50's Pushie Rebuild

[brethren22]

the mrs has been bugging me for ages about building her a pushie so i figured i better bite the bullet and give up some workshop time to build her something for her 30th.

i picked up a cheap but classic 50's ladies bike on ebay which needs some work. the plan is to give it a 2 tone flat mid grey and white paint job and replace only the essential bits and pieces. grey frame, white rims and guards, black sprung saddle, black rubber and grips on brushed chrome bars and seat post

not much progress as of yet but here's a few pics of it as it came to give you an idea















i figure it's got some nice classic features like the lugs, the pump mounts and the grease flap for the bottom bracket. of course it's also got horrible cotter pin cranks, well nice cranks, not so nice cotter pins at least

i gave the cranks a quick going over with a nylon brush in the drill and some polish to give them a satin finish and get rid of some of the blemishes that they had. hopefully the rest of the chrome is good enough to do the same with. the wheels will need a full rebuild and i'm gonna chuck a 3 speed sturmey archer hub in to get her up the hills but otherwise it'll stay pretty close to it's original spec

anyway, that's it for the mean while. i'll chuck a few pics up as i progress if anyone is interested

[vbroom]

that is a nice lookin crank!

[IGS]

Good luck mate, keeping an eye on this thread *subscribed*

[gongzee]

yeh good luck, looks like a good build. Been thinking of doing one of these up too, so i'll be interested how yours turns out

[The Acumen]

interesting

[Uni]

Of course it's also got horrible cotter pin cranks, well nice cranks, not so nice cotter pins at least

I can help you lay some neat cotter pins in if you keep 'em.


sweet bike!

[brethren22]

thanks guys, hopefully it turns out well

^thanks uni, any input on cotter pin cranks would be good. i've got plenty of experience with modern square/splined axles but none on these old suckers

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

i remember losing a lot of bark off my ankles on those old cotter pin cranks when i was a young fellah..

nice solid looking base you have there,, they dont make em like that anymore

[rebel250]

yeh good luck, looks like a good build. Been thinking of doing one of these up too, so i'll be interested how yours turns out

Why do you want a girls bike gongzee?

[brethren22]

stripped most of the frame back to bare metal, pulled the old spokes and cleaned up the rims. looking pretty good, just got a fused bolt to extract and it's off to get powder coated!

also picked up an old seat, a 3 speed drum brake rear hub and a brake lever for it. more pics to follow shortly











i've found a shop that stocks old 28X1 3/8 tyres so i'm in luck there. just need to chase down a few more bits and pieces and we'll be good to go

[brethren22]

with the mrs bday only 2 weeks away the bike is starting together just in time. i have a few bits and pieces will be missing but i think it'll look like a bike by then

picked up a few bits and pieces for the old girl. a 40h sturmey archer 3speed hub with drum brake to boot. should do the trick for looking close to original and of the same era. it was the only way the bike was getting gears without changes to the frame so i think it'll work





also picked up some new pedals which are close to original. they're actually japanese so feel super smooth for such an old school design



plus a new brass bell with an acceptably annoying ring to it and 3sp sturmey archer NOS shifter



also picked up some new guards which i sanded the chrome back on then added to the newly powder coated bike for a quick mock up. i reckon it'll look good. it's not the colour scheme i had originally intended but they weren't doing runs in the colours i really wanted so i went the cheap option and got it done in satin black. the mrs will probably prefer it that way so no major loss i reckon. plus a lot of the bikes back then only came in henry ford's favourite tone so it's kinda period correct



now i'm just waiting on possibly the longest spokes you can buy at 310mm each and i'll build the wheels up. then there's some more brushing of parts to be done on my new nylox brush wheel and i can bolt this sucker back together and tie a bow around it. here's to hoping it gets ridden!

[valvolux]

good work mate, you've inspired me to fix up my lowrider! keep meaning the get a big tub of vinegar to get all rust of all my parts - how did you get all the surface rust off?
love the crank btw awesome work

[CT90]

Are they Williams cranks?

[brethren22]

good work mate, you've inspired me to fix up my lowrider! keep meaning the get a big tub of vinegar to get all rust of all my parts - how did you get all the surface rust off?
love the crank btw awesome work

thanks valv, i'm interested to see the low rider. i had a bit of a thing for some of the ol chromed out ghetto bikes from back in the day

i used a rust removal disc on my angle grinder for the frame and rims. it does a good job of getting paint and rust off without taking any of the metal with it. there wasn't too much rust on other parts but obviously i'm replacing the spokes as they were rat shit. i also picked up a 180 grit nylon brush wheel which will smooth over the slightly pitted chrome on the bars, stem and hubs. if i had more of a budget i'd get some bits rechromed but i think they'll come up ok and end up with an 'antiqued' kinda look without being too ratty

Are they Williams cranks?

i'll have to check the brand of cranks CT, i don't think they are williams from memory. definitely british though. i have a feeling they are stamped with utility or something similar

[Bunyack]

here's my effort.




Bunyacks Retro Bike Project

[brethren22]

haha, that's classic dude. as much as i wouldn't have guessed it there are a number of similarities between the two! great job! i'll have to take a peek back in at your thread to see how you ended up there. last time i looked the voting was still going on

[Bunyack]

still need to source some ape-hangers and extend the front brake line. soon...... when i get motivated again.


2 weeks to go. definatley looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

[brethren22]

the mrs' bday has come and gone and she's not looking happy. waiting on 310mm spokes to ship in from the states cost me a couple of weeks. the wheels are both built up now but after spending 3 hours disassembling the 1938 3 speed hub i've discovered the cause of some nasty grinding sounds. someone pulled the thing apart and left something out when putting it back together. needless to say the project slips another week whilst i wait on yet another part from the UK. searching for a "thrust ring" online can return some interesting results too

photos of me ankle deep in pawls, pinions and springs to follow!

[brethren22]

here's a few pics of the painful process of disassembling the rear hub. the internet truly is your friend when you're looking for diagrams of 50+ year old parts





before cleaning......



....and after (not that everything looks that much cleaner!)



i managed to find some 1 1/8" downtube cable clamps so that i didn't have to run dodgy full length housing to the rear hub/brake





i reckon it's looking pretty damn good with most bits fitted up. just need this bloody hub to get sorted!!!?

[lunar_c]

Yep, definitely the longest spokes this side of a penny farthing.
I have to keep this from my girlfriend now or she'll want one too .. I'm trying to get her onto a faster road bike