El Gordo

[newlife_newrat]

First of all I want to say :shock: WOW! I have always ridden and tinkered with bikes since I was kid, but you guys are amazing! There are some true artists on this site. Thanks for the inspiration. This is my first build...El Gordo.

So... I've had these ape hangers sitting in my garage for years now. Every time i looked up at them hanging on the wall, I would sigh and swear to put a bike on them soon. Well, the time has come! I finally found this old cruiser on CL for the right price (i posted in fresh finds).
It seems to be a 1962 Coast King, made by Huffy. Not bad at all. I really like the patina and the white wheels.

So after hours of pilfering all of your creations on this site, I think I have come up with a plan. I want to stick to a rat budget. I have very limited skills and even fewer tools, so I will have to make the most with what I have. So this will be a pretty simple bike. Besides the bike and some supplies, I have only spent $3!!!! 8)

My goal is classic Rat Rod style with a few original ideas thrown in. I grew up in L.A., so i have a lot of hot rod and lowrider influence. I had always imagined my cruiser being flat black with red rims and WW's. But i think I came up with a better idea; a little more personal. Here is my concept (Thanks to RawBert for the template).

 

[scrumblero]

its gonna be sweet! love the front fender in back :mrgreen:

 

[KOTA]

APES...APES..How can you go wrong with APES?...Your bike is gonna be COOL! 8)

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

I like where this is going 8)

 

[KJV]

this is gonna cool :mrgreen:

 

[newlife_newrat]

APES...APES..How can you go wrong with APES?...Your bike is gonna be COOL! 8)

 

[newlife_newrat]

Hey, this being single thing has its perks!!! :lol: I have had quite a bit of time to work on the bike. The weather has been really nice here (Longmont, CO), so I hung out in the garage as much as possible, cleaning all the 40-50 years worth of gunk off of this beast. I came in to work with the sweet smell of gasoline wafting like i had overdone my greaser aftershave... 8)

My progress on the grips: I salvaged these off of my downhill bike. I am toying around with a few different ways to use the bandana. It was kind of a pain to find the right way to cut the bandana, wrap it, and stuff it all together, but it looks alright.

 

[newlife_newrat]

I have been searching all around this site for tire ideas. I don't want to do whitewalls because the rims are white. I really like the slicks and the Fat Franks. I don't think the brick pattern would match and flames wouldn't work. what to do???? :? Then I remembered my Holy Rollers (salvaged again from my old downhiller/urban jumper). I forgot i had them. I think they are perfect!

But I do have concerns whther they will fit. I have the hubs torn apart right now, so i haven't been able to really check. What can I do if i really want to use these tires and they don't fit? I don't weld, but i know someone who does... is there any other option?

 

[blackdiamond]

Now if you understand this it can work. 1. find a brick or a piece of wood 2cm larger than your tires. 2. put it where the tire goes and push it in until you get to where the tire goes. 3. stragten the frame stays up(wood still in place). 4.reapeat whereever tire runs. 5.it helps to leave in the sun for a hour or two.

this worked for two of mine.

 

[newlife_newrat]

I made some progress on my Gordo bike! This has been a lot of fun. I can see how you guys have gotten so into this. 8)
I pulled out all the guts, soaked it and cleaned it all up. Everything was in good working order. Look how well the crank shined up. I didn't even realize it was chrome when i got the bike!

Has anyone tried making a boardtracker with apehangers????

So, as I said before, I love these tires: Maxxis Holy Roller 2.4's. But they are a very tight fit. I had them trued at my LBS. That helped enough for the front, but the rear is still a squeeze...

It fits between the chainstays if i have the wheel pushed all teh way to the back of the dropout. But I will have to add a couple links to the chain. Then, hopefully the fender won't put up too much of a fight. I really like the way the rear fender is so close to the tire. Bobber style, baby!!! If I can't get it all to fit, I may have to use Blackdiamond's suggestion to push out the frame a bit. Thanks!

 

[Tommy Atoms]

very nice!

 

[Skipton]

Yep!...looking sweet keep up the great work!