It was a journey, but we made it...
I give you: WINONA RIDER
Built on a 1969 Murray Eliminator base, I started with bones, with the intention of keeping it pretty gnarly and, well, ratty.
(build-thread here)
My inspiration for the name came from this license plate. It's also an homage to my youngest brother Tim, who graduated from St. Mary's in Winona, MN.
The aesthetic of my build was inspired by a childhood favorite, 'My Pet Monster', and this keychain that I procured in anticipation of BO18.
As I started to lay paint on the frame, I quickly realized this was going to be a cleaner build than originally planned.
I wanted to add a springer fork, yet keep the aesthetic more muscle than lowrider. I came across this chopper-style springer, and was delighted by the fact that it matched my boxy frame.
Forgetting that Murray headtubes are much taller than the average headtube, I ended up have to cut it down both top and bottom.
Because of the reinforcement plates inside the headtube, I also had to notch the cups to accommodate.
Then came the chainguard. I had originally intended to just freshen up the graphics, but then I decided to do a fill to match the fade on the frame. This was one of my favorite parts of the build.
Before:
After:
The hubcaps were fabricated from galvanized trash can lids, and I cut out a window (on the non-drive side) for access to the valve stem.
Originally I had intended to put a zoetrope animation on the hubcaps, but as time went on a new idea hatched. The Loc-Nar!
I have had this glass orb for years, and was playing around with how to incorporate it into my build as it kinda looks like the nose on 'My Pet Monster'.
After making a cage/holster out of a coat hanger, mounting ended up being the easiest part!
So then I thought, what if I light it?
Well, after obtaining a dollhouse LED setup, and fabricating a custom reflector...there was light!
All in all, this was a really fun build. It turned out better than I hoped, but exactly as I had imagined. Thank you for your encouragement, input, and praise along the way. I really appreciate you all. Enjoy some additional favorites from my photo shoots:
Special thanks to @hbn for the edit on this one:
I give you: WINONA RIDER
Built on a 1969 Murray Eliminator base, I started with bones, with the intention of keeping it pretty gnarly and, well, ratty.
(build-thread here)
My inspiration for the name came from this license plate. It's also an homage to my youngest brother Tim, who graduated from St. Mary's in Winona, MN.
The aesthetic of my build was inspired by a childhood favorite, 'My Pet Monster', and this keychain that I procured in anticipation of BO18.
As I started to lay paint on the frame, I quickly realized this was going to be a cleaner build than originally planned.
I wanted to add a springer fork, yet keep the aesthetic more muscle than lowrider. I came across this chopper-style springer, and was delighted by the fact that it matched my boxy frame.
Forgetting that Murray headtubes are much taller than the average headtube, I ended up have to cut it down both top and bottom.
Because of the reinforcement plates inside the headtube, I also had to notch the cups to accommodate.
Then came the chainguard. I had originally intended to just freshen up the graphics, but then I decided to do a fill to match the fade on the frame. This was one of my favorite parts of the build.
Before:
After:
The hubcaps were fabricated from galvanized trash can lids, and I cut out a window (on the non-drive side) for access to the valve stem.
Originally I had intended to put a zoetrope animation on the hubcaps, but as time went on a new idea hatched. The Loc-Nar!
I have had this glass orb for years, and was playing around with how to incorporate it into my build as it kinda looks like the nose on 'My Pet Monster'.
After making a cage/holster out of a coat hanger, mounting ended up being the easiest part!
So then I thought, what if I light it?
Well, after obtaining a dollhouse LED setup, and fabricating a custom reflector...there was light!
All in all, this was a really fun build. It turned out better than I hoped, but exactly as I had imagined. Thank you for your encouragement, input, and praise along the way. I really appreciate you all. Enjoy some additional favorites from my photo shoots:
Special thanks to @hbn for the edit on this one:
Last edited:
