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POISON APPLE: '79 Schwinn Fair Lady Trike

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Here are some quick sketches I drew to get some idea of what direction I want to go with this bike. The 3 at the top were with the trike rear, but I just wasn't feeling it. I drew the middle and bottom sketches as if I was keeping this a 2-wheeler. I took some inspiration from @TRM's Drag King bike, specifically the extended dropouts and the tank, and came up with an idea to stick a 26" balloon tire in the back, add a custom wood tank, and stick the springer fork and ape hangers from Trashliner up front. I think I might stick with this look, but I'm still open to seeing how this thing would look as a trike first.
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I think that is the right choice in my opinion. Hell you may build something so bad ass you can't part ways with it or at least without a stupid offer. My Nirve Cannibal is 1 of those bikes but around $500 it's possibly for sale with the stock wheels/tires or more with the 26x3 Duro setup. I don't think it would ever sell like other things I have so I don't bother on here.
Got pictures? I'd love to see it.
 
Got pictures? I'd love to see it.
1st pic is after I added the apes, 26x3" Duro tires on Huffy/Husky style wide flat rims (doing 11G), 2nd pic is where I want to head with it Monark deep fenders w/light someday, Super Cruiser chain guard if it stays a bicycle & the last pic is what I want to do but with a little hopped up 110cc 4 semi auto 4 speed for 55mph+ . Haven't done much with it lately but planning to undermount the head set & bars to see how I like it.
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1st pic is after I added the apes, 26x3" Duro tires on Huffy/Husky style wide flat rims (doing 11G), 2nd pic is where I want to head with it Monark deep fenders w/light someday, Super Cruiser chain guard if it stays a bicycle & the last pic is what I want to do but with a little hopped up 110cc 4 semi auto 4 speed for 55mph+ . Haven't done much with it lately but planning to undermount the head set & bars to see how I like it.View attachment 1288153

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That's one sweet-lookin' chopper!
 
That's one sweet-lookin' chopper!
Thanks. I flipped the headset today & am going to possibly start welding up a set of bars from 2 sets of wald 13.5" apes. Only down side so far is the bars can kiss the frame before the triple tree bumpers come close :grimacing:. Don't wanna dent the top tube & even with it stock it will if it falls over & due to the welded on frame kickstand the damn thing does easily. That's the next tackle but I haven't quite figured out what I can or want to do there yet; thinking motorcycle pull back kickstand like the OCC choppers have
 
Thanks. I flipped the headset today & am going to possibly start welding up a set of bars from 2 sets of wald 13.5" apes. Only down side so far is the bars can kiss the frame before the triple tree bumpers come close :grimacing:. Don't wanna dent the top tube & even with it stock it will if it falls over & due to the welded on frame kickstand the damn thing does easily. That's the next tackle but I haven't quite figured out what I can or want to do there yet; thinking motorcycle pull back kickstand like the OCC choppers have
Sounds like a plan!
 
Okay, not much happened today, but I'm excited for what did happen.

First, I got The Trashliner Trike back from the weld shop this morning and took it for a short spin around the neighborhood. Now that the wheels don't rub, I can really enjoy the 1st gen Chevy Corvair lean! I want to get some footage of this trike in action before I part it out so you all can get an idea of just how wild this thing really is.

Next, I got a better idea of where I want to take this build, and how to make use of the trike axle from Trashliner. Since the trike I'm parting out to build this one is technically my first green bike/trike, and a "metallic" green at that, I think it's only fitting to make this trike metallic green as well. My dad told me about this special green powder he has for his powder coating job, and how it's basically Candy Apple Green. Candy Apple, for a Fair Lady? Hmm... Why did that sound funny to me? Oh yeah!



So, I hereby name this trike-in-progress: Poison Apple!

I want to take "the fairest bike of all" and transform it into "the baddest trike of all!"
(Although @Psychographic's Cyrus the Virus probably deserves that title, based on the trikes I've seen so far...)

As for the modifications, the trike axle doesn't need any changes, just the bolt-on basket frame/outer drop outs. If I can find someone to fabricate a new basket frame/outer drop out, I can stick some 26" fat bike tires on the rear, and make this trike look extra cartoony! I just need to reach out to some potential contacts, and I need to see if I can find a front/rear pair of 26" fat bike tires/wheels with a coaster brake (preferably cheap, but I've seen what these go for...) I'd also like to place some fenders over the basket frame to flesh out the trike a little more, and make the outer drop outs look more like fender braces. One last thing I'd like to do, though I don't know if it'll happen, is to lower the seat pole and seat stays to about the top of the top bar so I could possibly sit between the rear wheels. I'll try coming up with some concept sketches tomorrow, and I'll hopefully begin mocking up parts by this weekend.

