Re: RoadMaster Diesel: Update 7/27
spent some time on it this weekend in between doing a lot of work on another bike I am selling this week...
Anyway, this is the seat post I was going to use, but with one obvious problem:
apparently made for a much bigger seat tube. Someone else need this? I'll sell it real cheap.
So, realizing that I had to come up with something else to get the seat position I wanted, but not having any welding ability myself, I got in touch with our good friend Bob, AKA BigPantsBob.
We hung out one Sunday, he welded this piece of 5/8 steel rod to the original seatpost, and cut up a little gusset for it too. Quality work, I bought him lunch in appreciation. Thanks again Bob.
It's solid, I think it will hold up great.
I just wanted to note one small detail before it was obscured by the seat:
"
500 Mile Race"... Little 500? maybe Minnphatts can tell me more about this?
Hub guts soaking:
New Departure model D
10 teeth should make for an easy ride. Depending on the sprocket.
Which leads me to the sprocket.
I thought about using this 26T sprocket I got from Ian. But I like my knees... I think I am too young to get knee replacement surgery already.
I also thought about this little one, (maybe a sort "micro-drive"?), which I am actually giving to Ian:
I'd never get enough torque with this. Plus I think it takes a special chain.
This one is just right:
22 teeth (equivalent to 44T on a regular sprocket). Should be an easy ride with the 10 tooth cog in the back.
This sprocket and crank came from the 30's Dayton in my grandparent's old barn. Had silver house paint on it, with good 70-year-old chrome underneath. Go figure.
I used the original bearings too, they cleaned up nice:
that's the tank nameplate, before securing it. The DIESEL came from a truck, I think. It was found on the ground when cruising through the self-serve car-wash late at night.
a couple of holes drilled in the JC Higgins tank (if you look closely you can sort of make out the Higgins logo under the black, someone did that and then clear-coated over it, long before I got it)
there were no threads, so I just epoxied some nuts on the back.
The tank installed on the bike (just barely fits, but it's solid):
Hoping to make some more progress through the week...