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Gramp’s 1941 New World - Trying to get it running as a rat rod bike

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After visiting a couple of upholstery shops in Tempe and two fabric stores looking for closed cell foam. I finally just repeated what had worked for restoring the maroon Monogram S seat Gramps threw on the bike when he wore the 41 equipped seat (whatever that was??) out. Just use a stadium pad or knee board. When I was out in Tempe looking for automotive upholstery shops I ran into a very cool cat named Richard who runs an upholstery/custom fab shop. He showed my some of the custom long fat tire bikes he makes and sells on line. He is a very creative and cool guy that helped me figure out how to attack the saddle recover. Sadly I couldn’t invest in more than a few minutes of his time despite how fair his rates are, but his tips and ideas were key to making this work today. Check out this rear trailing link suspension bike he designed and fabs. He puts 1000W electric motors in both hubs too!!
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Big Vintage Bicycle
He has a bunch of other neat bikes on that site.

Along with the closed cell foam knee board, Ace also had the contact cement that will have the best chance of actually making the leather stay put over time.

I sketched out the basic placement then spay adhesived the foam onto the top of the saddle being careful to start in the center. I had read @the tinker ’s thread on quick saddle refurbing and had PM’d @piercer_99 about it when he hooked me up with the leather. I’m following the basic steps but adding my own ideas.
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This kind of foam is a serious pain to work with. It doesn’t cut easily and it keeps wanting to spring back to flat, but it is SOO SOFT and CUSHY. I put contact cement around the edges and kept pressing it together.
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Scissors (kitchen shears) and a brand new blade in the razor knife helped shape the foam into a realistic shape. Shears were key.
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Time for leather....
 
@piercer_99 had sent me some sweet black leather he reclaimed from a bank executive’s high roller chair and it was perfect for this recover. It has some inherent wrinkles and a natural worn look that is perfect for this rat bike application. Much thanks!
I spray glued the foam top after lining the leather up on the seat and then wrapping it around my hand and wrist as I grabbed the nose of the saddle. This kept the leather lined up how I wanted it when I stared to place it on the dried glue covered foam. It’s important to try to work from the center of the seat in the fold of the pan out to the edge to keep it as tight to the foam as possible. It’s really a mess to be honest, and it is almost impossible for a beginner to get it as perfect as they want. You are trying to take flat leather that was intended for a chair and conform it to a complex multi-dimension curved object. Good luck getting that perfect with out some steam stretching leather know how. ??
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Now the fun begins with contact cement, clamps, and wedges cut out of the leather. You need to stretch the leather as you work in different sections, trying hard to keep it as smooth as possible. It sounds easy but it takes a ton of time and trial and error BEFORE you slather with contact cement.
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The nose of the saddle is especially difficult because a ton of material needs to be stretched into a small, very tight, cupped area.

When I see the seats that @rustjunkie or @STRADALITE lovingly restore and ones that Bob U has sold, I’m blown away at how nicely done the edges are. Smooth and perfect. I tried hard, but I’m not even in the same ballpark, and not having a “pinch pan” makes it harder. I still love it and think it looks perfect on my alley rat. It doesn’t suck, and I don’t mind your critical vintage bike eye seeing it.:)
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One of the great ideas Richard had at the shop was to make a flap for the back that would cover the back of the pan. When you get it mounted on the seat post, you can see some of the folded up underside of the back of the pan. He said he would stitch and bind the back edge. It would have been sick and looked great. I did an easier and not as nicely crafted version using some of the bound edging on the leather. I glued the stitched edge right up against the bottom rim of the pan. This covered a bunch of the leather ears I had made and gave it a much better look. It also covers where the suspension bar touches the pan. This will keep that point quiet as the bar moves around. Same deal, clamps and razor and time before you glue.
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I marked out where the bolts needed to pass through the leather and punched them. Needed to use the HDPE block. Wooden block just mushed the leather and never cut.:eek:
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Its cheap and dirty, but you glue it all down and carefully make slices with a new part of the razor knife in the ares where the leather overlaps itself. You then remove the loose pieces and the two pieces that are left will line up perfectly (theoretically) :D. I rolled a cheesy edge on the pieces and glued them down. Yes I see it not perfectly straight. Ughhhh! Beginner mistakes rushing and wanting to ride as the storm rolls in. If you’re looking that far under my butt when you see me, you get what you deserve.:p
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I made a little nose cone cover and glued it in place . There’s a wrinkly mess under there. :p
 
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Another thing I noticed last night when the seat got unloaded, was the tab on the frame rattled a little in the wire Y shaped nose spring piece. I spray glued a little leather tab at this interface. I hope it lasts for a while. It was dead quiet on the ride tonight.
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I sprayed some TriFlo PTFE lube on the parts of the frame/springs that touch. I wiped it all down before I put it on the clean leather. It is starting to look legit.
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Sprayed leather conditioner on it and wiped all the little adhesive residues off. I love it wrinkles and all!!
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Kooties to Killer in Twenty Seven

Tonight on my sunset ride, it felt like sitting on Grampa’s Leather Recliner going 18 mph. Unreal the comfort compared to any other bike seat I’ve owned on any bike. Worth the sweating on my 106 degree porch today. This thing will be sweet for decades I imagine. Time to ride it more and find out.
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new worlds were seamless tubing but not chromoly. (superiors and paramount were cro-mo) You can straighten the bent steer tube. Use blocks of wood and a vice. I think all Schwinn (USA)cranks interchange but you will need to pay attention to the dogleg or offset to clear the chainguard.And it would be best to change out the top headset cone as it's scored(you can get by but it will eat the barrings)
 
When Gramp’s replaced the rear sprocket with a 24 tooth one, he needed to add 4 Renold brand links to the stock Diamond 1/2” x 1/8” roller chain. He came up with a strange bolt and nut arrangement to create a master pin that joined one end of the additional links. There’s always been some strange behavior, when I push relatively hard on the cranks, as this section of the chain engages or disengages with both the front and rear sprockets. It feels like a small step in the smooth rotation of crank and can make a small noise if I push hard.

Additionally, the nut and bolt’s head were quite a bit wider than the regular chain links. This meant that even a small misalignment in the hockey stick chain guard resulted in a tapping noise as the nut nicked the chain guard.

I bought a Diamond snap link on eBay and it arrived today. The packaging that the snap link came in is neat but wrong for these parts. Someone penciled in the correct size. :)
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I cleaned and lubed the chain, and used a Dremel to grind off the head of the pin at the end of the extra Renold brand links. I replaced these plates and pin with the Diamond snap link.
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You can see how it will fit together now. Two Diamond “Hear It Snap” master links with 3 Renold links between them:
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There is still an offset link (like a half inner plate and half outer plate link all in one) at the far right side of this pic:
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This is at one end of the Diamond 65 chain. This is the only “different” link in the chain and I can still slightly feel this differently shaped link. Maybe the roller doesn’t move right. ???

The whole chain is quite a bit better feeling than with the worn bolt/nut pin and is very quiet. With the thin-ish S-6 wheels/tires pumped up and a tail wind tonight, it was nearly silent, even with the cranks spinning.

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It’s starting to seem like most of the issues with the bike are worked out. It’s now DAMN close to this 1941 Catalog pic ...only 78 years of love and use later. :)
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Should be riding and maintenance from now on. My Rat Rod Bike is done. :cool:

Like a true Rat Rod it’s almost no “Show” and all “Go”. It rides like a leather recliner strapped to an arrow. Comfy and fast.

Catch me if you can...
 
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