Western Flyer X-53 resurrection

[ParkRNDL]

I don't know that this is a build so much as me picking away at what was once a beautiful bike in an effort to make it less tragic.

I posted this in Fresh Finds not long ago:

After a couple of hours removing half of Wal-Mart's bike accessories aisle and wiping down with a dry rag, it looked a little less ridiculous:

Partly because I learned that the X-53 is a sought-after collectible, but mostly because it's just so darn cool, I wanted to try to remove the horrible pool-liner-blue paint and uncover whatever was left of the original paint, which should have been black and red for 1953. But after several fruitless sessions with Goof-Off and oven cleaner, it became clear that I would need a Plan B. It was then that I stumbled upon a picture of a 1953 Western Flyer X-53 GIRLS model:

(not mine, borrowed without permission from the CABE)

I decided that maybe the colors weren't bad after all, just the previous owner's Earl Scheib approach to painting. Maybe I could get this thing to look ok (weathered, but ok) without subjecting this thing to any further spray bomb paint crimes. So I set to work:

I kinda like where this is going. And the horn even works!

After enlisting the help of a friend who has grinding tools and chemical strippers and other implements of destruction, this is where I'm at:

It may be time for some of my special homebrew decal templates.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

X53 is such a killer frame, it's hard to go wrong. I absolutely love the rack integrated into the frame with those additional tubes. It looks awesome already with just the cleanup, blue paint job looks a lot better with the original graphics showing on the tank

 

[ParkRNDL]

Daylight:

Not only did the tires hold air all night, but after taking off the noisy hub shiners, this thing was dead silent on a trip around the block. (Well, except for the squeaky old seat.) And the speedometer works.

Now, I have been told that the Monark train headlight and deep fender are desirable, and maybe they look right on the correct bike, but I'm not a fan of it all on this one. If I could find a front fender that more closely matched the rear, I'd spray bomb it close-enough blue and call it a day, maybe put a rusty old headlight from my stash on it.

The guard is off the Murray-ish girls middleweight I got as part of this deal, and I think it manages to look better than that horrible chrome faux Schwinn piece. Pretty sure the correct guard, like the springer fork and headlight, are collector/restoration only items at this point. (Well, there's an original springer on eBay right now, but it's over 10 times what I paid for this bike and I don't want it that bad.)

While I don't have any hopes of finding an original springer for this, I am hoping to stumble on a newer middleweight springer like they'd have put on a Spaceliner, which I think would work great.

 

[ParkRNDL]

WHOA. Now that went surprisingly well...

I have been researching what parts are missing off this bike. Along with the whole front end and guard, there was this cool looking rear fender spear and reflector that are MIA:

Now, I have been tinkering with some very basic 3D design software that I use with my middle school students. I managed to come up with this:

Compared to one selling on Fleabay, it didn't look too terrible except for one small problem:

Now, I do NOT have the know-how to calculate that curve and design it in on this software, which is essentially the CAD equivalent of MS Paint. So I printed off a couple the way they were and figured that was that. Until I stumbled upon something online about using a heat gun to reshape 3D printed objects...

Out came the trusty Harbor Freight hair dryer.

I attached one of the spears to an old fender with one screw in the center.

A little judicious heat application, some gentle prodding, et voila. I did manage to twist the top a little, but I think it came out good for a first attempt.

Before and after reshaping: