# Shelby Airflo Sculpted parts / garage build



## jimmiroquai (Mar 24, 2015)

Hi!  The Shelby Airflo is just plain beautiful.  I love the lines and curves and i've always wanted one.  So i jumped on the chance when a cheap frame and fork came up on ebay.  One of the awesome members here remarked that i would have to fork out a LOT of cash to complete this project.  That would be true if i were going to buy all the parts, and if i could bring myself to spend so much money on a hobby.  I've done some sculpting in the past and i bought the frame with sculpting the missing parts in mind.  Take note, this will just be an approximation as i'm doing everything by basically eyeballing and by hand.

First, i took a picture of the frame and fork and enlarged it to 1:1 size in Sketchup.  Then i blew up a pic of an airflo using the same program and exported the 1:1 picture to Photoshop.  I then traced out the tank, rack, and chainguard then superimposed them unto the pic of the bare frame for tweeking. 





I then printed out 1:1 scale templates of the parts, test fitted them to the frame, then traced them on XPS foam.







Let the sculpting commence!  I also used some expanding urethane foam for enhancements / adding foam.  










Once the rough sculpts were done, they were smoothed out with layers of bondo and endless sanding.  Then the details were locked in:




These were then used as bucks to make molds and rough copies were made in fiberglass.  I had a friend of mine make the bars.  I used the same method in sketch-up but because of some weird widescreen monitor setting, while it looked ok on the monitor, in reality it came out a bit thin and elongated.  But still sexy.




Another friend help to make the mounting brackets for the fiberglass casts and fit them unto the bike.  Here's what i have so far:




Not perfect, but not too shabby either, IMHO.

Next up, some finishing touches, some additional parts, and paint!


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## robertc (Mar 24, 2015)

I have to say, there is some real talent there.


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## mike j (Mar 25, 2015)

Looking good, as they say "it's all in the details". Like to see it finished & also a better shot of that Colson in the background too.


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## jimmiroquai (Apr 29, 2015)

All done!


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## vincev (Apr 30, 2015)

WOW,I am jealous.lol


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## bicycle larry (Apr 30, 2015)

*shelby airflow sculpted parts*

Wow supernice job done!!!!!! I like from bicycle larry  thumbs up on this one!!!


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## THE STIG (Apr 30, 2015)

COOOOOL............... Can't get that at The Walmart


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## silvertonguedevil (Apr 30, 2015)

Holy crap!! That's amazing!!


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## Dale Alan (Apr 30, 2015)

Great job,it turned out very nice.All your hard work paid off.


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## jimmiroquai (May 5, 2015)

Thanks, everyone!  It was a labor of love.  Finally found a chain that fits and took it for a spin last night.  Rides great!


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## bikiba (May 5, 2015)

Really nice... U shld produce unpainted parts for sale now that you have it perfected.


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## Evans200 (May 5, 2015)

Brilliant work, looks stunning. I wish I had your talent!


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## TheSaint (May 5, 2015)

Great job! But the rear fenders struts are not in the correct position.

Look at the attached pic


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## RUDY CONTRATTI (May 6, 2015)

That bike looks familar  Ithink its in my shop with the matching girls bike  RUDY C  FAIRFAX CALIF


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## poolboy1 (May 6, 2015)

TheSaint said:


> Great job! But the rear fenders struts are not in the correct position.
> 
> Look at the attached pic
> 
> ...







The bike pictured is a fake i think too? Look at the tank......LOL


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## scrubbinrims (May 6, 2015)

poolboy1 said:


> The bike pictured is a fake i think too? Look at the tank......LOL




Agreed, the nose on speedline tanks are closer to the fender.
This one won't float on water though.
Chris


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## 37fleetwood (May 6, 2015)

it makes me wonder why you wouldn't simply buy one of JAFco's totally accurate tanks? also I agree, a bit more research might have helped.

I'd pattern after this one...


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## RUDY CONTRATTI (May 6, 2015)

Yes you are correct  The tank is fiber fake   But when that photo was taken The person who took said photo did not place the tank in the proper position   the tank the fiber fake that is matches every speedline I have seen  just a bad photo   the rest of the bike is the real deal and  Ya all got some keen eyes   ALL THE BEST   RUDY C


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## RUDY CONTRATTI (May 6, 2015)

P S    Im no Ansel Adams  but who would take a photo of a bike with flat tires   tear drop pedals facing the wrong way  and the tank   fiber fake or not   in the wrong position   That's a stumper   that's all for now   RUDY C


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## scrubbinrims (May 6, 2015)

RUDY CONTRATTI said:


> P S    Im no Ansel Adams  but who would take a photo of a bike with flat tires   tear drop pedals facing the wrong way  and the tank   fiber fake or not   in the wrong position   That's a stumper   that's all for now   RUDY C




Well, I swear that's not me in the background with the green shorts and I've lost 5 pound since the last CA photo shoot I was involved in.
Chris


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## 37fleetwood (May 6, 2015)

scrubbinrims said:


> Well, I swear that's not me in the background with the green shorts and I've lost 5 pound since the last CA photo shoot I was involved in.
> Chris




wasn't me either! now you know why I stay behind the camera.


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## jimmiroquai (May 7, 2015)

Thanks for the input, guys!  I actually got the fender set with original tan and red paint from Puerto Rico and the weird thing is that it had only one set of curved rear fender braces in the lower-than usual position you see in my pic.  I just added the second set of imperfect curved fender braces in an approriate distance away from the original set as i didn't want to fill in holes.  Hopefully i can get a second set if one pops up on ebay.  

I started this project precisely with sculpting the parts in mind.  I love to practice on different sculpting projects...now i'm working on the new Stormtrooper helmet from the upcoming Starwars ep.VII.   That being said, i did contact JafCo re his airflo parts but the premium was too much for what i wanted to spend for this project and just buying stuff isn't really my thing.   Basically, i wanted to sculpt the parts.   I don't have any plans of selling casts though as 1) they are imperfect and not 100% faithful to the original 2)i'm located in the Philippines so shipping would be prohibitive.


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## JAF/CO (May 7, 2015)

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=212694&d=1430871871

this tank looks good to me it is just lifted up on the frame just needs to be pushed down


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## Big Moe (May 17, 2015)

Talk about some ramshorn handle bars. Very cool any chance of doing any for other people. Just wondering.


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