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My $40- Colson that was purchased back in June is slowly getting there.....the "Jimmy D. springer fits great. Just laced up some early 1930's wheels that I painted ivory. Will add a green pinstripe to match frame color.......
Rolled out and installed the "ratty" green fenders today. Going to look through the fender brace stash and see if I have a curved brace for the front. Definitely got some patina now...
Had two early 26 in. rims I painted up and striped last week.Installed my favorite hubs
Selected two old Gillette "Bear" tires to place on them. Bad news..... No mater what they would not go on the rims. Figured since these tires were so old and hard that might be the reason.
Kinda chewed up my nice rims paint in the process.
I selected two old Carlisle lightning dart tires . Same problem. Chewed up the paint some more....
Finally got two Goodyears on. These were the hardest I have ever put on. Badly wrecked the nicely painted wheels...By this point I no longer cared about the paint, they were going on no matter what.
Only one problem : one tube now has a hole in it .[Yes I used tire spoons] and the wheels look like crap. the paint was just too fresh to be mounting tires... my mistake.
So...I have two other rims I don't need that I striped a dozen years back. Cutting out the hubs[as shown] and installing the Mussleman "air cooled" hubs.
These old rims" looked" like a good plan....Start over.....They must be a tad larger then 26 inch.
Solved the tire -rim problem. Put the hubs in another set of rims. Used the old "Gillette Bear". Tires.... plan to do another set of rims this winter for it with green pin striping. The red don't look right with green. Other then that, the Colson Rat Rod is done!
A few minor adjustments... the usual stuff. The seat bracket don't look right. Looks bent upwards. Other then a few details the $40 Colson will go out on it's first ride tomorrow.
The changes were :
Hawthorne sprocket...Shelby springer...torrington "U" bars...jeweled grips... Mussleman "air cooled" hubs .... tear drop pedals.....a rear reflector made out of an old valve handle... a motor bike kick stand and a 1950's hood ornament for the front fender.
I kept the original green fenders. A few years from now the frame should match their patina!
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