Bike from the Dead's Mockup Mash

[Bike from the Dead]

While I didn't get the trike axle or anything else figured out in storage, I did have one bike I brought home that same evening that I had an idea for. I got this 1959 JC Higgins Semi-Equipped Sport Middleweight bike in a trade last May, and I've been debating what to do with it ever since. I didn't know whether to keep it, sell it, customize it, or leave it stock. It didn't help that it was another red bike, and red is still one of my least favorite colors.

That all changed when I did some trading with a local bike friend, Ruby, earlier this past week. He took home this 24" Western Flyer and some other parts I had, and within a few days, had fixed it up and turned it into this wicked cool cruiser! He took these blue 24" Schwinn fenders and fork and threw them on this red frame, and it gave me an idea of what I could do with this 26" JC Higgins!

I got this similar JC Higgins step-thru bike for parts back in 2022, and I figured: why not throw some of the parts on this blue JC Higgins onto my red JC Higgins?

I took the wheels, tires, turquoise fenders and chain guard off the blue JC Higgins, grabbed a chrome rack and a different set of handlebars, and threw all of them on this bike. All of a sudden, this JC Higgins went from looking so-so to retro! I absolutely love the way this mockup turned out! This bike's got a serious pressed-tin toy rocket kind of vibe that I think looks just too cool! I love how the handlebars match the front rack, and how the rear rack balances out the front, and the turquoise just compliments the red so nicely! I think all this bike needs are a set of old white pedals and a turquoise tank, plus a complete refresh of all the bearings and hubs, and it's a rider!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Finally got a chance to do some more mockups this week! Last week was so cold, muggy and miserable I couldn't do anything until Monday! On Monday, I ran by my storage space and grabbed a few bikes and a bunch of parts to mock up. I was going to mock up this AMF Aerobee at home, but I decided to wait until after I mocked up some other bikes first. I did find a 26" fork that was a perfect match for that bike though, and I mocked it up on the floor while I was there. On one hand, I like it, but on the other hand, I really want to paint this bike and possibly use another chain guard I have that doesn't match the rusty green paint. I'll have to play around with it later to really know for sure.

Yesterday, I started mocking up this twin-tube Murray I got from my friend Ruby. What's neat about this frame is that the head tube has been raked back, which gives it a unique attitude! I figured the best way to highlight that rake is with a lowrider fork! While I'm not sure I'll use the bent sissy bar, I do like how the angled portion matches the angle of the chain stays and fork.

I mocked up a different banana seat and some rusty chopper bars, and I think I just might want to build up this Murray as a ratty, punk rock-inspired lowrider! I'm thinking of keeping it primer red, leaving the rust as is, bobbing the fender, patching the tears in the seat with stickers, and making a sticker-bombed tank insert!

When I showed it to Dad, he had another another vision for it: he wants to make it look less punk rock, and more rockabilly. He didn't say his whole plan, but he was thinking about posing it in the back of his rat rod '40 Ford pickup in front of his shop. He wants it to look more old school and rattier than what I had in mind, with a burlap seat and tank, whitewalls, and I'm not sure what else. I can kind of see what he's getting at, but I like to build play bikes, not display bikes. I'll talk with him more about his ideas for this bike and see what he's thinking.

I was going to mock up my Huffman I just got last month, but I'm going to need to soak everything in PB Blaster for a while before I can start on it. The chain tensioners in particular could be a challenge to remove.

I was able to mock up another Huffy of mine though: this '80s/'90s Huffy Chesapeake. I had planned to build it in this year's ORBO as a 10-speed mountain bike, but after the headache of figuring out gears, shifters, derailleurs, cables and brakes on another ORBO entry of mine, I decided to go a completely different direction with this frame. Instead of MTB, I'm thinking BMX. After test-riding my latest build on my favorite gravel trail, I figured out why so many single-speed klunkers and BMX bikes use a smaller chainring: when you're riding downhill, you don't need a lot of gear to get moving since you've got gravity on your side, but once you have to go uphill, you want as low of a gear as you can get! So, why not build a bike to test that theory for myself? Plus, without all the additional derailleurs, shifters, brakes and cables, this bike could actually be the lightest bike in my collection! It's still heavier than a decent purpose-built bike, but for my money, it's light enough!

