RED ZEPPELIN

[old_skool]

Well, I guess I'll throw my hat in the ring... I haven't made any specific plans yet, but here's what I've got to start with:

a red circa 1937 Wards Hawthorne "Zep" style sport/fastback frame

 

[kingfish254]

Awesome starting place.
Good luck

 

[Schwinnspastic]

Kool frame to start with , I like the wedge shape . I have a pair of them just
waiting to be revived.

 

[supergoob]

Freaking cool name!! Don't let me down.

 

[old_skool]

Thanks, guys. The Zep is one of my all time favorite vintage balloon tire bike frames. It appears to have fairly modern geometry for a 75 year old design... weighs over 8 lbs, though :shock:



I got the head badge off with no damage (although the screws crumbled), removed the bearing cups, the chain adjusting bolts and the seat post clamp bolt - ready to strip down for a repaint

 

[mikeeebikey]

Nice frame, I got tube envy....

 

[milbums]

Cool frame, great name, can't wait to see what you do with this.

 

[old_skool]

I've got a direction in mind now... starting to gather some parts 8)

 

[buckchocolate]

love the name aaaand the frame!

 

[Houndog]

Very cool frame.....

 

[jats]

way cool frame can't wait to see what you do with it

Troy

 

[old_skool]

got these aluminum handlebars heading my way...

 

[old_skool]

I hadn't noticed before, but the upper half of the non-drive side dropout on this frame was in rough shape... it's been chewed up by a loose axle at some point in the past




My neighbor who is a welder was kind enough to repair it for me - he welded in a small strip of steel to restore the original shape of the dropout and to prevent future damage

 

[Critter1]

got these aluminum handlebars heading my way...

Nice bars.. Our Hawthorns are sportin the same style bars.

 

[pick]

Awesome frame - Awesome name! What color is it going to be??? :lol: :lol:

 

[old_skool]

Awesome frame - Awesome name! What color is it going to be??? :lol: :lol:

Guess!! (hint... it won't be flat black - but does rhyme with LED) :lol:

 

[old_skool]

got these aluminum handlebars heading my way...

Nice bars.. Our Hawthorns are sportin the same style bars.

I'm surprised how light they are - and inexpensive, too. Not exactly the same shape as On-One "Mary" bars, but a decent knock off

 

[old_skool]

Worked on the head badge today... here's what I started with - many years of build up, probably multiple paint jobs



After removing the top layer(s) of old red paint with Citristrip, I had to use aircraft stripper and a green scrubby pad a few times on the really stubborn stuff - then I cleaned it up a bit with Nevr-Dull wadding. I think I will leave it this way - I like the polished aluminum look

 

[old_skool]

Things have been super busy for me the past couple of weeks, but I was finally able make some more progress today.... I got the frame sandblasted this morning





I was going to do a chemical strip at home, but decided not to (we have chickens and other animals I was concerned might somehow be exposed to the toxins)

 

[junknutz1975]

That's a sweet frame ya got there :mrgreen:
The headbadge came out great!