The PAU OPER - A work bike on vacation

[brucebruce]

Yeah, the flood had me out of work for 2weeks..
were pretty well put back together now tho.. 19in of rain overnight will do that tho

google maps said 86miles, and ive got a friend who lives on the way there(may borrow her truck)
whats the typical price range? like need 100 to pick up a frame? or just basically what it would be for scrap..??

[BLASTER]

Please don't say "scrap" to Hank.
He'll run you off.

I really don't know about his pricing or what may or may not end up being available for sale.
There are some sweet frames laying around.
Anything is possible I guess.
I've known him for a while and I always enjoy our conversations.

I'm about 30 minutes in the other direction from Helotes.

We have had no measurable rain here in right at a year....ask my grass about it.
Terrible.

[TheFlyingDingo]

those pictures...i need to go there

or make you pull some bikes out for me
I see so many bikes i would buy in a heartbeat

its like...a non-rusty version of outdoor chestnuthollow

[BLASTER]

its like...a non-rusty version of outdoor chestnuthollow

Yeah....no rain (or snow) will do that.

Marble Falls skatepark minute!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-wtmln6GPN4
Not much to it but we had fun and got our sk8 fixx on.
Man, it was hot that day.

[TheFlyingDingo]

Must be good to be in texas
lol

[BLASTER]

The massive amounts of rust on PAU OPER came from Houston....200 miles east, where it is probably raining as we speak!

I hope to get some history on my bike from the shop in Houston very soon.

Yeah, Texass is ok...I'm a native.

[TheFlyingDingo]

i thought tennese/alabama and that area was the best for Non-Rusty stuff
Am i right?

[brucebruce]

Marble Falls skatepark minute!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-wtmln6GPN4
Not much to it but we had fun and got our sk8 fixx on.
Man, it was hot that day.

WOW.. thats crazy.. My cousin is actually head of the HLSPA(highland lakes sk8 park assocation)
I helped build the 1st pyramid, til the football players drove there truck onto it and smashed it.
THEN i helped install the yellow posts

Yeah, the flood actually had water up to the skatepark?!?

[BLASTER]

I don't know, Dingo.
Small world, brucebruce!

Spent my day off on the bike.


Took the fork apart and stripped it.


It had been subjected to some cruel, bicentenial paint job, like so many fire hydrants of 1976.


The spray stripper worked great!
Never used a spray before....very clean and efficient..




Meanwhile, I cleaned up the drivetrain.


It cleaned up nicely!
The layers of paint had protected the OG chrome, it seems.


This is a beefy piece!
Completely intact.
They don't make forks like they used to.


I'm still not sure it's gonna work with the short head tube of the PAU OPER...we shall see.
It WILL work on my '38-ish Cleveland Welding/Western Flyer though.


I shot the frame with white primer.
The frame looks good, but not too good...no dark colours.
I can see how it would look in white for the mock-up.
Pretty sure it will stay white...Like original.

Had a very productive couple days.
Tires and handle bars will be in early next week.
I still need to go through my front and rear hubs and paint the wheels...black.

Man, I hope the fork works out.
I will NOT modify it.

Good times!

[CCR]

man that fork cleaned up great !!! and the crank did too !!! the white is right IMO

good luck on the fork fitting too

[xddorox]

man that fork cleaned up great !!! and the crank did too !!! the white is right IMO

good luck on the fork fitting too

I second that.

[copycat]

nice kit!

[johnny nightwolf]

Wow, that fork cleaned up pretty! I can't wait to see this done!

[BLASTER]

Thankee!

Spent some time after work in the cool of the early AM, seeing about getting the fork mounted....the PAU OPER having a very short head tube and the fork was meant for longer.


I knew this typical, random, generic, late-model, girl's MTB frame...did I mention cheap..was sitting behind the garage for six years for some reason.
R.I.P.
Using hose-clamps (automotive), hack-saw,vice, grinder, buffer, stationary sander, I cut it to the length I need and got it really pretty square!




I'll squirt some white paint over the purple and it'll look like it's meant to be there.
The lower washer and the adjuster have a lip that holds it all straight.
Feels good...I think it's gonna work!
After looking at the pics, I may want to figure a way to shield the upper bearing a bit more.
The threads don't go down that low, though.
Whatever.
I feel like I've cleared an important hurdle.
Yea!

[johnny nightwolf]

That is one hillbilly piece of engineering! And I definitely mean that in the best way. You gotta let me know how that works out for you. I've never seen that done, and since welding isn't an option here, it seems like that might actually work pretty well!