Old Ratrod Project

No, its not finished. I thought I would throw up some progress pics of my bike, and hopefully get some feedback and inspiration as I go. I'll be adding pics as I progress

But for now, what I have is a Columbia. I was told it was a 1954, but that may be wrong. there's brass from the frame brazing over the serial number, and none of the parts appear to be original, so it could be anything from a 1920 up to a '55.

I've also got an 80cc (66) HT and a shifter kit, and I just built up a rear wheel with a 55mm wide rime and a Sturmey-Archer wide ratio internal hub with a drum brake.

The front fork is the original Biplane fork. I like they style, but it was meant for a 70mm hub and had been stretched badly. I reshaped it for a standard 100mm hub, then added beefy dropouts for a quick release hub and a boss for disk brakes. the new dropouts add 2 inches to the length of the bike.

The front hub will be replaced with a wide hub like the rear, but the spokes aren't here for it yet.

No idea what color I'm painting it yet. I'v considered semi gloss black with a cherry lacker.

Fork u

Fork u 2

Bike p0rn

Moar Bike p0rn

 

[VeniceMotorBikes.com]

Perty kewl!

 

[simonjohnwilmer]

Great bike , I wouldnt paint her tho .

 

[Adams77]

Pimp that bad boy just like it is!

 

[Saabsonettguy]

Looks great. That paint is awesome as-is. I'd probably paint the fork to match though.

 

[Basementchoppers]

Very nice.... Don't paint it!!!

 

[motorpsycho]

don't paint it black & red!! black & red is so played out these days.
seems like any time someone has something "rat-rod" they paint it flat black & gloss red.
do something original, or just leave it as it is.
it's a cool looking bike and i like the style..but i think it either needs a nice glossy paint job, or keep the original paint.
it should either be a rat rod with the original dull red paint, or a hot rod with glossy paint.
just my opinion for what it's worth.

 

[sideshowsideswipe]

I like the current paint job.

 

[Drunkskunk]

Progress Pics

A new pic. I got to take this thing out for a ride today. The motor is off for the moment. it still won't fit with the crank in place but I'm working a solution. I made up spacers to center the crank. they work well enough to ride, but I still need to take it apart and pull the bearings out of the sealed spindle to add the spacers inside instead of outside.
The brakes work. I had to weld up a brake bracket to the back. I just don't trust P clips on a drum brake at the speeds this thing will go.
The Wide ratio 5 speed hub is Wide. It should work out perfect for a gas motor.
The seat post is actually a stem that wouldn't fit the old fork, so I did a bit of welding, and now I have a more comfortable seat.

As for the paint, I had hoped to save it when I started, but I have lots of welding and fitting still to do. There may not be much left.
I plan to run all the cables inside the frame, which means brazing on supports for the holes, and anything that goes on the bike for the motor, I plan to weld a mount for. I'm trying to avoid any straps or clamps around the frame.

Bike in progress


This was the bike when I got it. It was a hard thing to start chopping on it. If it's not this cool when I'm done, I'll be pi$$ed at my self.


As it Started

 

[bangbang880]

bike looks great. I love the paint too. If you get to save it. or maybe redo it.
Question, i am looking for brown grips that will fit with a throttle on. do yours?
cant wait to see your progress. good luck