Trail Blazer... Completed (almost)

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yewhi

yewhi

Joined
Sep 30, 2009
Messages
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San Diego
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This is my newest project. A circa 1920's CWC motobike badged as a Trail Blazer. She's old with a great but kinda' crusty patina. Good solid, straight frame with little more than surface rust. Just started sanding and prepping the frame (sorry, not into the patina). It's going to be a long term project. I have some ideas where it's going but nothing set in stone. Originally had 28 inch wheels so I'll probably try lacing some 29er sized blunts (painted to match) to vintage ND hubset with a skiptooth drive train. other than that its a blank sheet of paper at this point. More to come...

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Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

yewhi,please keep us all posted on this unique build...don't cha just love a bike with a toolbox!...Pappy 8)
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

Wow. I would be pretty intimidated by that project but if anyone can pull it off Tim can. My Mercury was tough and took 7 months. Good luck. Hopefully you can use that ND hub, that way I can say I helped.
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

sandmangts said:
Wow. I would be pretty intimidated by that project but if anyone can pull it off Tim can. My Mercury was tough and took 7 months. Good luck. Hopefully you can use that ND hub, that way I can say I helped.
Click to expand...

Thanks Aaron!

The hubs will definitely be a big help. I'm noticing my projects are becoming more and more involved. It's Sort of addicting in a good way (although my family and neighbors are beginning to think I'm mildly insane and some what obsessive-compulsive). This is the first time I'll be attempting to do the painting myself, two tone with darts no less. Still sanding now, the good thing is there appears to be very little rust. The patina seems to be years of grime and oxidized paint for the most part. A pain to remove, but the frame is totally solid from what I can tell so far.

The fork has the same issue yours did. That is a bulge from where it was over tightened. It also had half of a stem broken off in the steerer tube (see picture). I managed to remove that but the issue with the bulging steerer remains. I'll probably try filling the gap with a filler like JB weld and then filing it flush on the inside. Kind of a pain but I'd really like to use the original fork. It's not going to be a Klunker so the steerer will get minimal abuse. Should be OK (I hope). Talk to you soon and thanks for the Hubs!

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Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

It's been a productive couple of days...

I was able to get the frame stripped and sanded (no easy task)
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Then it was to the back yard for a couple of coats of primer.
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Now it's hanging to cure and then some wet sanding...
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A nice cold beer is sounding real good about now!
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

This should look good, had thoughts of trying to find one of these frames for a 29er after seeing Tony Pereira's Roaring 29er, his tribute to an Elgin model.
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

socal_jack said:
This should look good, had thoughts of trying to find one of these frames for a 29er after seeing Tony Pereira's Roaring 29er, his tribute to an Elgin model.
Click to expand...

Obviously, that was my draw to the frame as well. One of the ideas I've been toying with is painting this to match my Pereira. Thought is would be cool to have the two together. I'm having difficulty tracking down a comparable color in an Acrylic Enamel. It's the Khaki color that is giving me trouble and it's making me re-think that idea. Fortunately I have a few weeks before I get the rest of the parts into primer. Regardless, I'm looking forward to finishing this one.

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Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

You did a good job sanding, that must have been tough. If the steerer becomes an issue it can still be fixed. The original on my mercury had been repaired. The only problem is they brazed it while the crown race was still on. I had to do some grinding to get it off only to find it had been either repaired crooked or bent later on. Oh well. I just landed a pre-war Elgin last night and I am already trying to plan a path for it. I have the same issue though, the stem bolt wedge is stuck in the tube. I left it soaking in WD-40 last night. Hopefully it will come out and hopefully the steerer isn't damaged.

I still love that 29er!
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

These old forks can be a pain, I've found pieces of old steel food cans and other stuff inside steerer tubes used as shims for the bulge issue.
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

sandmangts said:
You did a good job sanding, that must have been tough. If the steerer becomes an issue it can still be fixed. The original on my mercury had been repaired. The only problem is they brazed it while the crown race was still on. I had to do some grinding to get it off only to find it had been either repaired crooked or bent later on. Oh well. I just landed a pre-war Elgin last night and I am already trying to plan a path for it. I have the same issue though, the stem bolt wedge is stuck in the tube. I left it soaking in WD-40 last night. Hopefully it will come out and hopefully the steerer isn't damaged.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Unfortunately I've got a ways to go. While the frame was structurally sound, the surface was pitted worse than I originally thought. It's especially obvious when you look at the headtube and the area surrounding where the Head Badge had been. I was hoping a couple of rounds of priming and sanding would take care of that. It helped, but I'm still not satisfied. Next step will be application of an automotive Glaze to try to fill the pin holes and then some more sanding and priming. It wouldn't be terrible now, but I'd prefer it to be better. I'm in no hurry and it'll eventually get there.

It'll be a while before I get to the fork. The race is still on and is not coming off. Fortunately the races on these are pretty generic So I shouldn't run into compatibility issues. I'll see if filling the gap with JB weld will work. If not I'll start the search for a replacement. The 28 inch forks aren't quite as common so hopefully I'll be able to make this work.

I have an extra long stem bolt that I used to extract the bolt and stem bits from mine. Just threaded the bolt into the wedge, turned it upside down in the vice and I was able to coax it out. You're welcome to the bolt if you think it'll help. Can't wait to see the Elgin! Is it a motobike or balloon tire frame?

Tim
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

Excelent paint job man! excelent work! congrats!
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

Leo said:
Excelent paint job man! excelent work! congrats!
Click to expand...

Thanks, but I'm going to assume you're refering to the Pereira, I wish I could say I did that but that was done by the Coat Paint shop in Portland OR. They are the in house paint shop for Vanilla Cycles. It is my dream that what I'm doing turns out a fraction as good as this.

They are good.
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

Very nice frame, this one is gonna be very good!! Can´t wait!
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

Spent Father's Day working on the project (best present my family could've given me).

Dirty, nasty, hard, manual work, but we're almost ready for Paint!

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Slow tedious work, but we're almost ready for Paint...

So... I now know more than I've ever cared to know about grinding, stripping, metal filling and priming among other nasty gritty things. After having the frame move along nicely I quickly became bogged down in the smaller parts most of which were badly rusted and horibbly pitted and all required significant attention. Bbut here they are primed and ready for painting

Handlebars and Stem. These will be painted to match the head tube and darts. (yes, I've already replace the crusty bolts)
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Fenders. To be painted to match the body.
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Picked up a set of Dogleg cranks and am currently deciding on which chain ring to use. The DP Harris is one of my favorites, but I've found historical evidence that the star is correct. These are off to be chromed shortly.
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Paint should be about three weeks out and then I'll turn my focus to the wheels. That'll be fun...
 
Re: Trail Blazer... And so it begins (again)

Slowly, Slowly making progress. Finally decided on the Paint scheme and then had to decide what type of paint and where to order. Ultimately went with an acrylic enamel. A bit more tricky than the alternatives but essentially eliminates the need for a clear coat. Shot the secondary color first using a small detail gun and began with the smaller parts to get the feel for the process.

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I'm going to let this cure for a couple of days before masking it off and shooting the primary color for the tool box, fork, frame, fenders and truss rods. Then the sanding and polishing begins. Slow process but hopefully worth it in the end.

Cheers!

Tim
 

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