Trans-MIG-RaT

[OddJob]

I started out with a girl's Hiawatha branded, CWC made frame and springer fork. The upper down tube from the girl's frame was cut out and then I cut the top tube and straight bar from a busted up '51 Schwinn and welded them on to the Hiawatha. From there on, it was pure RaT-isfying work!

Here is the build list for the Trans-MIG-RaT (transmigration - "the moving from one body to another, rebirth")

-1950's CWC made Hiawatha girl's frame and springer fork
-1951 Schwinn top tube and straight bar
-57 mm wide rimmed coaster wheel set / rear wheel refit with a Shimano Nexus 4 speed hub
-Custom shift lever for 4 speed
-Sunlite Sandy Beach tires 26 x 2.5
-Manhattan chain guard
-Vintage handlebars with Thompson coke bottle grips
-'80s bmx style pedals
-Lumintrail double kickstand
-'60s crank from a geared ten speed, big chain ring removed
-Brooks B-67 saddle
-Chopped rear stainless fender from a '30s Hawthorne
-Laid back seat post from ChopShopKustoms
-Royce Union headlight conversion to LED
-Rear tail light made from a trumpet mute, with magnet activated switch and LED conversion
-Custom fork struts made from 1/2" steel tubing and battery cable terminal ends
-Custom designed and laser cut metal 'virtual tank' flames
-RaT-ina paint treatment "Colonel Mustard did it in the BACK40 with spray cans (and mustard!) "

What I started with....

Some shots of the build along the way. Please see the build thread below for all the details and commentary!
http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/trans-mig-rat.108692/

Thank you to this great community of builders for another RaT-astic and very RaT-isfying RRB Build Off!

Trans-MIG-RaT was created in the cozy confines of....

 

[Jake Sensi]

GREAT JOB BROTHER!! THIS BIKE ROCKS...RAT ON..RAT ON!! PEACE

 

[OddJob]

GREAT JOB BROTHER!! THIS BIKE ROCKS...RAT ON..RAT ON!! PEACE

Thanks Jake! Really enjoyed putting this one together.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Oh yeah! That really has the OJ vibe going on!
Nice work as always!

 

[Scrap Wolf]

Looks awesome, great job [emoji109]


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[OddJob]

Oh yeah! That really has the OJ vibe going on!
Nice work as always!

I have a 'vibe'? I'll take that as a compliment from you Luke! Thanks!

 

[OddJob]

Looks awesome, great job [emoji109]


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Thanks! Really had fun creating this one.

 

[Scribble]

Ratfink approved !

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

This bike is simply great, your best one yet!


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[OneHorsePower]

very nice ! well done !

 

[OddJob]

Ratfink approved !

Thanks Scribbs! That is high praise coming from a fellow Ratfink!

 

[OddJob]

This bike is simply great, your best one yet!


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Thanks Doc! That means a lot coming from you!

 

[OddJob]

very nice ! well done !

Thanks OHP! I had a lot of fun with this one!

 

[OddJob]

Still getting the Trans-MIG-RaT out on rides regularly. We hit the Uptown Art Fair on Saturday. A hot day, looking at some really 'hot' art!

Here is a stop at Atomicnick's booth. We met 3 years ago here, when I was in the midst of finishing up One-Liner. He stopped by the BACK40 on his next trip to the Twin Cities, and bought the bike from me. He really dug Trans-RaT, and let me park it in his booth for a couple hours while we perused the art in the hood.

These are the kind of experiences that keep me going in this hobby. The cool and talented people you meet, the nostalgia that the bikes create in the viewers, and the artistic outlet for me that also coincides with my favorite past-time; riding bikes!

And the day he picked up One-Liner from me...

And our bikes we rode that day around the hood. Shelby Flyer Woody and One-Liner.

 

[sdframe]

Yep, my favorite of yours, too. Everything is "just right."

 

[Klunkruiser]

Agreed with all the rest. I love this bike!
Definitely something that I would ride....though I might have to flip those handlebars

 

[OddJob]

Yep, my favorite of yours, too. Everything is "just right."

Thanks SD! That means a lot!

 

[OddJob]

Agreed with all the rest. I love this bike!
Definitely something that I would ride....though I might have to flip those handlebars

Thank you! It's an easy conversion to flip them up, which is the original position I had them in. Not bad in the current position either.

 

[SkyknightJohn]

Two thumbs up!
Great Trans-MIG-uration and completion of an artistic vision.

 

[OddJob]

Two thumbs up!
Great Trans-MIG-uration and completion of an artistic vision.

Thanks John! You stated exactly how I felt about this one; 'artistic vision' completed. I had been thinking about this one since January when I found the wheel set in Arizona. And while I was cutting the tile for our kitchen with my friend's angle grinder, I knew I had a tool in my hands that had to be used in my next build!