Western Flyer Miss Buzz

[Craiggo]

this was not a bike i was going to actually use when i got it for free at a swap meet. I was contemplating why i was even bothering taking it home. At the time i was only into restoration. It was literally sitting in the corner of our tool shed covered by all the othe bikes i have standing in there until now. I was previously working on a custom hawthorne, which i was going to enter into this when i finished, but i then realized i have this useless rusty pile that i never wouldve used in the first place, so i dug it out. The night prior to posting this i worked on it for about 3 hours, mostly searching for possible things to throw on it, including front and rear racks, an old skate board, a pair of horns, headlamps, seats, ect. i am kinda stuck on where to go with this project and i really have no direction on any theme, so anything goes! i know it should be origional but this is my first rat rod and i am quite lost on what to do and what to make it look like. please comment if you like how its going, Thanks!!

How about this old tire i found, lets hope it doesnt blow up

This stem is too big

I love this Crack! "new" stem

Do you like my washers?
Craig

 

[kingfish254]

Hey don't steal my skateboard build from me. LOL :lol:
I am diggin this true lil baby rat.
Looking forward to see the progress.

 

[Rockit!]

Dude that bike is freakin AWEsoME. Stick a seat and chain on it and call it done! Oh and maybe yank that extra fender off :mrgreen:

 

[kingfish254]

I like the extra fender.

 

[Craiggo]

Dont worry, I wasn't going to steal your skateboard idea, although I do like that build! I was maybe going to make a skateboard rack, I may have dropped that idea and am gonna keep it more simple than that. I have removed that fender, sorry if you like it. :? . I have moved them back to the original ideas and at the moment, I am still brainstorming ideas for them. Keep responding!

this is the skateboard but it doesnt really fit on this small bike well

how about this sproket? it was from an old project of mine that fail miserably

 

[Craiggo]

Update #2

i may not be doing very thorough updates but its what i have so far. :roll:
anyway, i got to work on this bike for a while again today and made some good progress, look and seee
here are some useless bars that i stole off my micro, which is what i base my work on today

i cleaned 'em up and slapped 'em on the bike. honestly, i am not a big fan, but i aint accustomed to the rat rod look yet... or it just sucks.
i also placed this light on the top after sorting and eliminating about five or six other placement choices.
and i swapped out the sproket with a schwinn one that i had. i plan on using the western flyer sproket for anothe bike project that got pushed aside for this one :mrgreen:

this is about where the rear fender is going to be, i just need to mount it on the frame. taking that chainguard was just like taking a severely dusty sock off your equally as dusty leg and rediscovering how not tan you really are :shock: .

this is almost exactly how i am gonna mount this front fender. maybe a few small tweaks

here is the approx. angle that i will weld this seatpost together. note- different diameter tubes to fit the seat haha

i got a little anxious to take some good pics of this bike so i rolled it out to the road and captured the last of the days sunlight (although it was entirely overcast)

 

[kingfish254]

Digging the flipped bars and light on this lil' rat.

 

[Rockit!]

If you don't plan on using that chainguard, it needs to come live with me. Seriously.

 

[Craiggo]

i had to replace the front rim today because the bearings in the hub were both missing a ball but i didnt have bearings that worked perfect. i also suspect that the spokes need to be re-laced. i decided just to change the whole setup and i found a much less rusty rim to put on but the tire was in horrible condition. so i figure i can steal a front tire off one of my nice bikes(it is soo bald which will be perfect) but now i need a new tire from that bike ( i was planning on replacing it anyhow) so yeah thats all i did today .
heres my good bike with the bald tire
before:

after:

i thought these pics might spice up this topic :wink:

 

[Craiggo]

Update: Miss Rust

Today i trued the new rim. i replaced the spokes, rim and tire. (i forgot to put on the rimstrip shhhhh)

i also stripped the threads twice on the rear axle. that was REALLY REALLY frustrating :x

not sure if i am gonna use the front fender now... :?

i also thought it would look good with this on the fender so i spent an hour or two fiddling with this

Don't let the picture fool you it IS red