Last night, I took advantage of the relatively warmer weather, and mock up more parts on the Monark.
I got an idea for mounting the handlebars from a picture of an earlier prewar Monark by
@oldfart36 on The C.A.B.E. The handlebars on his bike were similar to your standard cruiser bars, except they mounted to the stem by a cross bar, which made the handlebars sit lower.
I'd never seen that done before, so I thought I'd try it with a pair of BMX bars I had laying around. I also had a set of rusty chrome ducktail fenders that I had modified for another bike that I tried on, and they fit almost perfectly!
For extra weirdness, I mocked up some truss rods running through the handlebars. I've never seen it done before, and I dig it!
I also found that the chain guard from an AMF Pilot girl's bike I parted out fit this Monark frame almost perfectly! The paint was even a near-match as well! Plus, that rocket graphic felt like a perfect fit for this bike, since I usually see this style of Monark bike originally built and sold as a "Rocket."
The only thing stopping me from mounting this chain guard right away was that there was some metal on top of the chain guard that got in the way of the seat stay. But as you can see, the bolt lines up with the rear mounting hole!
I didn't have a pair of tin snips, a hacksaw or a cut-off wheel nearby, and I didn't want to wait for Dad to bring any of his tools home from the shop, so I took a pair of wire cutters I didn't care about, and used my bike stand to squeeze them tight until they cut through the chain guard.
It didn't cut all the way through, so I chiseled it down to where I wanted with a screwdriver and a hammer. Then I folded the interfering piece down flat with the hammer.
BINGO! Who would have thought that a later '60s AMF chain guard would perfectly fit an earlier '50s Monark frame? I didn't, but I'm glad I had the idea to try it!
As much as I loved my "truss rods through the BMX handlebars" idea, the more I looked at this bike, the more I felt it needed a more traditional set of handlebars. Fortunately, I had some bars that looked just right on this bike. They're more old school, and they have enough patina to tie in with the rusty chrome fenders and wheels. I liked the previous handlebar mockup, but I think those are better left for another, wilder build.
Thinking about that rocket on the chain guard, and how some Monarks like this started life as "Rocket" bikes, I decided to mock up a few more parts that fit with that fit. I had a star-studded AMF chainring that was a little too rusty for one of my shinier builds, but was just right for this one. I also had an Oldsmobile rocket hood ornament I picked up at the same auction where I got
my first vintage bike over 5 years ago. In fact, it was the only other thing I brought home from that auction aside from that old Schwinn! I plan to mount that Old rocket ornament on the front fender, front and center.
After seeing this bike turn into what it has, I also decided on a name for it:
Rusty Rocket!
The only other parts I want to mock up on the bike now are the color-matched fork that came with the bike, and some dirty whitewall tires on an older pair of chrome wheels. The fork that came with the bike is bent back and to one side, but if I can find someone who can bend it back into shape, that's what I'd like to use. As for the wheels and tires, I just picked up a good donor for both of those parts last week! As cool as this old Firestone Pilot is, I'm not attached to it. I got it for parts, so I'm going to use it for parts!
So that's where I'm at on this bike right now. I'll try and mock up the tires later this week, but I probably won't make any other real progress on it until after the holidays are over. This will make a good winter project, as all this bike needs is for the bearings and bearing cups to be cleaned up and greased up, and just general reassembly. I'm not going to paint it up or shine it up. I'm just going to get it rolling again.
