Rata del Rio Concho: 1955 Huffy father/son project.

[Missing Link]

I'm starting on a second bike, partly to keep me from overthinking/experimenting/screwing up my first build, but mostly because my 6 year old son asked me if we could work on another bike together earlier today. So here we go.
The starting point is a 55 Huffy (Customliner? Radio Bike? Who knows?) My wife "bought" me for Christmas. It came from @kirk disassembled, of course, but prior to shipping looked like this;

I put it together with no fenders or rack, just to try it out.

I later jacked the seat for use on ☆Bobbed Ross☆. Aside from the axle cones needing tightening it rides great. It's rolling on Davis Deluxe Western Auto tires(original?), and has a New Departure wheelset that, aside from being a little loosey goosey seems to be in excellent shape.
So after finishing some primer work on ☆Bobbed Ross☆ earlier, my son, Henry asked me if we could work on another bike, and this project was born.

 

[Missing Link]

I had at one point played with the idea of using an old Wald front rack on this bike, but we're doing a complete overhaul so it's coming off along with everything else.

First; stem and bars.

Headset and fork.

Wheels.

In the end we had a frame and a box of parts.

 

[Funkme]

Good to see your son wanting to build.Love watching father & son builds.
Bike looks like a great easy starter.

 

[Mtn Goat]

Awesome! Tell Henry we will be watching!

 

[Schwinnspastic]

"Atta Boy" Henry, building bikes is a great way to spend some quality time with your dad !
Mark

 

[squirreldh]

Awesome! Love that you guys are doing it together! Did he strip it down himself?

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[Missing Link]

Awesome! Love that you guys are doing it together! Did he strip it down himself?

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I handed him the wrenches, he did all the rest.

 

[Hammond Eggz]

Just awesome! Always loved doing projects of any kind with my kids.

 

[Missing Link]

I applied paint stripper earlier and let it sit and bubble and do it's job.

Then I gave it a good scrubbing with a wire brush and then let Henry go to town with the sprayer.

In the end we had a frame with a lot less paint on it.

We've still got a ways to go before paint but we're having a ton of fun.

 

[Missing Link]

After the second application of stripper there's not much paint left.

I've got to figure out how to get the chrome fork crown off, if that's even possible, so that we can start stripping it down. The one that's on it currently is a Murray fork with a bent steer tube that I use while stripping frames. The weather is supposed to get cooler by this weekend, so I'm hoping we can get the frame cleaned up and maybe get some primer shot before then.

 

[Wildcat]

To get the chrome cap off, first remove the lower bearing cone, then the cap should just slide off, but with it's age yours may take a little coaxing.

A screwdriver can usually get under the cone and it can be worked up and off the fork. Or a pair of pliers can get it off.

 

[Missing Link]

To get the chrome cap off, first remove the lower bearing cone, then the cap should just slide off, but with it's age yours may take a little coaxing.

A screwdriver can usually get under the cone and it can be worked up and off the fork. Or a pair of pliers can get it off.

Thanks Wildcat, done and done, it took a screwdriver, some vice grips and a hammer, but it came off.

 

[Missing Link]

Picked out paint. We're going with Rustoleum's hunt club green satin for the frame, if we use the chainguard, it and the fork will likely be satin black, if not the fork will be green as well.
This weekend we'll be going to San Angelo State Park to pick up our yearly state parks pass. There are tons of paved and unpaved trails throughout the park, so part of the purpose behind this build is putting together something that easily transitions between.
Since my wife is doing her tech school here for the Air Force, and we'll only be here through the summer, I've taken on the roll of stay at home dad and for the time am home schooling our son. We'll be frequenting the park during the week, because, well, Henry's in kindergarden, fishing, hiking, biking, there's lessons from almost every subject to be found outdoors.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Cool build, looking forward to more!

 

[Mtn Goat]

Henry is a lucky kid! There are plenty of lessons to learn having fun outside with dad!

 

[G-Matt]

Cool project Dad , I see your boys got his boots on so he's ready to work . A lot more going on here then just building a bike . Teachings skills & making memories [emoji1303]


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[Missing Link]

I busted out the angle grinder and wire wheel today and got most of the left over paint off then got Henry to hand sand all the areas the grinder missed... for about 10 minutes, he's 6 and has ADD, 10 minutes is good. I finished the rest.

The weather's supposed to be in the upper 70s tomorrow, so hopefully we'll get the primer shot. We had rain turned snow friday night and tomorrow it's going to be like spring, west Texas is weird.

 

[Missing Link]

So, I don't have a Huffy headbadge and was kinda thinking about slapping one of these stickers I've gotten from @Smoopy's over the years on the head tube.

Let me know your opinion fellow Rat Rodders, should I weld up the headbadge rivet holes before I prime the frame or leave them and just slap a sticker between?

 

[LukeTheJoker]

If you are not going to replace the headbadge at a later date, may as well weld them holes up and get it all smooth!

 

[sdframe]

Good for you, Dad. Henry will always remember this project.