# 36 Firestone Fleetwood



## Balloonoob (Mar 8, 2021)

Picked up this 36 firestone Fleetwood (Huffman model D34) frame, crank, chainguard, and bonus badge from @Krakatoa. Spent the afternoon slapping it together with parts I had laying around. These forks I had are not going to work. The top of the crown hits the downtube. I'm not going for original everything on this one but it would be nice to have the correct forks.  I'll have to wrench on it some more before I figure out exactly what else is needed.


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## Balloonoob (Mar 9, 2021)

Yesterday was the front end. Today was the crank, bottom bracket, chainguard and chain tensioners. Got everything soaking at the moment. Lesson learned : for these crusty saves... just spray everything with penetrating oil as soon as you get it to help with disassembly. There was some seriously caked on gunk in the bottom bracket.


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## Mr. Monkeyarms (Mar 9, 2021)

Niiiiiiiiice!!


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## OZ1972 (Mar 9, 2021)

Going to be a fun project looks like , keep us posted please !!!!!


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## OSCAR...N... (Mar 9, 2021)

Nice bike @ Mr. Balloonoob.

Hope you reach your goal with.

This nice Project, and don't LOOK.
Back... just enjoy an ride on.!!! + +

Stay safe with family.!! and friends.!!


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## Freqman1 (Mar 9, 2021)

Finding the correct fork for these early Huffmans can be a challenge simply because not many were made. Good luck with it and looking forward to your progress. V/r Shawn


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## Balloonoob (Mar 11, 2021)

Rebuilt the bottom bracket up and borrowed the seat and post from the 37 Dayton to see if it fit correctly. Yep. Now I know the post that I need.


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## Rides4Fun (Mar 11, 2021)

Boy, that’s a nice bike and a nice start you’ve made!  I love that exact level of crust


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## JLF (Mar 11, 2021)

Great project bike!


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## Superman1984 (Mar 14, 2021)

@Balloonoob Would you be able & or opposed to putting a shim under the bearing race? It could give you some clearance Clarence if you have enough threads on the neck jus' to get it riding ....until you get a fork or the 1 You want.


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## Balloonoob (Mar 23, 2021)

Superman1984 said:


> @Balloonoob Would you be able & or opposed to putting a shim under the bearing race? It could give you some clearance Clarence if you have enough threads on the neck jus' to get it riding ....until you get a fork or the 1 You want.



That might just work. I've used this trickery to gain clearance for a chain ring before but never thought to use it on a fork. The reality is that this fork looks like crap and has to go soon anyways.


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## Krakatoa (Mar 23, 2021)

Nice progress Nate!

I'm guessing you just set the guard back on there for the picture of the bike in post #7. Shawn is correct the forks are difficult to find but I have a feeling one may be closer than you think...

N


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## Balloonoob (Mar 23, 2021)

Hi Nate. Yeah in post 7 I just staged up the guard. I received a patina matching wald3 stem from @SKPC (thanks Pete!) which looks great! I'm looking forward to a swap on April 10th..... Who knows what I'll find there. For now it's a roller but not yet done.


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## Balloonoob (May 14, 2021)

I found the correct fork a while back on eBay and reluctantly stripped the repaint off of it and rusted it up all day today. I then (likely prematurely) gave it a grease bath which will need hosed off and probably wiped down tomorrow.  I was going to put a set of maxxis hookworms on it but I'm not sure that 2.5 inches of tire will fit in the fork. I have another set I might weasel off of another bike. Still need a rusty drop center wheel for the front. The modern wheel I had on the front was awful and is not going back on.


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## tripple3 (May 14, 2021)

Balloonoob said:


> I was going to put a set of maxxis hookworms on it but I'm not sure that 2.5 inches of tire will fit in the fork.



Nope. 2.3 barely fits, with an occasional rub in a quick turn.
I dig what you're doing with it; take your time, no rush.




Rotated tires with the recent spoke re-new.
Edit add: look close at the bee-hive and bees on the bottom of that sign!
Appeared over-night, haven't seen it since.


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## Balloonoob (May 14, 2021)

tripple3 said:


> Nope. 2.3 barely fits, with an occasional rub in a quick turn.
> I dig what you're doing with it; take your time, no rush.
> View attachment 1411826
> 
> Rotated tires with the recent spoke re-new.



Thanks Mark! Helpful info.  Got dem vans on.


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## Balloonoob (May 17, 2021)

I think the fork is rusty enough. Took some pictures in the rain after mounting it on the bike and hitting it with wd40. I'm thinking I might try and put some black fat franks on it which are 26 x 2.35. Still needs a rusty front wheel.


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## Oldnut (May 18, 2021)

Just picked up this one


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## Balloonoob (May 18, 2021)

Oldnut said:


> Just picked up this oneView attachment 1414091



Very nice! Looks good with the original fenders.  Does yours have both badge screws and a bottle cap hole like mine? Whatcha gonna badge it?


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## Oldnut (May 18, 2021)

Screws and a hole no badge that fork is hard to find I need another one


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## Pondo (May 29, 2021)

Nice build there Nate.  I love a crusty bike.  The forks came out a nice match to the frame.  Pretty sweet ride!


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## JimRoy (May 30, 2021)

Nice project Nate.  Just make sure the rusty frame is solid.  At 190 lbs, I had similar rusty frame collapse under me once.  JimRoy


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## Balloonoob (May 30, 2021)

Thanks Jim.  It feels pretty solid. I don't see any cracking or questionable areas. Perhaps I should inspect it from time to time. I've seen frames that looked much better than this one in terms of quality metal with crackking.


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## Balloonoob (Oct 21, 2021)

Got a front drop center crusty enough to look the part. The new tires really look great. Other than some slight tweaks this one is pretty much done. No need for fenders, racks, lights ect. Still can't believe I found the correct fork. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this build!


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## Rides4Fun (Oct 21, 2021)

Dang, your build looks sweet! I don’t think a patina match could get any better than that and love it all comes together


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## tacochris (Oct 22, 2021)

Balloonoob said:


> Got a front drop center crusty enough to look the part. The new tires really look great. Other than some slight tweaks this one is pretty much done. No need for fenders, racks, lights ect. Still can't believe I found the correct fork. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this build!
> 
> View attachment 1499576
> 
> ...



I love seeing more and more rough, pitted bikes given a chance at awesomeness!  What a wonderful, beautiful cruiser!


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