So i got this mate Donut who helps me out in finding BMX's and Ghetto Blasters, I look for 60'-80's Hi-Fi amps and speakers for him - this way we can have two set of eye's looking out for stuff.
He pays what i get it for and vice versa - so it works out sweet and no one cheats on the price or the deal maybe broken and parts lost.
It works for both of us well.
So one morning i get a call from Donut saying he's just picked up a BMX, but this one is not for me ! he says,
Donut has built up a couple of bmx's before, a Giant in pink which can be seen on RAD and a Ammaco.
So now Donut has found a bmx that he want to do up and ride, and can i have a look to see what i think and what can be done, so i go and see him and the bike which is in a state with grease and dirt over it - surface rust in places - faded pads, broken cable and tatty spoke wheels.
We bring it back to my place on a rainy day to take it a part and get a better idea of what needs to be done - now at this point i forget to take some pictures of how it looked and what a state it is in. it takes us ages to try and get the pedals off and an hour later they give up the ghost and are free, i put most bits back in a box to sort out later and have a look at the frame.
It looks alright and only surface rust is the problem, along with grease and dirt to try and get off -so i say that if he leaves it with me i can see what i can do with it
I start to work a bit of elbow grease into the frame and see that the chrome work is not too bad and just might come up well if done carefully !
Now at this point we have to decide what is to be done about the decals - they are scratched and scuffed but not so bad - do i get some more made up or try to save the one's that are on the frame and forks ?
Over the next week i take my time on the frame and do it in stages so not to mess it up. I manage to save the decals and go round them to shine the frame up
From here onwards it just a matter of taken my time and working out what needs to be done and how best - like the pads, which are black on one side and yellow brown on the other side with white lettering on both sides. They have been out in the sun for some time and show - i decide to dye them and see what happens to the lettering in the process, when i have finished it show that the lettering has gone a light grey ! well not all is lost as the grips that come on the bike are faun one's in black and grey and although the old one's had to be cut off cos they were dead, Donut has bought the same and this will now match the pads, so all is cool
By now Donut is asking about his bike and what has happened to it ? I tell him that i'm working on it slowly and have other work on and so can only do it when time allows.
He wants skyway mags on it to replace the spokes that were on it - i have a set that need looking at, as the mags need the axles sorting and rebuilding - upon pulling the hubs apart i find that 2 out of the 4 cup are smashed up and need replacing, which this i can do as i have a spare mag and take the parts off of it - new axles are used but not skyway ones as i have a kit that can use parts to rebuild hubs so standard nuts can be used - all get a polish, every nut and washer along with the alloy hub to make them shine
I polish up the stem, crank, spider,brakes and levers + seat clamp which all get a good going over on a polishing mop and bits too small get polished by hand
New parts are the seat post which is a fluted lay-back in black and some of my NOS black cables from the 80's - a new set of tioga re-issue comp III's - the seat gets a good clean but with some new black guts - some black tuff like brake pads go with the shinny calipers along with some new dia compe decals, but the calipers and levers are really ching star items and only notice up close if you look
The pedals were a tough choice as i originally wanted some thing like DX's but price and finding a good set to use would be a problem - so i saw a set of sprint sure grip pedals and bought them - now upon putting them on some thing was missing ? i got the polisher out and got to work on making them shinny, very shinny ! and put them back on - for me they worked but for some of you, you may not think so !
Now with every thing nearly done i gave Donut a ring to tell him it would be soon and to see if he could get over to mine to pick it up ?
Every thing sorted, tightened, polished and re polished - on it's stand it looked every bit as fresh as the day it was born - in my eyes even better with some much chrome work shinning !
The door bell rings and Donut is here - a cloth covers the bike in the kitchen and he walks in - i ask him to remember what the bike looked like in the start with dust, dirt, grease and surface rust on it and all the tatty bits on it
I ask him to close his eyes and lift the cloth off - he looks, he stares and is blown away at what he sees - a bit of a chip foose moment for me
All my hard work and sore fingers have worked out well as i point out to him what each part has had done to it and what it has taken to get there.
In the first pic's the seat post is high as i hadn't set it for him yet - but as soon as that was done he was the first to ride around the car park - he loved it and said the only thing he might change was the bars to a set of CW style bars as he liked wider bars - so my work here is done.
3 months after and it's finished - so here's build list
it's a MT RACING SILVERFOX 1984
MT RACING SILER FOX Frame - polished with saved original Decals
MT RACING Bars
Akisu forks
Forged Stem polished , org
Original Pad set re-dyed black
Skyway mags Alloy hubs polished and rebuilt axle kit
Tioga re-issue comp III tires
Dice dust caps, home made
Nos black original 80's cables, nos
Dai compe cable holders, foc - big cheers to burnerphil
Ching star calipers and levers - polished and re-decal-ed, org
Tuff style black brake pads, nos
Faun grips, nos
Fluted lay back seat post, nos
tuff style seat clamp polished, org
New chain in black and nickel, new
175 Crank polished, org
Spider and 42t Chainring polished and cleaned, org
BB all polished including the cups
Half a Epoch headset - locking part used
MT Seat, org - cleaned and new black guts, new
Sprint Sure Grip bmx pedals, nos and polished
New Freewheel polished.
So here is the MT RACING SILVERFOX 1984
Here is Donut (came from work hence his chef shoes)
Here are the pic's of parts shot in Donuts kitchen after it has been ridden
here are the arty shots
and my favorite shot of it all
so it's all done and i will be sad to see this go - as it looks i love it - the mags aren't always seen on these bmx's but think it suits it well - it will be stunning out in the sun in the summer with all that chrome - 3 months and finished - now i will have to sort out some thing else for me to do up and ride !
well i hoped you liked and all comments welcome
Cheers B
