lil indian 4" steel wheels

markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#22
#22
thanks Ajax, looks some of the others have that straight hub like Karen had posted up. I just stumbled onto one more wheel like the one in your first pics (which are the same as what I have) with a double indian head on it so now I can make a trike :laugh:
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#23
#23
Little update, thanks to everyones input me and Dan Badgley (another OldMiniBikes member) have been searching high and low for wheels that at least look the part better than the ones currently available. The interesting thing I have found is all these old ones that we found would fall into pretty much the time frame (finding them with indian head tires and sometimes goodyears) all look really close, but actually have the slightest of differences. So some of them while close enough that on a bike nobody would even notice, they technically aren't form the same stamping. You would really have to be looking to see ti though.

Yesterday was my first attempt at spraying automotive single stage paint in ALOT of years, My last job with one did not go well at all and I went right back to base/clear cause you can get away with murder spraying that stuff :laugh: For the "guinea pig" I used 2 sets of wheels One Badgleys and one mine....I started with Badgleys wheels incase I messed up :anon.sml: They came out pretty nice!!



These to sets are nearly identical from what I can tell, I had Picked up a single wheel with an indian head on it about a month ago and it looks virtually identical. But after stripping it, media blasting, and prep work I noticed that it in fact is just a tad different too, again, I bet nobody would even notice but its crazy how many different versions there appear to be of these!

close up of one of the ones I just painted last night:

The "spare", The flare out for the hub is a little different and this one has a little valley kind of like a General (anothor 4" wheel that real close but not the same) wheel does for the grease to flow to the hub. This one also did still have an actual gasket between the halves when I took it apart, so it hadnt been apart before this

I'm glad my paint came out alright and it was not a total fail like my last SS paint job. I bought a quart of that white and its intended for a few Tec's, one briggs, and for the fenders and tank on my fox campus.....and I guess another set of wheels that Badgley just picked up :wink:
 
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nds1968

nds1968

#24
#24
I just bought a set like these, I'm still waiting for delivery :wink: The seller said there NOS from the early 70's, either way I like them because they have the mouse hole for the valve stem.
 

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markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#25
#25
nds1968 said:
I just bought a set like these, I'm still waiting for delivery :wink: The seller said there NOS from the early 70's, either way I like them because they have the mouse hole for the valve stem.
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Yea I like them better than the newer ones too, now that I have been looking I spot the newer ones on bikes real easy now! and I dont know if I mentioned it or not but Older Carlisle's did not want to fit onto the newer ones without a fight....tight enough that they might not ever come off!! Thats what started us looking for the old ones. I think those wheels/tires in your pics are the ones Dan might have just got, he said they look like brand new with just some paint flaked off, good thing as I don't like sanding inside that little wheel!!!
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#28
#28
Bringing back an old reference thread to add a little info.

Been trying to get these off my bench so I can finish an engine and and a bike for some others, warmed back up this week here in FL so I broke out my paint gun, mixed up some Fulthane single stage automotive paint and hit these with some color to get them done finally.

this is a verified original complete wheelset off a late '67-early '68 built Lil indian (date code on the OG tires were late summer 1967) and what parts they originally consisted of:



A painting tip note shown above, half filled water bottles out of the recycling bin make great stands to paint these :thumbsup: Wear a glove so you dont paint your hand and just hold the bottle up and turn it as you spray. when you are done with the coat on that wheel set it on a flat surface and pick up the next one.

These are grease able wheels, the original ones had Heim bearings, both sides in the front and open side only in the rear, there was a solid bushing on the wheel halve behind the sprocket, only to really help center and keep grease in the hub section. The sprocket then got a sealed bearing pressed in. This helped keep everything centered and rolling smooth. These are all the original parts and again verified that this is how they came if you look on the early Lil Indian parts listings. Most people will replace the bearings with sealed, this set is super clean inside and out, no contaminants were in the hubs and still roll smooth even after grease cleanout so I plan to reuse them for originality.



As you can see above I also made new gaskets, I looked and asked around and could not find any listed anywhere, again most people use sealed so they just scrape off the old gasket and bash the halves together and call it done. thankfully I was able to get one off in one piece so armed with a pen, exacto knife, scissors, and a hollow hole punch I made some new ones....Donor material was the thin cardboard envelope that Tecumseh gasket sets come in as of lately, Keeping it in the mini bike family :wink:




today I will be detailing out the hardware clean a spot out around the shop press so I can get to it to get the bearings pressed in so I can get them all put back together.
 
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