Rusty Hornet No More!

[Lil' rat rod]

I got this bike last summer and have debated what to do with it until about 2 months ago when i came up with the perfect idea..

Before:

 

[Lil' rat rod]

After:

JC Higgins Drop center rims

Different fork off a '50's womens Goodrich bike, those truss rods are very difficult to put in when they are not chrome!

Custom seat covered by me!

This is extra seat material out my dads 1959 Beetle as seen in the first post!

I completed the bike in a week. I had a week off work around christmas but still went in so i could knock it out, Sandblasted everything and painted everything olive drab. Rebuilt the front and rear hubs. I have to replace the crank, because I broke it on the first test ride, it had been welded before and I trusted it... bad decision.. let me know what you think!

 

[schwinner]

looks good.. i like how it almost has a hammered effect under the paint..i think however it needs a compliment color..not much. just maybe a stripe here or ther and id probly paint the badge with the same compliment color and sand the letters till they are silver again.thats just what id do. but as it sits i like it as well.good job man

 

[Lil' rat rod]

Thank you, I have been trying to figure out what else would set it off. I was thinking since the badge is actually brass that I will sand the Schwinn and maybe also sand the brazed parts of the frame. I am working on making a metal filler for a tank look. It will also get some white accents to go with the Army theme. I am still debating if I should also put the fenders back on.

 

[schwinner]

lookin at the bike the way it sits.. i think a good accent color would be to find one that matches the orange/red of the tires..it would tie it together nicely and if you do the white stripes.. both accent colors would go great together.man, im torn on the fenders..it would change the look completely.it would look alot heavier and i think it looks good kinda stripped down the way it is.if you do put them on maybe use the original pattern for painting them.. the main color in drab but do the stripes on both sides and the triangle part on the front in that tire color outlined in white.you got me thinkin bout what color im gonna do for my next build now..thanks(sarcasm implied haha)

 

[Lil' rat rod]

I had never even thought about doing a redish color! But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. A red oxide primer may be very close in color to the seat and doing a white outline would be cool. Maybe even instead of white doing a goldish brass looking color to match the brass once I sand it off! The fenders are really beat up, I may just blast and paint them and then decide if they look right on the bike.

 

[skuuter]

I really, really like this Bike.....Great Job...!!!

 

[user 135]

Nice work, especially on the seat recover.

 

[Lil' rat rod]

Thanks guys! I had gone back and forth on where to go with this bIke. With as bad as the frame is pitted, I did not think it would have been worth it to try and make it smooth again. That would have been too much work and it really should have had the bars cut out and replaced. I did think about going with the original paint scheme which was a maroon and off white and leaving all the pits in the frame with a nice high gloss clear coat and paint all the shiny bits gloss black.

I've seen numerous army theme bikes but have always wanted my own, I built the bike around the seat cover and red tires were a must! I had it as a rider with everything still rusty and a bontreger mtb tire out back and an original cracked up schwinn typhoon balloon tire up front. This is my first ballooner and will not be my last! Schwinn straight bar frame is the best looking frame ever!