Iron Mike
Master At Arms And Resident Curmudgeon
Nope, not yet anyway. This has been a really tough year for me, my vision issues persist, making modeling in scale no fun at all. After experiencing a backup of creative juices, I decided it was time to "take another road". My son has been into bicycles all his life and his interest piqued mine. I found a willing subject desperately in need of some TLC, here's where we started.
The chromed frame was hashed, the gears were shot but most of the basics were solid. I disassembled everything, marking and taking reference photos as I went. I used Scotchbrite wheels and pads to remove the rust, then after a liberal bath in metal prep solution, several good coats of primer were applied. I let the primer dry several days, wet sanded it, wiped it down and we were off to the paint shop. Keeping this project low buck budget, I used some leftover lacquer I had, some of you may recognize it.
I did not remove the crank and sprocket as the size was an odd one and I did not want to risk ruining the threads. The paint cured about a week, I rubbed out the clear with some hand rubbing compound and applied a couple coats of finish wax. Reassembly was pretty quick, I was sure glad I marked everything and had photos to refer to. The rear brake assembly fought me somewhat, had to set it aside and come back to it the next day to conquer it. The gearing was really messed up when I got it, would not shift and the chain kept snarling despite all adjustments SO.....
Now it's a single speed! :frantic
I tried to locate another rear wheel, but could not find one in the under $10 range. I removed the derailer, shortened a new chain and here we are.
It turned out pretty well IMHO, the bike will be donated to our local Angel Tree campaign and go to a child who might not have anything for Christmas this year. I'm hoping to do a couple more before Christmas, but there's always next year. B)
Thanks for checking it out and indulging my flight of fancy. The scale of this project was manageable and it was sure easier to find dropped parts (tweezer launch not applicable)
:drinks
The chromed frame was hashed, the gears were shot but most of the basics were solid. I disassembled everything, marking and taking reference photos as I went. I used Scotchbrite wheels and pads to remove the rust, then after a liberal bath in metal prep solution, several good coats of primer were applied. I let the primer dry several days, wet sanded it, wiped it down and we were off to the paint shop. Keeping this project low buck budget, I used some leftover lacquer I had, some of you may recognize it.
I did not remove the crank and sprocket as the size was an odd one and I did not want to risk ruining the threads. The paint cured about a week, I rubbed out the clear with some hand rubbing compound and applied a couple coats of finish wax. Reassembly was pretty quick, I was sure glad I marked everything and had photos to refer to. The rear brake assembly fought me somewhat, had to set it aside and come back to it the next day to conquer it. The gearing was really messed up when I got it, would not shift and the chain kept snarling despite all adjustments SO.....
Now it's a single speed! :frantic
I tried to locate another rear wheel, but could not find one in the under $10 range. I removed the derailer, shortened a new chain and here we are.
It turned out pretty well IMHO, the bike will be donated to our local Angel Tree campaign and go to a child who might not have anything for Christmas this year. I'm hoping to do a couple more before Christmas, but there's always next year. B)
Thanks for checking it out and indulging my flight of fancy. The scale of this project was manageable and it was sure easier to find dropped parts (tweezer launch not applicable)
:drinks
... Hope to see you here again soon!...btw,excelent job on the bike :dude 
