"THE CHRISTMAS TRIKE" Redux

#22
Update

Need to bring this old thread up for a special announcement. As of March 1st Don Ward (Stangr1) will be the new guy heading up this project and assuming ownership. You can tell by the date of my last post, the little Christmas Trike has languished far too long in the back of my shop and was sorely in need of some attention. It's too cool of a project not to see it to completion.

When I first started this it seemed I had a lot more spare time and ambition. I even had access to a tubing bender... but no more. Considered buying one for a while but I would never use it enough to justify the cost. I have an old hand bender and was going to try and wrestle with that....anyway the project stalled time and again. This and a bunch of other projects!

The time has come to start moving some of the collection and the stuff that's not getting done.

I called Steve a few weeks back and explained the situation to him..told him I thought it needed a new project manager. Steve is such a nice guy and an interesting guy to talk to...by the time we hung up an hour or so later he had me talked into building it again :doah:

But my situation now just won't allow for it. I decided it was best to try and find a good candidate to take over.

There are more than just a few capable builders on the forum..so I started making a mental list of all the people who I thought might be interested. Besides having the skills and in-house equipment to pull it off, I was looking for somebody who would appreciate the story and the history behind it.

I happened to click on one of Stangrcr1's Build-Off threads. I was impressed with Don's fabrication work, his attention to detail, and his enthusiasm. As an added bonus, he lives just a couple hundred miles from Steve, and the idea of someday having Steve be able to see the re-incarnation in person was very appealing. I thought "this is a good guy to ask."

After explaining the situation and exchanging some e-mails and photos, Don not only graciously accepted the challenge..but he was more excited than I was!

I'm sorry I was not able to see it through to completion, I was really hoping I could.....but it is nice to know it is in capable hands. I am convinced that Don will do as good a job or better than I ever could have.

The parts are all boxed up and headed to the Northwest! I would encourage folks to subscribe to this thread , watch the progression, and cheer him on.

It's 10 months until Decemebr 2015...I hope to see the little green trike parked under the tree at the Ward household come Christamas morning.

_KK

 
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#23
I want to thank Gerry for the opportunity to do this. I love reading the stories on OldMiniBikes of how the members get together and help on special projects, and now I can be a part of one.

Luckily a lot of the parts have been sourced so pretty much all that is left is to bend up the frame and put it together.

With the Build-Off going on and a project on my table already, my plan is to get going on this after the Build-Off is over. I am sure everyone wants me to get busy on this, but my time is too limited now to do much other than what is already on my plate.

And yes, Christmas is the deadline.
 
#25
That's great. Very nice collaboration. Can't wait to see this finished. Don if there is anything I can contribute, just ask!


Sent from my Texas Instruments Speak and Spell...[emoji2]
 

buckeye

Well-Known Member
#26
Man, I guess I was second on the list..:laugh:

Excellent.
And when you are finished with it, I will support your trip to take it to Steve so he can see it.
Awesome...:thumbsup:
 
#27
Actually I figure in order to build an accurate replica I need to start and finish it with only 2 days left like Steve did.....:biggrin:
No, I have not forgotten about this, and there will be updates coming. After the Build Off finished, I spent the summer painting the house. Two story house, all done by hand, just me, brush and roller. The house had not been painted in 9 years and did not look good anymore. It was previously sprayed just before I bought the house, and was showing its age. The next door neighbor told me they used the cheapest paint they could find, and some of the overspray ended up on his Buick Riviera. He was mad and made sure I knew it, even though it was before I moved in... I asked 4 painters for bids, and all came in at $3k give or take, not including the paint. I said screw that and did it myself. I didn't want the neighbor getting mad again, so I decided to brush and roll it, even though I have access to spray equipment. Had to beg and borrow to get the ladders to reach the second story. Many thanks to Scott who saved my day. Still have a few spots of trim to finish, but since the weather is changing, more garage time. That was while working 50-60 hours a week including full Saturdays. Dang it, working this Saturday too....

As a side note, my neighbors have mentioned how good the house looks now, and I can tell some of them are mad that they now noticed they need to paint their houses. I am instigator... LOL!

I did not have the correct tubing dies for my bender, so waiting on those to come in. I already have 7/8" and 1 1/8" dies and was thinking "It's only 1/8", would anyone notice?" Yeah, they would and I wouldn't feel right doing it. As such, a little more delay, but it's the price of making it right. I also found a NOS set of the Azusa footpegs and the Azusa front fender. Ordered all the bearings and more.

