Seattle car guy building a bike.

[J-R-]

Hello everyone, my name is J.R. and I have a problem... I'm a gearhead.

I am a welder/mechanic on tugboats and fuel barges in Seattle that started out playing with cars, my first was a 27 Model T when I was 4, welded my first subframe (75 Pacer front clip on a 56 F-100) when I was 12 and that truck is still on the road. Worked in a street rod shop for a while and that was when I learned that you don't do your hobby for a living, I have had everything from a 70 challenger with a slant six to my current year round daily driver a 69 Dodge short wide bed with a built slant six.

About a year ago I started itching for a bike to play with due to lack of space and too many car projects so I picked up a 64 Triumph with no engine that had been hardtailed. I have a build plan for it but right now I am not at the point that I want to be to build it the way I want. I had a 56 Oldsmobile taking up space in my driveway that I had lost interest in, had just picked up a chopped 50 Chrysler and decided that the olds had to go. My buddy had this XS650 chopper project and we traded straight across.

I'm learning as I go and this site has helped me a lot so far!!!

The 56 Olds with a 57 Buick grill...

The daily...

64 Triumph that will be painted to match the truck...

Current toy the day I got it home...

I haven't really done too much except a bunch of research so far. I did a quick sand on the tank, fixed the kickstart spring (thanks to a thread on here), took the harness off the 1980 frame that came with it and that the engine was originally out of. I got it all laid out, took off what I needed, matched it up with the new harness parts that came with it and figured out what I need to order.

Plans are for a Pamco ignition and Hugh's PMA after I reweld the hardtail, clean up the frame and figure out if I want to go with a cleaned up stock frontend or a springer.

Based the stripped harness on this diagram just to get it down to a manageable point and to get rid of everything I don't need.

That's all I got for now.

 

[mick71b]

Cool stuff! Lotsa projects goin' on there. Is that a '48 Chevy in the background? What is the engine hangin' on the hoist?

 

[Airwolfie]

Nice Triumph! And I like the xs chop as it is. If you go for springers it would need more rake to look right IMO.

 

[J-R-]

Cool stuff! Lotsa projects goin' on there. Is that a '48 Chevy in the background? What is the engine hangin' on the hoist?

Yup, It's my wifes 47/48 Fleetline/Aerosedan MustangII front suspension, 4 link rear, hyros with front, back and pancake, narrowed 56 Caddy front bumper, narrowed 59 Impala dash, slant six engine with a Australian Lynx intake with Canon adapters for 3 Weber carbs. That's her project...

The ugly wheels that were on it in this pic are long gone, it now has 100 spokechrome Daytons and a set of stealies with 56 Desoto caps to swap between.

Her daily driver the day after paint getting put back together. 66 Dart 4 door with a late model slant six and dick brakes soon to be slammed on the ground.

And the chopped 50 Chrysler with a rebuilt 251 flathead. It's a runner/driver and in gray primer now just waiting for it's turn ($$$$$$$) for paint and interior.

The engine on the hoist was the 394 Olds that I dropped in to the 56 Olds. Just got burned out on the car and it wan't my dream car anyways so it went to a better home.

Too many toys, not enough time...

 

[J-R-]

Nice Triumph! And I like the xs chop as it is. If you go for springers it would need more rake to look right IMO.

That's the plan if I come across one I like for a decent price. I'm sure as hell not going to use a p.o.s. DNA frontend, I don't have that much of a death wish! I do like the looks of the old Amen Savior twisted springers.

 

[angus67]

nice! highlands? or above Tukwila?
Something about those sixes- either you love them, or you hate them. You, obviously, love them. Parents had a 76 volare with a stock six, ran awesome!!
Get a better coil for you xs. the rest is excactly what I have goin on my chop, added a 6 blade atc fuse panel from napa.

 

[angus67]

nice! highlands? or above Tukwila?
Something about those sixes- either you love them, or you hate them. You, obviously, love them. Parents had a 76 volare with a stock six, ran awesome!!
Get a better coil for you xs. the rest is excactly what I have goin on my chop, added a 6 blade atc fuse panel from napa.

