One of my neighbors came over to our yardsale and came in the garage to look at my bikes. I was working on a bike while the wife ran the sale out in the driveway.
She mentioned that she would like to get a bike, but wanted a "curvy one with a step through type frame." So i showed her this 1964 starlet a friend of mine had dropped off. The previous owner had converted it to a three speed, and made a brace for the brake that bolted to the bike using holes drilled in the frame.
I already had it torn apart when she looked at it, so this is what I said would be a good bike for her.
She was leery of it, but I said it would look good when I finished it, and I showed her my Schwinn which was in worse shape when I fixed it up. She liked medium blue, and I suggested a two tone paint scheme. She asked how much, and 50 bucks was fine with her.
Then she said she wanted speeds. I was hoping to make it a one speed w coaster, but I had enough parts to make it a 6 speed. The rear brake would be the hardest part to get right. I used the same mounting holes, but made a heavier brace. I added a chrome carrier and used braces from a set of baskets, so it will carry a heavy load if need be.
I liked the crash rail seat, so it got swiped to go on my Schwinn Meteor. I used red and white acrylic paint. I also added some padding but it still is a hard seat after an hour of riding. I had a red padded older style seat, so it got painted blue along with the original handle grips to match the two tone paint job on the Starlet.
We were packing and getting ready to move from ND to FL, so my time was limited and I finished the bike just a week or so before we moved. After some adjusting and tweaking, she was overjoyed with the bike.
She mentioned that she would like to get a bike, but wanted a "curvy one with a step through type frame." So i showed her this 1964 starlet a friend of mine had dropped off. The previous owner had converted it to a three speed, and made a brace for the brake that bolted to the bike using holes drilled in the frame.
I already had it torn apart when she looked at it, so this is what I said would be a good bike for her.
She was leery of it, but I said it would look good when I finished it, and I showed her my Schwinn which was in worse shape when I fixed it up. She liked medium blue, and I suggested a two tone paint scheme. She asked how much, and 50 bucks was fine with her.
Then she said she wanted speeds. I was hoping to make it a one speed w coaster, but I had enough parts to make it a 6 speed. The rear brake would be the hardest part to get right. I used the same mounting holes, but made a heavier brace. I added a chrome carrier and used braces from a set of baskets, so it will carry a heavy load if need be.
I liked the crash rail seat, so it got swiped to go on my Schwinn Meteor. I used red and white acrylic paint. I also added some padding but it still is a hard seat after an hour of riding. I had a red padded older style seat, so it got painted blue along with the original handle grips to match the two tone paint job on the Starlet.
We were packing and getting ready to move from ND to FL, so my time was limited and I finished the bike just a week or so before we moved. After some adjusting and tweaking, she was overjoyed with the bike.
