'61 Hornet (In Search of a wheel)

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sking1973

sking1973

Joined
Feb 1, 2008
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West Virginia
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Hey All! This one was used as a factory bike at one time. Right now my plan is to basically just do a thorough clean-up and grease, strip the fenders (since they don't match), and change out the wheelset and tires.

Here's the bike before disassembly
IMG_0723.jpg


Stripped to the bones
PA200146.jpg


Bits and pieces taking a bath in Simple Green
PA200145.jpg


There's chrome under there somewhere
PA200150.jpg


The parts box
PA200148.jpg
 
Re: '61 Hornet

Cool. A 61' Hornet was my first old bike purchase. Yours is much nicer though
 
Re: '61 Hornet

Yes, it's a non-toxic biogradeable cleaning solution. I buy it by the gallon as Sam's Club. I use it straight (not diluted) on my greasy bike parts and it obviously cuts through the thick stuff. You let the parts soak overnite and the grease and grime just slides right off. Good stuff.

http://www.simplegreen.com/
 
Re: '61 Hornet

Ran into a snag the other nite. I went to put the front end of this thing together and realized I didn't have the stem wedge. I got looking and realized it was stuck in the fork tube with the stem bolt snapped off. So I sprayed it down with PB Blaster and let it sit over nite. Today at lunch I checked on it, tapped it with a screwdriver and the wedge fell right out. Gotta love the PB!

DSC02889.jpg


DSC02890.jpg
 
Re: '61 Hornet

Always fun and easy to dismantle a bike...
I Love the wooden box, are you gonna keep it?
 
Re: '61 Hornet

Gdcast said:
I Love the wooden box, are you gonna keep it?
Click to expand...

I do have the box, but the angle iron frame is MIA. I recycled the box to hold all my loose nuts and bolts for these projects.
 
Re: '61 Hornet

I got the front end put together on this thing this evening. I grabbed the front wheel from one of my other rides to mock it up. I plan on using a city tire sorta like the Kenda Kraze, so this is a pretty accurate representation of what it will look like. Now I just need to find a wheelset or a donor bike that I can swipe the wheels from.

DSC02892.jpg
 
Hey All. I'm in need of a 26 x 2.125 front wheel for this project. I have a rear, that appears to be from a Huffy or Murray, which I would like to match. Looking for a decent wheel that can be cleaned up. Here's what I have...

DSC02896.jpg


DSC02895.jpg
 
Pulled this front wheel out of the garage this evening. It's an old road bike wheel & tire, 26 x 1 3/8. I've wanted to try this, but I'm not sure I'm a fan of the skinny up front, fat tire on the back. Any opinions?

DSC02897.jpg
 
That's what's on my Schwinn right now, a skinny 1 3/8 front with big back tire. I'm going back to a wide front tire because it seems alot more stable, and it didn't look exactly right in the wide forks. And my Kenda flames just came in today, so it's back to 2.125.
 
I ran my 'Phooner like that for a while recently, w/a 27" x 1 3/8? from a Varsity up front, just because it was the only decent front wheel I had to spare. Worked o.k., but it didn't ride as smooth & looked totally wrong, esp. w/gumwalls. I had to take the fender off, because that made it look really silly. IMHO, an S-6 front would be a better match for an S-7 rear, that is if you're going for a Stingray look & feel.
 
IMO a 1.75" up front would be OK, but on a conventional stock frame, the 1 3/8" just doesn't go w/the big meat out back. Now if it was stretched and raked out a foot or 2, a whole different story. :wink:
 
I'm still looking for a decent front wheel, but in order to make this thing roll I pulled a wheelset off another bike. I think it's coming along nicely and I dig the fat tires all around. I was thinking about get a set of Bontrager Hanks with the redlines for it, but I'll have to see how the budget looks. The bars look long because the grips aren't shoved on all the way. I'm trying to decide if I want to use these bars, trim them down, or go with something completely different. I think I'll have a nice rider for next summer.

P1010169.jpg
 

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