Its funny how things come to be. I was filling up the propane tank while down in Rhode Island, and struck up a conversation with the filling station guy about the mess of old bikes he had outside. Lots of rusty old, really cool bikes. I pointed out an old JC Higgins tandem, a Sears Roebuck and Co original from the late 50's, early 60's. He was really amped on old bikes and restoring them.......which then made me really amped on this idea of bringing one back to life. And so it was. A few weeks passed. I couldn't close my eyes without dreaming of sanding, and grinding, and degreasing. At the next opportunity, I found myself back at the station strapping an old rust bucket to the back of my truck.
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| The beginning, lots of potential.. |
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| All parts off and into the bucket |
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Im guessing this was a college commuter. A full set of Northeastern stickers on
top of a few bad paint jobs. This was about to change. |
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| Cutting and grinding off "extra" tabs for reflectors, etc |
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| Frame stripped down after a few hours with a wire brush on the grande Dewalt. |
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Spray coat of auto body primer/filler. This stuff was great.
Two coats of spray, then a very light sanding. |
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Degreasing and cleaning up the one piece cranks. The bottom bracket cups and bearings were
totally shot. Finding matching bearings was not as straightforward as I though and the reassembly took
some creativity to make it work. Having a few old bikes to salvage and swap parts would be the best approach... |
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| Almost there. Waiting for pedals and cleaning up the old chain. |
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| All finished. |
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