'38 Special ------ Update July 2nd

[Doon]

Whoa cool pics.
Lottsa inspiration there.

[Road Master]

I completed Mockup #1 this afternoon. As usual it took a lot longer than anticipated. I had 5 sets of handlebars out there but I really liked the one with the least amount of curves and as a bonus those coke bottle grips were already on them. The one thing that really got me was that w/ a 52 tooth chain ring a full size 56" chain was about 2" short of connecting with the rear sprocket so I grabbed the chain that originally came with my Dyno Roadster and cut it to length.

The Red Brick Tires are all I had here at the house - I have a different type of tires I'm going to use in storage but I wanted to get it up & running. After Dinner I'll take it for a spin to see if it's "rideable" so I don't get in trouble with the Rules Commitee. Can you imagine a 300 lb dude laying across those bars in a Board Track Race position? Maybe I'll have the little woman take a pic for laughs.

The seat is off a '55 Columbia 5 Star - I'll either recover it or leave the bare pan. I wanted to use these wheels I took off a Monark mainly because the rear hub is a Bendix 2 speed manual. That stuck me with a 1/2" sprocket so I used an old crusty Monark front sprocket to match. For a ratrod I don't mind using rusty parts that I can grind down and paint.

The mocking up of the main body is complete - I might tweak some things as I go but mostly it's a matter of what I add on to it from this point. I have some ideas, I just don't know how many I'll be able to incorporate in the alloted time. Guess that's about it for today. TBC! Robert

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Looks good

[tin machine]

wow love those old pics !!!! very cool

[Jake Sensi]

Yo that front end is sweet!!! GTB!! Peace

[CCR]

I hope you left this in your yard, I'll be over to to get it in about 3 hours or so, it's kind of late so I won't wake you

I'm really digging those tires with the rest of the bike but I'm sure you've got something cool stashed away !!! If you had any doubt, don't worry Robert. Your doing it right

[texasbigjon]

very cool!

[Ape Stanger]

Looks awesome! Okay, at first I thought what's a car doing on the velodrome then I saw the lion! What the?!

[Road Master]

Looks awesome! Okay, at first I thought what's a car doing on the velodrome then I saw the lion! What the?!

That's the first thing I saw when I first looked at that pic - A LION? You are the first person to comment on it so I'm not really sure if anyone else saw the Kitty Kat. You look at the faces in the crowd and they all look like "been there, seen that" - no big deal. I guess what they took for grated in "those days" seems pretty odd to us. Robert

[bighit]

Nailed it with the bars and with the tire holder. I used a big toe strap, but that gets to be a pain. Thanks for the idea.

[Terry66]

Love it....I have a '36 CWC frame identical to this. I REALLY considering using it in my build off, but the 24X3 back tire wouldn't fit without modification and I didn't want to do that to such a cool old frame. This will be one that I watch for sure.

[Road Master]

Love it....I have a '36 CWC frame identical to this. I REALLY considering using it in my build off, but the 24X3 back tire wouldn't fit without modification and I didn't want to do that to such a cool old frame. This will be one that I watch for sure.

Anytime I've tried 3" tires and it didn't go in was because it would drag on the chainstay curves - if that was squared off they might fit. What I've seen a lot of guys do especially in the buildoffs is fabricate an extension drop out plate that bolds to the existing dropout and pulls the wheel out away from the chainstay bends. It's worth a shot. Have Fun! Robert

[Road Master]

I spent most of today doing yardwork - talk about tedious - rain, grass, mow, repeat. I figured I'd attack that '55 Columbia 5 Star Saddle - what's left of it anyways. I do really well with this menial labor crap because I have a ton of patience. Never met a nut & bolt I couldn't get apart. These weren't too bad - didn't have to heat them w/ the torch. Now that I've got it disassembled I can start my "White Vinegar" bath. I've tried fancier products but they are a lot more expensive than white vinegar and don't seem to work any faster.





That's a 2 spring Messinger Saddle w/ the rubber cover from RRBBO5 above - those are the parts after the White Vinegar Bath. All I can say is it gets the job done cheap! As long as there's enough metal left after the rust is gone I'm going to just paint this pan. I noticed all the boardtrack bike pics I looked at they didn't bother with that padding & cover stuff - too much weight I guess. Tomorrow's another day. TBC! Robert

[Road Master]

Didn't have time to work on her today - it was errand day and I'm the go-fer. I did manage to swing by Lowes and pick up materials for my gas tank. I haven't quite figured out how I want to hold it on the frame yet - I could hang it from the top tube but I'd like it centered between the bars. With the outside diameter of this Schedule 40 PVC there isn't going to be much room left - I'll hack at it tomorrow. TBC! Robert

[Road Master]

Hi! Using PVC for a tank worked out better than I had imagined. The outside diameter of the pipe is still smaller than the distance between the bars but the outside diameter of the end caps is bigger. I was wondering how I was going to keep the pipe centered but that is no problem now. I filed both sides of the endcaps down till they slipped between the bars. I finished the day fileing smooth all the embossed markings and seams. Tomorrow I'll bend the pipe and devise some king of strapping to hold in place. I thought of a couple more ideas today - sometimes there isn't any end to what you want to do to these builds. TBC! Robert