The motor I acquired (1972 dated Briggs 3hp) is in pretty decent shape with a crank bearing, but a couple of the head fins are chipped. Does anyone have a nice 3hp (one shroud bolt) Briggs head they would like to donate to this? Or we can work something out... The crank in the motor is externally threaded as it was a pump motor, but I have the right crank and will swap when the motor gets rebuilt.

I may have to take the liberty of using 5/8" solid rod ends on the forks as I am having trouble locating those swage ends. I thought I had a lead but they only have smaller ones than I need. Anyone have ideas here?

Also, can anyone tell the tread on the front tire from the previous pics? Been looking and trying to find one... Haven't even been able to pin down the maker. I could just throw a Carlisle stud or sawtooth on there but it wouldn't be the same.

I am going to clear out the garage soon(3 Bonanzas and a Manco blown apart right now), and get to work. Not going to wait until 2 days left....

Oh, and Karen, need a seat... :laugh:
 
#29
I'm confused. :confused: Didn't D D Mini Cycle in California start this project??? When did it get in your hands Gerry?? :shrug:

I see his first post is signed KK Kid :detective:
The bike was always in my hands. I had the idea to build a replica of this bike since I joined the forum because I thought the back story was really neat. I kept putting it off and getting involved with other projects. Then I got the idea that if I entered it into the build-off that year it would provide the much needed motivation to finally get it done. I also thought it would be fun if I included Steve in the build so I asked him and he was really excited to help. With Hent's permission I created the D&D forum account and gave Steve the password so we could enter the build-off and work as a team. He drew up a sketch of the original plans and even supplied some nos Azusa parts he still had laying around. Since I don't own a tubing bender, I bought an Azusa bike frame from OldMiniBikes with the intent of stretching and modifying it and started collecting some of the hard to find parts for it.
I thought the rule was you had to post an update once a month..which we did. Technically though I guess the update was supposed to be by the 15th of the month. Well somebody said that we were cheating or breaking the rules or whatever and that was that. I moved the thread out of the build-off to the project logs forum..my son headed off to college, and the project stalled again.
Another year or so passed and I felt bad that it wasn't getting done so I contacted several member to see if they would be interested in taking over the reins. Don was the perfect candidate not only because of his skill set and his ability to "get things done"...but he lives close enough to Steve that he said he could possibly haul the bike over to show Steve the finished product. That sounded good to me so we made a deal and I shipped him all the parts.

And now you know the rest of the story. Good luck to Don I'm sure he will do a fine job with it.
 
#30
Wow I completely forgot about this thread :doah:
Gerry I don't think you could have found a better guy to finish this project :thumbsup: but I'm sure Buckeye wasn't even on the long list :doah:
Don I sent you a PM about a head :thumbsup:
 

buckeye

Well-Known Member
#31
Oh, I am certain I wasn't even thought of.

Glad someone will actually finish this.
Can't wait to see the pics of Steve when he sees it.
 
#32
If there is anything k can donate to this build, please say so. I can't wait to see this come together and Don is just the guy to get it done!


Sent from my Texas Instruments Speak and Spell...[emoji2]
 
#34
Tore down the motor today, and it looks almost new inside. Barely any carbon and lots of crosshatch. My one thought away from a true resto is to put a magnetron coil on it, and ditch the points. Does it matter if you can't see it? But I would still know... Oh the struggle.

Inside of the fuel tank doesn't look so good, so it will get the dryer treatment.

Dumped the block/sidecover, etc in the parts washer, and will blast the tins soon. Looks like I will be using VHT Burnt Copper high temp paint unless someone has a better idea.
 
#37
In the tradition of last minute... Time to get busy.

Paint drying.... Decals and clear coat tomorrow.



Picked up the tubing today, all measurements extrapolated and plotted. Hope to have the frame all bent up by this weekend.

Think I now have all the parts needed....
 

Biffmini

Well-Known Member
#38
In the tradition of last minute... Time to get busy.

Paint drying.... Decals and clear coat tomorrow.



Picked up the tubing today, all measurements extrapolated and plotted. Hope to have the frame all bent up by this weekend.

Think I now have all the parts needed....
I'll be looking forward to the progress on this one Very Nice!
 
#40
Progress.

I believe I have the motor sitting a little lower than the orig bike, and the seatback about an inch higher, dang it. My measurements must be a little bit off. Seatback is angled back, its just the angle of the pic.

It looks about right for my granddaughter....

Thoughts?

 
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