72 Typhoon Rat

[subi4life]

I bought this gem on Thursday evening, 5/17/12. Rims and tires were shot, but overall good frame and other bits.

I got my bike rolling Friday night for the beginning of the 9th Annual Fat and Skinny Tire Bike Fest in Winona Lake, IN. (http://www.fatandskinnytirefest.com/fstf/) We start the weekend off with a critical mass ride from the bike shop to the local watering hole (Mad Anthony's Brew House)! We had over 300 participants this year, and I must say there was a lot of chatter about the guy on the old Schwinn, ME!!!

I was planning on swapping out my sister's rims and tires off of her cruiser, but the front axle was too thick for my front fork, so I ended up using her rear wheel and a front wheel off an old mt bike that has been laying around forever! Other than that I sprayed a whole bunch of lube on the chain and bottom bracket, and we were off!

Saturday I spent about an hour trying to move the seat post up, only got it to move about 3 inches. Any recommendations how to hurry this process along?

 

[subi4life]

Re: 72 Typhoon Rat - PARTS!!!

:lol: :lol: I am super pumped about the score I made last night on parts for my ratty Typhoon! I ended up getting some lovely white Schwinn rims with black pinstripping and a nice litte touch of rust, what I'm hoping are the perfect ape hangers with a beautiful patina, a seat and seatpost and a couple of tubes just cause. He also had a 7 speed shifter I need for a mt bike project, taking an old Stumpjumer and going from a rigid SS to a 1x7. All that for $60! I think it is was a fair deal, I'm happy and thats all that matters.

I got the stuff from a guy I called up that had a post on CL. He had a $50 Huffy cruiser and I thought I would buy that and steal the wheels and a couple of other things off of and still be ahead, but I got there and he had a garage full of parts! We started going through some stuff and came up with the pile you see there. I was going to get some tires off him too, but he didn't have a matching set the size I wanted. If anyone has any details about these rims I would love to hear them, he thought they might be S3's? Can I put regular 26" tires on these rims? He seemed to think I could. He was a great guy, retired, just bought and sold bikes for fun!

I have also collected a few other parts that I will reveal later that I am also excited about!!! :wink: 8)

 

[Thxcuz]

How do you guys get so lucky finding such cool bikes? All I see on CL are road bikes, expensive treks and girls bikes. I would love an old rusty typhoon or heavy duti.

 

[subi4life]

There seem to be a lot of cheap bikes on CL around here. Then I started noticing some of the "decent" bikes all said to contact the same person, so I did and it turned out that he had a load stuff!!! Just keep your eyes open... :shock:

 

[subi4life]

Re: 72 Typhoon Rat - Rust removal???

What is the best way to remove the rust from the wheels I have? I don't want to damage the paint, but I would like to make some of that rust go BYE BYE! I'm thinking a VERY light sanding in VERY small areas, or has anyone tried Goof Off Rust Remover? Thanks!

 

[furyus]

Evaporust. You can find it on ebay or some auto parts stores. Little bit expensive, but works like a charm without damaging paint or decals. Non-toxic, no odor, pour it down the drain when your done. Won't burn your skin. Amazing stuff.

Find a plastic storage box (shoebox size) and fill it about 1 1/2 inches with Evaporust. Stand the wheel up in it and leave it a couple of hours, then rotate the wheel to the next spot. Should handle 95% of that rust easy, if not every bit of it.

furyus

 

[Houndog]

I had good luck with brillo pads.....

 

[subi4life]

Not much progress to report yet, but my parts pile is looking glorious! I picked up a Schwinn front rack on ebay, and found this lovely light at a bike co-op in the area. All parts are sold on a donation basis, you just give them what you think its worth, or you can work it off by helping out at the shop. I didn't think it would work, but got home and threw two D batteries in it and it lit right up! Pretty sweet, it even has a low and high beam, two different bulbs.

I also got a bottle of evaporust, going to give it a go later this week hopefully. I want to get this bike put together before my wedding at the end of July!

 

[Ape Stanger]

Nice bike! I have a bit of color envy. As you saw in my typhoon build I have campus green on the mind. Also can't wait to see the apes on it. Please tell me you're going to use the green grips. I like that the rims are going to be white. White and green are an excellent color combo IMO.

 

[subi4life]

Well, I admit I haven't gotten a whole lot done on my bike last fall or winter. I'm definitely going to have it done for this summer. Still having issues getting the old seat post out, but I've got some ideas for that. Last weekend I was cleaning out the shed and decided to do a little mock up. Here is what I'm thinking...


Here it is with the tires I got for it, unfortunately they don't fit the rims. I thought the rims were 26's, but must be S7's.


I also have a headlight and front rack I might throw on there. Found an old toolbox at a garage sale for $2 I thought might be a cool addition on the rack! I'm not sold on fenders either.


Opinions welcome!!!

 

[MeanOldManMike]

The tool box will be nice to haul some stuff in but it will be harder to steer an as aerodynamic as a brick. Nice job so far keep playing with it and you will come across the combo you like.

 

[mikesbikes36]

looks cool !!!! maybe if u figure out how 2 get that box behind the seat longways ,,,,either way its cool !!!

 

[subi4life]

The tool box will be nice to haul some stuff in but it will be harder to steer an as aerodynamic as a brick. Nice job so far keep playing with it and you will come across the combo you like.

Aero is not something I'm too worried about, it is a cruiser and that's all I plan on doing with it!!! As for the weight it will add to the steering up front that might be another issue. I have tried to find a rack and put the tool box on back, but have yet to find one that sits horizontal. Also debating painting the frame, I really like the campus green, but its pretty beat up. Anyone know where to get cheap campus green or something close?

 

[724wd]

looks cool !!!! maybe if u figure out how 2 get that box behind the seat longways ,,,,either way its cool !!!

behind the seat longways, and hinge the toolbox on the short side! :mrgreen:

 

[OneHorsePower]

Aero is not something I'm too worried about, it is a cruiser and that's all I plan on doing with it!!! As for the weight it will add to the steering up front that might be another issue. I have tried to find a rack and put the tool box on back, but have yet to find one that sits horizontal. Also debating painting the frame, I really like the campus green, but its pretty beat up. Anyone know where to get cheap campus green or something close?

maybe just a coat of "duplicolor metal cast green" or any other "transluside/candy green" over it could restore the shine without altering the color to much?
S7 rims are bigger or smaller ?

 

[subi4life]

Well, making some progress, I guess that's what you can call it. Since the wheels I had did not fit my tires, I decided to part with some of the parts I had been hording for about the last year. They weren't going to work anyway so I figured I could just get rid of them. So I took them back to the guy I bought them from. While I was at his house I asked if he had any wheels that would work for me. Sure enough he did, except they were part of a complete bike that he didn't want to part out. Well that bike had some other bits on it that I could definitely use, fenders, pedals, cranks, seat, seat post, etc. In the end I pretty much traded some parts for a complete bike!

One man's junk is another man's treasure!



While I was there I also find a cherry Schwinn Breeze for my wife!!!





I also got her a basket for if she decides to ride her bike to work or the grocery or something!