Proud Mary - A throwback Huffman ratrod bike

[gowjobs]

I was just going to say , "That head lamp looks like bakelite." Really cool! Now all you need is this radio to mount somewhere and you'll be all set.
View attachment 192680

I wish! Even if the fenders don't make the final cut, I think this headlight is staying. Which also means that I think my colorway has been determined. A tobacco or chocolate brown should complement the orange well.

 

[us56456712]

Honestly, there were no plans to put fenders on Mary. Every vision that I had of her finished form proudly displayed her fat Electra squishy bits, nekkid to the world.

After realizing that my repro Columbia springer is 22.2mm ID and not 21.1, and my planned stem wouldn't work without a shim, I went hunting for the 22.2 integrated stem/bar combo that I have attempted to fit up at some point to almost every RRBBO entry I have ever built. That run-on sentence merely explains how I ran across these old fenders in my stash. I think they may be Colson, but could have also been meant for a Schwinn DX project that I never got around to finishing.

Asides aside, here's today's mock-up with the racey handlebars, fenders, a diamond-tufted seat, and cranks:
View attachment 192571View attachment 192570View attachment 192572

That bike is beyond awesome.

 

[kram]

Really liking where this one is headed!

 

[kingfish254]

So much coolness going on with your mockups so far. Didn't you buy those ortho bars from me? I love the look of the flipped springer.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I'm officially subscribed.

Love this shot!

It will be interesting to hear how the flipped fork performs. I really like the looks of it!!!

(P.S., I hope the fenders stay.)

 

[gowjobs]

I'm officially subscribed.

Love this shot!

It will be interesting to hear how the flipped fork performs. I really like the looks of it!!!

(P.S., I hope the fenders stay.)

So much coolness going on with your mockups so far. Didn't you buy those ortho bars from me? I love the look of the flipped springer.

I think those bars very well may have been from the Kingfish stash. If my calibrated eyeballs are correct, once the headset is in place, there should be about an inch of trail with the springer flipped, and moving some weight forward of the steering axis will help increase stability at speed. I'm currently sussing out how I'm going to go about mounting that front fender. Though it'd look nicer if it travels with the wheel, it'd definitely be easier to mount it to the stationary fork crown.

 

[Ulu]

For the record, I just want to declare that I generally despise using cottered cranks. I had a few sets as a kid, and they always ended up loose and wobbly, and as many issues as square taper cranksets have, I find them the far superior option.
Now that's out of the way, I should also inform you that I do like the way that they look. They tend to be thin, nicely shaped, and the old chrome (too cheap to buy collectible roadie alloy ones) usually cleans up really nicely. So I'm going to try a set on Mary.
View attachment 192550
These were originally on some American Flyer - branded 10 speed from the '70s. I took them apart, cleaned and inspected them, and then reassembled the drive side, minus one chainring. The "finned" trim pieces are chromed sheet metal, but if this is going to be a classic RRB build, it needs a few geegaws.View attachment 192552

That’s going to be extremely attractive. It’s too bad they couldn’t mount the trim covers right to the crank shaft. They had to have angle brackets.

 

[gowjobs]

That’s going to be extremely attractive. It’s too bad they couldn’t mount the trim covers right to the crank shaft. They had to have angle brackets.

If they feel too flimsy, I should be able to drill and tap the arms for machne screws, but I'm not going to go there unless it's absolutely necessary.

 

[toro1978]

Super vintage vibe for sure. I love it.

 

[Ulu]

If they feel too flimsy, I should be able to drill and tap the arms for machne screws, but I'm not going to go there unless it's absolutely necessary.

Tap the crankshaft?

It's a "wear" item, so not expected to remain original anyhow.

Don't drill the arms! Make billet angle brackets first!
The stamped bracket will be trouble unless it's just a show bike.

 

[gowjobs]

Tap the crankshaft?

It's a "wear" item, so not expected to remain original anyhow.

Don't drill the arms! Make billet angle brackets first!
The stamped bracket will be trouble unless it's just a show bike.

I am still a ways away from that point, anyway. I have a stash of rare earth magnets, so I may just augment mounting using those, at first. Heck, I haven't even measured the arms to verify what size pins that I need to order yet. Am guessing they're 9.5mm, but we'll see this weekend.

 

[gowjobs]

I decided that since this is class 1, I didn't need to wait to paint, so I got down to business today. That is to say, I grabbed some hardware store spray cans, sanded everything down, straightened out some of the fender dings, and THEN laid down primer and pai-
...
Doggone it! Rust-Oleum's brown that I chose looks NOTHING like the color on the cap. The cap is the deep brown of fertile earth. The actual paint that came out of the can was a light tan, more like a chai tea latte.

(Edit: or this California drought lawn might also be a close approximation.)


Okay, plan B. I have a bunch of spray.bike cans that I bought for an abandoned project. Maybe I can lay down some off-white and yellow, mask some scallops or darts, and then cover it with brown/black.

 

[gowjobs]

Let's get this out of the way right now. I did a test on the fork, and didn't like it. Ended up shooting the whole bike in spray.bike brown and black with two coats of clear. No pics because by the end of this process, I was just concentrating on putting all the parts somewhere safe to cure until I start assembling things next weekend.

Oh yeah, and the clear was a pain. Both cans that I used spit huge drops like an effusive teen telling you about their favorite anime. Anyway, be cool, and be sure to make plenty of jokes at my expense.

 

[Couch tater]

That's some funny stuff. Not the paint; the way you tell the tale.

 

[gowjobs]

That's some funny stuff. Not the paint; the way you tell the tale.

The really funny part is that after all of that rigamaroll, I'll likely end up being happy with the final finish. It's just going to need a little wet sanding and a buff, I think. And if I'm not, I'm pretty good with the fauxtina after building scale models for so many years.
A bunch of parts scheduled to arrive this week, so next weekend, I may take it on its first ride.

 

[OddJob]

You had me at "pretty good with the fauxtina". I've seen your work, top notch.

Bring on the surreal - rust!

 

[gowjobs]

Some parts arrived today, so I decided to pull the frame back out into the sun for a photo or two. Then I considered some saddle options.

 

[gowjobs]

Seriously considering gaffling the Chop Shop Customs stainless layback off of the College Dropout for this bike. I have some other, less severe laybacks that I could replace it with.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That brown is rich, going to look pretty when it's all dressed up!

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Seriously considering gaffling the Chop Shop Customs stainless layback off of the College Dropout for this bike. I have some other, less severe laybacks that I could replace it with.View attachment 193642

A ChopShop seatpost looks great on a vintage Huffman frame…IMHO