I actually wanted to use the chainring off of this Huffy BMX bike I have, but I have no idea how to get the crank out with these... spring-loaded pedal attachments in the way! Seriously, what are those, and why do they need to be there on a cheap kids' BMX bike?! Anybody know how to get these things off without taking a cutoff wheel to the crank?

 

[Bike from the Dead]

After posting that last update, I mocked up a couple more bikes that day.

I started off with this Spaceliner project I got last year. Someone had already customized it with a convertible tank, modified handlebars, and an orange-on-black paint job before I got it at a swap meet. I don't know what the complete bike looked like originally, as it was missing the wheels, tires, seat, and who knows what else (shout-out to @TRM for supplying the missing hardware for the tank!)

I wanted to give this bike more of a long, low, nose-down hot rod kind of attitude, so I threw a 26" x 2.125" whitewall Jerald slick on the rear, and a 26" x 1.75 whitewall up front. I stuck a paper towel roll on the back as a placeholder for some chair legs I want to turn into exhaust pipes. For the seat, I started with a banana seat to keep the lines low, which seemed okay at first, but I couldn't figure out the handlebars.

I remembered I had this seat from a OCC Stingray mini chopper, and I had an idea of how to mount it to the frame. I think if I can mount it flush with the frame, it could make for a very cool look!

Here's where I found the winning combo. I'll have to refine it in Photoshop, but I think it's got a nice profile. The bars mimic the swoops on the dropouts, the seat can sit nice and low and follow the line of the tank, and the overall stance looks just right to me.

I bet with a little modification, I could even get the seat to wrap around the tank.

Here are the chairs I want to use as exhaust pipes. I could either use the front legs as straight pipes, or I could do something different and use the curved portions to flare the pipes up, down, or out!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Next, I mocked up some parts on my prewar Monark step-thru. I had been thinking about building it as a lowrider, klunker, or board track racer, but I decided to see how it'd look as a more "stock" bike. I'd have to trace over it in Photoshop and color all the parts to match to really see if it'd work or not, but I think it's got potential.

I also had an idea to make the bars and stem match the lines of the truss rods. I couldn't get the stem down as far as I'd like, but I think it's an idea worth exploring further.

I had one last idea I wanted to mock up that night. I had taken apart this recliner for the foam, fabric, and frame last year, and I wondered how that fabric would look as a tank or seat cover on that modified Murray frame. I think it's got potential!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I went for one last mockup on the Friday before the Haysville, Kansas swap meet. I wanted to see how this AMF Aerobee would look in rusty green with this 26" fork that matched the look of the frame and chain guard. On one hand, it's got a cool look, and if I wanted to build a patina'd chopper bike out of this frame, this could totally work. That said, this isn't what I really want to do with this bike. I don't really want a rusty brownish-green muscle bike; I want something with a lot more color, and possibly even more stickers! I still have more ideas and parts to mock up on this frame, but that may have to wait until tomorrow.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Are those Jerald Slicks still being made? The place I used to get them from doesn't carry them anymore and I'm having a hard time locating them.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Are those Jerald Slicks still being made? The place I used to get them from doesn't carry them anymore and I'm having a hard time locating them.

I'm not sure. I bought mine at a swap meet last year, so I wouldn't know.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I won't repost all the mockups I did on my current RRBBO20 entry back in April, but since I was mocking up that bike at the same time as some other bikes, I may as well include it. I won't go into detail on it though, that's what the build thread is for.

I will explain the next 2 mockups though. I picked up this used chrome BMX fork at Haysville last month, and although it has a 6.5" steerer tube instead of 7", I think it'll work fine on this Murray, especially once I have the correct race and bearings installed.

The last bike I mocked up on April 22nd was this AMF bike that I also got from Haysville. I pulled this out of the free pile with the intent of building it as a BMX strandie bike, similar to some other higher-end bikes I've seen.

I wasn't too sure about the taller handlebars, but I dig the concept!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

The next day, I mocked up a smaller chainring and shorter bars on my Huffy Chesapeake. I like it! I think this will make a solid single-speed BMX cruiser/klunker!

I also mocked up more parts on my 1950 Schwinn straight bar later that day.

After that was all done, I decided to take a break from the Mockup Mash and prepare for the next Build Off.