Colorado 47 Model H

Hey folks - climbing out of a pile of day job and life, I'm back to finish my whizzer resto project.

Some of you know me from the other board (i'm a little late to the party moving over here). I'm working on my Dad's 47 whizzer. He bought the kit in February of 47, mounting it on a Gambles bike. Had an accident putting a foot thru the front spokes. Moved the power plant over to a Liberty badges Schwinn.

I have the original installation manual, Kansas title, Registration ($5) (he registered it in 48 and penalized $8), and the 1948 metal tag.

I've been scolded for doing a major restore by some - but the amount of damage to the paint from re-braising the frame in a few spots led me down this path. The bike as a whole is going to be friggen sweet, not to mention mostly complete.
http://bit.ly/aT4b9e

Just added a video of Dad hearing it run ~65 years later for the first time. Look at his grin!

The basecoat paint should be going on today or tomorrow, hand stripes then decal and clear coat to make it bullet proof.

The motor was rebuilt by a buddy of mine who specializes in hit and miss Maytags. after a few weeks soaking, he was able to free the piston and go to town. Thanks to Quenton for his input along the way.
http://bit.ly/pDT9Ev

Seems like my stars are aligned and will be able to start assembly by Xmas. I cannot tell you how stoked i am! I'll keep you posted as it progresses.

sorry for the two posts - thought i had not submitted the first one and lost it. didn't realize posts needed to be cleared. would like to delete one of them if a moderator is listening.

Hey Dirt, nice looking bike!!!

Thanks chainmaker! It's only going to get better!

today - i am glad to say, i have the frame in my garage ready for re-assembly. Waiting for some parts to return from plating, I should be riding in a month or so!

Let us know if you need any help.

Have fun,

Thanks Quenton. I will definitely take advantage of that when the time comes. Still need to reface the painted parts that shouldn't have got paint. tap out the threads that got painted in. etc etc. heck, it's just fun standing in the garage staring at the thing daydreaming.

I added some pics to my flickr account. of the tank and frame paint. That grey you suggested turned out so good. I was bummed that i wasn't able to keep the press marks on the side of the tank, but the good thing is, everything is under a good coat of poly. bullet proof.

You can order the tank decals used on the early "H" motors, as the embossed tank didn't arrive until the "J" motor in 1948.

Memory Lane Classics has the vintage tank decals.

Have fun,

I have to say, the tank turned out great. I found the decals, although one split when it dropped in the water. Colorado is a dry place, i guess. The paint on the tank was real thin. came off w/ almost no effort.

Picture of the tank is here, if you want to see. I am having trouble uploading pics directly into this forum.

Hey folks - time for an update. sorry, it's July already - WOW.

the big challenge that is reassembly has begun. on my flickr site, you'll see the Schwinn taking shape. So much time has passed, and I definitely didn't document the tear down nearly as well as i thought i had, this has turned into the great puzzle of 2013. I'm 93% pleased with the project, which says a lot. I'm a patient man, and use my garage time as a release. Even turn on the AM oldies station to set the tone. My chrome came back hit and miss. The paint is tremendous. Except where i nicked it. I KNOW I KNOW - the small blemish will buff some, then be covered by the lower motor mount. taught me to take my time. yadda yadda.

Need to drill the rear fender to mount the drop stand clip. if anyone has any tips or advice on this i'm open. (measure 1000x, drill once).

My wheels are being trued up by my local bike shop as i type (they better be - at least) i had purchased heavy spokes from an eBayer - but realized that they were too short for the rear wheel, and had to reorder. Soooooo, i have a wheel's worth of extra spokes. I love my bike shop, and they totally love helping on this project where they can.

I had purchased a crank that had been bent for a whizzer, then rechromed. turns out, the other side was also bent in about 1/4" and wouldn't clear the frame. I managed to cold bend slowly w/ a breakover bar and pipe.

I was most pleased when i fit the springer fork back on. Holy crap that was a cool day. I go out to the garage and stare, just stare. So close, and a million things to do. Summer is half over.

Deep breaths. Check out the pics on Flickr

paul

EDIT: Almost forgot - i got to talking to Ron Houk on the phone, and found out he lives super close to my client in Orange County - stopped in to see his collection and pick up a few parts. That guy is living the dream if you ask me. Good dude. I snapped a few pics as well.