 

[wherearewe]

Def clean up that neck gusset area. Good stuff.

 

[Soliddrummer]

Nice sweptline, I have a 67 short box small window myself. Coolest trucks around in my opinion, you don't see them very often.

 

[J-R-]

Highlands by Lake Kathleen.

I'm going with all new electronics on the bike, thanks for the tip on the fuse holder! Any certain make/year I should ask for? They are idiots unless you give them a make/year.

Yeah I am a bit of a slant six geek. I got to have lunch with the guy who designed the slant six for Chrysler a few years ago (he lives in Issaquah). I also mannaged to track down some pretty rare slant parts that I have been looking for for the last 12 years. Like the very first Hilborn fuel injection unit ever made for a slant six. It was originally loaned out to the Dragmaster Dart racing team for test and tune, traded after they pulled the slant out of the rail and ended up with my dads team in a 56 Alfa with a slant that was racing at SIR in the mid 60's. I tracked it down a bout a month ago and the payments for 2 race engines, the complete Hilborn set up, Joe Hunt magneto, custom headers, intake with 3 Weber 45 carbs and 2 fully ported race heads will be mine in Feb!

Plans are to either build a clone of this rail that will turn mid/low 9's in the 1/4 or a 32 Bantam altered gasser.

This is the exact same injection unit that I am buying. All the production units were aluminum and had a different mating surface, this one was the prototype made from magnesium and has no part numbers on it verified by Hilborn.

 

[J-R-]

Def clean up that neck gusset area. Good stuff.

Yeah, they are pretty ugly in there.

 

[J-R-]

Nice sweptline, I have a 67 short box small window myself. Coolest trucks around in my opinion, you don't see them very often.

Sweptline.org member?

Plans are to do the 06 Crown Vic suspension swap after I get the custom dash with the 59 Oldsmobile cluster installed.

 

[rusty rocket]

Good to have another rodder on here. I,m a die hard Ford guy but I do have a double dip dodge axle on my 26 modified. Sorry no Dodge stuff on the 32.

 

[nj1639]

The slant 6.......bulletproof. Couldn't kill them so they discontinued them instead, like these Yami 650's.

 

[angus67]

the beauty of the six is the power/weight ratio. That slingshot must have been the quickest around.
Didn't know he lived in issaquah. Like to meet that guy my self. Im a ford guy, but, a gearhead is a gearhead no matter what brand.
Yea, nj, the sixes I felt were the same as a light bulb that never burns out---the company that makes them goes out of business quickly because nobody buys new ones to replace the bad ones, because there are no bad ones.
love the dodge trucks- quirky looking, but very cool. I d like to get my hands on a A100.

 

[J-R-]

time off work, rum/coke, sounds of the 1964 winternationals drag race record playing and a heater going so I finally made some progress on the bike.

The hardtail is a David Bird kit that was a little more than tacked on. I am hoping that I won't have to cut it all the way off and start over, I'm pretty sure I can save it.


These little fuckers are heavier than they look!

 

[angus67]

yup . 160#s without oil, and carbs and side cases covers. The fuse block I got at napa is just a off the shelf block.
this is the block I got
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=BK_7825316_0361103423

 

[J-R-]

yup . 160#s without oil, and carbs and side cases covers. The fuse block I got at napa is just a off the shelf block.
this is the block I got
http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail.aspx?R=BK_7825316_0361103423

Sweet! I actually have one just like it left over from an old 27 model T project I had a few years ago.

 

[J-R-]

Butt ugly factory gusset cut out and just about ready for something cooler that flows better.

I also want to rework the upper motor mount and support bar to clean it up a bit, just need to get some ideas for the mount.

 

[J-R-]

So I was sniffing around in the tech section and found this pic posted in the hardtail thread. Is there any drawback to running the stock upper mount without the bar but adding a better gusset?