All-Pro Stingray copy 'restoration'

[drabe]

I recently picked this up at an estate sale for my 9 year old nephew. Whenever he comes over we'd borrow the neighbors kid's BMX bike for him to ride ('cause I don't have any 20" bikes, at least I didn't at the time). I'd told him we'd have to get him a cooler bike, then he mentioned wanting a Stingray (YIKES! :shock: ).
Well after looking for an affordable Stingray we stumbled on this, it's a '70s All-Pro Stingray copy (sold thru Kmart). It's got some neat details like the offset black stripes on the fenders and the same offset stripes, only yellow on black on the seat). It was last 'inspected' in '75 and sat in a garage most of it's life.
As usual, I didn't take pics of the 'restoration' process but mainly have before and after pics.
I just finished it up last night 'cause he's coming over this weekend (he hasn't seen it yet) and I can't wait to see his reaction!

The only modification I made was by adding the 3" slick, which resulted in having to flip the rear sprocket and adding a spacer between the hub and frame on the right side to keep the chain from rubbing either the tire or the frame.
In the process the rear fender was shelved, for now. I'd like to put the fender back on but it was interfering with the tire in a major way so it was easier leaving it off.

Anyway, on with the show...

Before

During restoration, after cleaning and polishing

After final assembly

Sorry the 'after' pics are so crappy, I did use an actual camera (not a cell phone)!

I keep promising I'll get to an actual 'rat rod' build one of these days...

BTW, has anyone seen on of these bikes before?
It appears that the frame and other details are the same as a Western Flyer girls 'Stingray' copy I have (it's called 'Little Miss Buzz Bike' on the chainguard (sorry no pics of that one).

 

[thatismytruck]

a most excellent restore!! Love the bike!! the young 'un will love it!!

how the heck did you polish it up so well??

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

man I want one of those 3" slicks.

 

[drabe]

a most excellent restore!! Love the bike!! the young 'un will love it!!

how the heck did you polish it up so well??

Thanks! I just about flipped when I first saw it but had to contain my excitement until the negotiating was done (I picked this up from the same estate sale as the Schwinn Collegiate and Columbia Sport as seen in my other threads, both cleaned up just as well).

I'm getting all excited just waiting to see the kids face when he see it!

I've used the same process on all of my bikes and almost always have excellent results (some to my own surprise!).
I use either Mothers or Meguires rubbing compound on the paint and #0000 steel wool on the chrome parts followed by chrome polish. For both its buff, buff and buff some more!
I use plastic and brass brushes (toothbrush size, I usually find these cheap at swap meets) along with Castrol Super Clean for cleaning grips and pedals. I also use Super Clean for cleaning all the bearings, cups and hubs. I you haven't tried this stuff, it's the best and for the tree huggers out there it's biodegradable too.

 

[drabe]

man I want one of those 3" slicks.

I might sell you this one pretty soon!
I'm thinking of going with a smaller 20 x 2.125, so I can put the rear fender back on without worrying about rubbing.
I didn't want to modify this one too much (ie: hurt the paint). When they're in this good of condition I try mainly to restore than modify but that 3" slick just looks bad ... on there!

 

[Rodland]

Your nephew should be happy with that. It looks super.

 

[redeyerat]

here's the girls version i think viewtopic.php?f=16&t=20603

8)

 

[drabe]

here's the girls version i think viewtopic.php?f=16&t=20603

8)

I don't know about yours, there looks like there a lot of differences between the two (besides your being made in Canada).
I have two other Western Flyers (one boys and one girls) that share a lot of the same details as this one.
I think mine may be built by Murray(?), I'm sure someone around here knows who built it.

 

[bigj]

Very cool.

 

[drabe]

Well, we 'unveiled' Kipp's bike Friday night and his reaction was priceless!

Of course, I had to warn him about NOT wrecking it!
:lol: :lol: and some extra :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Disclaimer: The picture below was staged in an attempt to convey a humorous scene.
To those who had parents that were really like this, please do not come down on me for bringing up bad memories!

Then we rode the wheels off all weekend!

This was on our Sunday morning ride

I thought this shot was pretty cool, it's an accidental 'art' shot (taking pics while riding sometimes produces this type of image).

 

[ratina]

That turned out great!

Where did you get the 3" slick??

 

[aka_locojoe]

Very cool thing ya did.

 

[nickdaddy]

awesome restoration you did
your nephew looked really surprised too

 

[thatismytruck]

Glad you had photos taken of him getting the bike. Thanks.

 

[drabe]

That turned out great!

Where did you get the 3" slick??

If I remember right I got the slick from http://www.bicycledesigner.com/defaulth ... r%3D539112
It was kinda pricey compared to the 2.125 slicks I've seen.

He was doing just like I did as a kid, locking up the rear to see how long of a black stripe he could leave on the pavement. I told him to try to leave some of the tire on the rim! :lol:
I also remembered that I paid more for that one tire than I did for the whole bike! :shock: :lol:

Thanks for all the nice comments guys!
Kipp's reaction made it all worth while, we almost couldn't keep him off of the thing all weekend and I can almost guarantee that none of his friends have anything like it!

 

[ratina]

That turned out great!

Where did you get the 3" slick??

If I remember right I got the slick from http://www.bicycledesigner.com/defaulth ... r%3D539112
It was kinda pricey compared to the 2.125 slicks I've seen.

He was doing just like I did as a kid, locking up the rear to see how long of a black stripe he could leave on the pavement. I told him to try to leave some of the tire on the rim! :lol:
I also remembered that I paid more for that one tire than I did for the whole bike! :shock: :lol:

Thanks for all the nice comments guys!
Kipp's reaction made it all worth while, we almost couldn't keep him off of the thing all weekend and I can almost guarantee that none of his friends have anything like it!

That is a little pricey, but worth it! I'm going to have to get one next year for my stingray!

 

[drabe]

That is a little pricey, but worth it! I'm going to have to get one next year for my stingray!

Ratina, keep in mind, especially if your concerned about original paint, you may have to do some modifying to your frame to make this tire work.
I extended the slots in my rear drop outs to allow the wheel to slide back about a half inch.
I also flipped the rear (dished) sprocket and added a spacer between the rear hub and the frame so the chain wouldn't rub anything.
Even after all that there is only 1/16" or less between the tire and frame on the left side and the chain is only about 1/8" from hitting the tire on the right side.
Surprisingly nothing rubs even after several 'hard' miles put on by my nephew (good thing the rim is true!).
I also left the rear fender off 'cause after moving the wheel/tire back the fender made it look like it was moved back.
Anyway, all the mods I made are hidden, but I tried not to hurt the original paint.
Going with a 20 x 2.125 slick would have made life easier, but that 3" slick just looks killer on there!