Pre-war Elgin, a new project begins

[sandmangts]

I found this Elgin after a deal I was working on fell through. Lucky for me. Prior to going and looking at it I measured my Mercury's wheelbase, fork, top tube and took notes on the geometry. When I compared to this bike all the numbers are the same. I LOVE the fit and ride of the Merc so I wanted something similar. Turns out Elgins were made by Murray of Ohio just like the Merc's were and there are several noticable traits when comparing the two. I like the smooth lines on this frame. According to the owner this was restored somtime in the early 80's. Most of the parts are not original and neither is the paint which is good for me because I won't feel bad about rebuilding and repainting to suit my needs.

I have not decided on a build path but I do not want to cold set the frame the way I did on the Mercury. If the skip tooth bits are in good order along with the rear hub I may do a homage to one of Alan Bonds clunkers. Something like this:

I would like to have a few gears and a drum brake up front. Here is what I am thinking,
Possible conversion to 1/2 inch pitch instead of skip tooth.
TA or similar cranks
Sturmey drum up front.
Skull skates bar
Astabula stem
Brooks b-17 ( i love the one on my merc)
Araya 7x rims or Ukai

I want to keep this one a little lighter and simpler than the Mercury. Anyway, here it is.

 

[yewhi]

Nice! Love the curves on the Bottom Bracket. Great old seat too. Sure you don't want to use that?

 

[J_Westy]

I found this Elgin after a deal I was working on fell through.
...
Here is what I am thinking,
Possible conversion to 1/2 inch pitch instead of skip tooth.
TA or similar cranks
Sturmey drum up front.
Skull skates bar
Astabula stem
Brooks b-17 ( i love the one on my merc)
Araya 7x rims or Ukai

Nice looking lines on that frame. This will be a fun build to watch!

Your list sounds great so far!

 

[sandmangts]

I stripped it all down last night and everything is in very good shape. Turns out it has a Morrow coaster hub that should clean up nice and works well. The chain is good and the crank turns smoothly with no play. Headset and crown race are in great shape. Only problem is the stem wedge is stuck but it should come out after soaking in break free. I think I will take the path of least resistance and have the Morrow built into a Ukai or Araya along with a classic sturmey or schwinn drum. Keep the skip tooth setup, re-chrome the shiny bits and paint it. It should make a cool bomber/cruiser. The one thing I did not like about my Merc was the fact that I can't haul my kid in his burley because the roller brake is in the way. I should be able to use this bike for our beach rides with the trailer. I currently use my Ellsworth but I always get a little nervous locking it up.

 

[sandmangts]

So, one month has passed, most parts have been rounded up. Still need a front drum and a proper bar. Got the parts back from the chrome shop today and oh my did they do a good job.

 

[udallcustombikes]

I love fresh chrome! I have a Sachs front drum hub if you are interested. Excellent shape. PM me if you would like some pics.

 

[41DX]

That chrome + your polishing looks sweet.

 

[rico]

Chrome look's nice !
That should be a great looking build :wink:

 

[59punk]

wish I could afford some chrome plating of that quality.....Rustoleum looks nothing like that. :lol:

 

[HotRodJen]

wowsa CHROME .. i feel like a little bug drawn to the light love chrome

 

[yewhi]

Looks nice Aaron! The chrome came out very nice and I can't wiat to see it complete. You're making a lot better progress than I.

What did you decide to do with the seat? Too cool not to use.

Tim

 

[sandmangts]

Looks nice Aaron! The chrome came out very nice and I can't wiat to see it complete. You're making a lot better progress than I.

What did you decide to do with the seat? Too cool not to use.

Tim

I don't know what to do with it. It is so beaten I doubt it would hold up for long although the frame and springs are solid. I could have it re-leathered but what's the point. I think it is wrong for this bike because of the path I have chosen for the build. I may just hang on to it and see if a bike with the right "patina" comes along. You know, something like an old DX that still has the original paint. It would have looked cool on this:

It is a Troxel saddle out of Ohio. DMF did a killer job on the chrome and the price was reasonable.

Next step is to remove the BB cups and headset/crown race and get the frame stripped/primed and painted. I am thinking high gloss black with white for the head tube and a nice silver pin-stripe. My wife thinks fire engine red would look cool with all the chrome though and I think that would look pretty killer too but I want to keep it closer to the original paint schemes.

Anybody got any tips on removing the bb cups? I have never had to remove these large ones before. I may just take it to a local bmx shop and have them do it.

 

[yewhi]

Yeah, I really like DMF. I'm in the process of putting together parts for a trip up there. I still have a few key pieces to put together before then and I'm glad to see that they did a good job on small parts.

The seat is great. I've been looking for something similar for my build. Problem is they are super expensive for a decent original so I'll probably end up with a brooks imitation. Definitely hang on to it. A good saddle shop might be able to restore it for a reasonable price.

American BB cups are really easy to pop out. Just use a flathead screw driver and a hammer. Tap out the top and then the bottom. A couple of taps and they'll pretty much just fall out. They are just press fit in there and not very tightly at that.

That thing should look great regardless of the color. Can't wait to see it.

TCN

 

[deorman]

Screwdriver's not my weapon of choice, but yeah, they tap or press out. Occasionally you run into some as tight as head races, hence the not-screwdriver.

 

[sandmangts]

Yeah these cups are pretty tight but the original bearings and parts are in outstanding shape so I don't want to screw it up. I still can't get the stem wedge out of the steerer but the stem bolt still secures the stem and lines up properly so screw it I am just going to leave it in.

 

[sandmangts]

I love fresh chrome! I have a Sachs front drum hub if you are interested. Excellent shape. PM me if you would like some pics.

Me too, I love shiny things. This is going to be my beach bike/kiddie carrier. I sent you a pm about the drum. Thanks!

 

[sandmangts]

Well I got lucky today. I was going to see a guy about a bike purchase and had some time to kill. I had my boy with me so I took him to the park. Across the street there was a yard sale so I walked over and my boy started digging through a box of toys. I caught a glimmer of chrome out of the corner of my eye. Looking closer I saw a nice chrome cruser bar sticking out of an old crate. Intriqued I had my boy help me start digging through the parts and at the bottom was a small unmarked box. I opened it an found a unused Sachs front drum with all the hardware. It has no marks or signs of use anywhere and it works perfectly. I also found an Extralite seatpost, Selle Italia Flite titanium saddle, an old Suntour hubset with cassette, some shimano canti brakes and some other odds and ends. I asked the owner how much expecting to hear around 75-100 bucks. When he said 15 I could hardly contain myself. Needless to say I did not haggle.

 

[Rat Rod]

I think you're making this story up...ha ha! :lol:

Man...what a SCORE! :shock:

 

[mikesbikes36]

WOW some guys just have all the luck ....that hub is super sweet man ..nice score !!!

 

[sandmangts]

I think you're making this story up...ha ha! :lol:

Man...what a SCORE! :shock:

It is Karma! A guy I work with bought a used bike that had "issues". I took it home, cleaned it up, replaced a worn cassette with a slightly used XT cassette, replaced the rear derailler and brake cables and housing. Cleaned, lubed and torqued all the pivots to proper spec and tuned it up. When you do nice things for people nice things happen to you.

Here is the parts donor bike I went to get. I was after the UKAI wheels, Rollercams, shifters and levers and deraillers some of which will go on my Pre-war Schwinn DX...when i find it.