Oh, and I also measured the width of my trike rear end and the dropouts of my Fair Lady. Everything should fit!
 
Ok, yesterday and today saw a good deal of progress! I'm now in the "stacking parts" stage of my build, which is easily one of my favorite parts! I took The Trashliner Trike apart yesterday to make use of the handlebars, springer fork and trike rear. While most everything came apart easily, I had to let a bolt on the trike axle soak in some PB Blaster overnight. I need to do some more work to TTT's handlebars to clean them up, so I just stuck an identical (and cleaner) set of ape hangers on the Fair Lady for now. I got to say, just adding a springer fork and a set of Sting-Ray handlebars to an otherwise mellow girl's bike makes a world of difference! Even if I don't stick with the trike axle, this Fair Lady still has a world of potential!

As an added bonus, One of my neighbors (who builds sprint cars, or midget sprint cars; I don't know the difference) told me he might be on board for helping me put this trike together!

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...And then he came down with something today before he could look at the project to be. Praying he didn't catch covid-19, and that he gets well soon.

I went ahead and mocked up the trike rear end earlier today. Fortunately, it fits the frame with no issues! In fact, I could even use the stock mounting holes on the brace and just make a custom bracket to hold everything in place... but that's not the path I'm taking, at least not right now. As mentioned before, I want to put some fat bike tires in the rear, lower the seat tube, seat stays and trike frame/brace (seriously, what do you call that hunk of 1/2" steel tubing?) to allow me to sit over the rear axle and ride this like a recumbent bike, and maybe even add a custom tank and bodywork. The only things stopping that from happening are finding someone with metal fab skills who can bring my crazy ideas to life... and my slow and unsteady source of income. But for now... this ain't half bad.

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Small problem I detected yesterday: The chain kept skipping and popping off the sprockets while I was riding The Trashliner Trike before I parted it out. This is why: The shroud that covers the rear sprocket and axle is bent inward, forcing the chain off the rear sprocket. It should be fairly easy to fix for the right guy, but I'm not that guy. Luckily, I know people who could fix it, when their schedule frees up.

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Because I just can't seem to stop imagining how to make this trike really stand out, I had the idea to place an old steel drum between the rear wheels. I've been thinking of adding some bodywork to the rear of the trike, both to function as part of the seat, and for style. This drum has almost the same diameter as the 24" tires that are currently on the trike, and I like the idea of having something between the seat and the wheels. I don't know if this idea will stick, but it's something I want to explore. I'm just not sure it says "muscle trike" as much as it says "32 Ford trunk on a Schwinn." What do you guys think?
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Well, I wasn't planning on entering the Muscle Bike Build Off on ratrodbikes.com this year, as I didn't have anything that'd work for the competition. That all changed just a few hours ago, when I found these 3 bikes for FREE on Facebook Marketplace!

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The 1 of the 2 Mountain/Road/Track bikes are probably going to be my new daily rider, while the other one and my current daily are going in my family's upcoming garage sale. The pink Schwinn, however, may be just what I need for an entry into the Muscle Bike Build Off.

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According to the serial number, it was made in June 1979, so it's perfect for a MBBO. The good news is that all this bike needs to roll again are new tubes, tires, chain, and a seat, but I know I'm not stopping there...

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Here's where the title comes in: I just listed "The Trashliner Trike" for sale on here, ratrodbikes.com, and a couple local sites, as I originally had no plans to use anything other than the springer fork and maybe the sprocket. But now that I've got this 79 Schwinn, I'm thinking about taking the trike rear and sticking it on that. I wanted to sell the trike to fund another trike conversion I wanted to do, but now I'm thinking of making the Schwinn into a trike using the parts off the Trashliner. I just don't know for sure if I want to or not. I know I'm taking the trike to my welder guy tomorrow morning to fix one spot on it, so maybe I can use that as an excuse to take it apart and test fit it to the Schwinn.

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So, what do you guys think? Part out the super-sketchy Trashliner Trike to make the free Schwinn into an admittedly better trike, or sell the Trashliner to fund some other projects?
With your imagination, I'm sure you could get three rides outta two!
 
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