sometime.
Click to expand...

Thanks, these prewars are great for micro-drive since the chainstays are straight, wanted to do it on my RRBBO4 bike but would've needed a tensioner with the drooping stays, not clean looking.

Pretty much solved all remaining issues with the fork alignment, got some 12-24 chain adj screws in, swapped the crank for a newer one piece as the old dog-leg wasn't wide enough for the thick (7mm) sprocket had to file a little bit on the left side arm to get it to clear the chainstay. This cheapo BMX crank has plenty of clearance, gave the crank and bars the scotch-brite/WD-40 treatment to knock down the chrome shine, should age quicker also. Now onto some lighting, going to make something retro looking.

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Re: Tuco (known as "The Rat")

Finally mounted the Elgin badge I had, made it an official Elgin. Kept having people walk up and ask me what it was when I was cruising around, then not being even close on their guess which they insisted on making.

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Snagged this pretty cool old Navy headlamp for a tenski off the bay, should make a nice headlight with an LED in it.

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