Old Sears Cruiser: The Oriole (finished pics)

[IronDio]

Got this bike for FREE from a friend of a friend. Nice old bike! Faded out, dirty, but good bearings and brake. Great chainguard graphics!

Did a little scrubbing, what do you know! The wheels are white! A little Easy Off made quick work of that job...

The bike is pretty plain overall though. Did what I could with steel wool and wax to bring the paint back. Brought it back to a nice luster and I really like the patina. It needs some color, but I don't want to lose that original paint and patina...PIN STRIPE! I laid out my stripes and then clear coated to preserve it.
Started with the chainguard.

The black really adds to the original design, I think.
Next, the front fender.
From the front:

And the back:

Woke up early and started on the rear fender this morning, but ran out of black stripe
Guess I'll work on tires and stripping the rest of the parts off the bike tonight!

 

[Jake Sensi]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

Looks good keep it up and ...Get ta Buildin'!! Peace

 

[tdd]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

Looking good

 

[IronDio]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

Thanks!
I got a lot done on it last night before disappointment struck...when the tires are fully inflated, they are STUFFED in the fenders. So, I'll be buying whitewalls for it today. (so much for trying to save a little money and use up some leftovers)
I snapped a couple pics anyway, because I just love the look! It reminds me of an oriole. I really like the clear coat over the patina

(pardon the messy garage)

 

[tdd]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

I think the whitewalls are a great idea.

 

[IronDio]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

I think the whitewalls are a great idea.

That was my original plan, but I was trying to use up some leftovers. Sometimes you just need to spend a little money. LOL
(These mtn bike tires will look good on the Chimera when I finally decide to swap them, so they'll get used)

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

WOW! That looks great!

Here's a decent price on a set of brick patterned whitewalls.

http://www.junkyrustybikes.net/product_info.php?cPath=25_75&products_id=629

A set of of whitewall 'Tycoons'
http://www.junkyrustybikes.net/product_info.php?cPath=25_75&products_id=950

Good luck with the rest of your plans.

Cheers,
Dr. T

 

[IronDio]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

WOW! That looks great!

Here's a decent price on a set of brick patterned whitewalls.

http://www.junkyrustybikes.net/product_info.php?cPath=25_75&products_id=629

A set of of whitewall 'Tycoons'
http://www.junkyrustybikes.net/product_info.php?cPath=25_75&products_id=950

Good luck with the rest of your plans.

Cheers,
Dr. T

Thanks! I'll probably end up at W**Mart to get a set of bell cruisers...I put them on Opportunity Knocks and I know they'll fit. (plus I don't want to wait any longer to cruise on this one)
As far as good cheap tires go, check these out! http://www.amazon.com/Cheng-Shin-St...UTF8&colid=PXUQTJTUQQEV&coliid=I3THI1XMFNJKNA
I've used these on a couple bikes, and they're AWESOME looking!

I've ordered them from Niagara Cycle Works (along with other tires/tubes) through Amazon, they ship very quickly and they combine shipping.

 

[tdd]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

MEMORY LANE CLASSICS has whitewalls for $15.00 each.

 

[sleepy]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

Real nice work on the cruiser....nothing beats clearcoated original patina. 8)

Like your seatpost as well!

 

[noodlenoggin]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

I think this bike looks really good -- and I love the approach you're taking, keeping as much original stuff as you can.

Are you using a pinstripe tape, or painting them? I like them a LOT!

 

[IronDio]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

I think this bike looks really good -- and I love the approach you're taking, keeping as much original stuff as you can.

Are you using a pinstripe tape, or painting them? I like them a LOT!

Thanks! This is the first time I cleared over rust and imperfections...I LOVE it!
I'm using 3M pinstripe tape and then clear coating over it. It's just so much easier than hand-painting striping, especially when it's just a geometric pattern like this.

 

[IronDio]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser

Well, here it is!

I'll try to get some better pics with a real camera to post soon!

 

[tdd]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser: The Oriole

SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[sleepy]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser: The Oriole

Bike turned out great!

What type of clearcoat did you use?

 

[IronDio]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser: The Oriole

Thanks! I LOVE this bike!

Real nice work on the cruiser....nothing beats clearcoated original patina. 8)

Like your seatpost as well!

1/2" pipe and a 45 degree elbow...seems stronger than the bent ones I've purchased on the past, and at a fraction of the cost!

Bike turned out great!

What type of clearcoat did you use?

This is THE best rattle can clear I've ever seen. It performs as closely to the 2-part mix-and-spray clear as I think you could EVER expect out of a can. I've sprayed it over DuPont Chromabase base coat, acrylic paint, Rustoleum, Plastikote...it's fantastic stuff! Nason is owned by DuPont, so you know it's good

 

[sleepy]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser: The Oriole

^^^Thanks!

 

[IronDio]

Re: Old Sears Cruiser: The Oriole

Here are some finished pics my wife and I took with our new camera:

These are straight out of the camera, so, maybe I'll repost some edits at a later time. I'm really pleased with the bike!

 

[tdd]

LOOKS GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Man, that...is....nice!
Where did you buy the Nason clear coat?

Cheers,
Dr. T