The Silver King is honored to join the fun with my first buildoff competition. So many cool builders participate and share here that I became motivated to join in....... I have an Elgin frame from the 20's or 30's that has been hanging around for awhile. This STRAIGHTGBAR diamond Elgin frame was purchased a year ago, and has been begging to roll another day. This is the only Elgin in my stable, and I will attempt to modify it to Rat with a springer fork, a skip-tooth drivetrain, a drum brake front and a three-speed coaster rear while keeping it Fat, functional, and aesthetically easy on the eyes. These elements are pretty typical for me...
So, lets start with my Frame. A 20's or 30's. I just cannot determine the year because of the variety of builders for Elgin. It was thickly covered in purple when I got it. I think it is a 26" frame that matches what my research (visually) has discovered. Here is a 20's model (perhaps)
And a 30's one..
My frame had a thick, fake-original paint job on it that mimicked the graphics of the 30's one. Problem is that my frame has red original paint. It also came with no head badge or seat post. It did have the headset cups and binder bolt. The BB is a std. size press-in-bearing cup that will accept most one-piece cranks. The head tube though, is a 1-1/4" opening that has frustrated me because I have no old headsets that fit! So I plan to get a 1-1/4" to 1" adapter to get the fork to work.
As you can see, I have worked the old Faux-paint down as far as I could, and found the original paint (red) was relatively toast, being partially removed, primed over, then painted a thick purple....so, I plan to leave it just as you see it now, maybe take some more paint off, then some linseed oil coating leaving a little of the old, new, and the rusty combined..
So, lets start with my Frame. A 20's or 30's. I just cannot determine the year because of the variety of builders for Elgin. It was thickly covered in purple when I got it. I think it is a 26" frame that matches what my research (visually) has discovered. Here is a 20's model (perhaps)
And a 30's one..
My frame had a thick, fake-original paint job on it that mimicked the graphics of the 30's one. Problem is that my frame has red original paint. It also came with no head badge or seat post. It did have the headset cups and binder bolt. The BB is a std. size press-in-bearing cup that will accept most one-piece cranks. The head tube though, is a 1-1/4" opening that has frustrated me because I have no old headsets that fit! So I plan to get a 1-1/4" to 1" adapter to get the fork to work.
As you can see, I have worked the old Faux-paint down as far as I could, and found the original paint (red) was relatively toast, being partially removed, primed over, then painted a thick purple....so, I plan to leave it just as you see it now, maybe take some more paint off, then some linseed oil coating leaving a little of the old, new, and the rusty combined..
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If anyone can let go of one, let me know..
