Schwin predator restoration.

[oberonspacefruit]

Ive got a frame winging its way as we speak.
Thought I'd better get shapping on gathering some bits for it. its an 87 "yo" free form x.

Im going to use all those bits that no one likes, its a real clothes hanger, and i reckon it will suit a loud late 80's desperation build.


So....got some orange tuffs.





went to a local aqua blaster. seems a nice guy, and he's trying to build up a small business in the evenings. ill set up another thread when ive got all the details. Anyway 15 quid later......



there are still a few spots ingrained in the nylon, but they are 100% better.

im goin to try painting a seat orange, as i cant find anything suitable, and i dont want to pay 100 for a kashi, plus i dont think it will suit the build.

Got this dominator, and its fit for nowt but the bin, as the end has been chewed off by a dog.















its not perfect, but its genuinely my first go, and the seat was bin fodder otherwise.

im going to paint it  with vinyl paint, and attempt the dominater letteing in gold. but thats for another day.






Im on the brakes now.

got these off devilock.



that all for now. nitro should have done its job, so ill go check em.

[Skratchski]

well for a first attemp on the seat its mint mate, plus one on the trace elliot too! looking forward to seeing more.

[oberonspacefruit]

Gave the brakes a quick polish on my buffer. I may paint them white yet, not sure if white will go with th e scheme.
ive got a white power disc from hunterdubber, which is making me think of white orange and silver.



Horribly expensive addicks chainring from a dude on bmx museum. super fast shippingthough, arrived in around 4 days!



Held this bb boot up against the bottom bracket and its about 2mm less in diameter. its a hell of a stretch, but it may fit with the use of fire!



Tyres came from ed209, after a light sanding, they have come up pretty nice.

also, todays post saw the arrival of an acs clamp and 2 nos pads.....shame i can get hold of a frame pad, as firebird seems to be a recluse these days.






Del is at work on the decals.

[hokuspokus74]

The tuffs came up excellent,and for a first attempt on the seat top job where did you get the material for the seat and do they have different colours in it ?,the brakes came up good aswell,orange looks the part,ive an orange F&F i got powdered gt or haro cant remember ive that much bloody going on with the bikes lol

[Steve P]

Nice work and great attention to detail ... top stuff 

[Jaymz]

Good work , I look forward to more progress

[oberonspacefruit]

: where did you get the material for the seat and do they have different colours in it ?,

cut from the back of a settee at the tip. I'm  a bit of a magpie when it comes to possible resto materials......
you can get it on ebay though.

[simon h]

Wheels came up superb and all for 15 squid. A guy local to me was doing the same thing just starting up ,  but wanted me to remortgage the house to do them .

I did the same with one of my old Aero seats used a random bit of leather I found in the garage , not as good a finish as yours though fairy play.

looking forward to the finished bike .

[oberonspacefruit]

well, stupidly i sold the pads before it was finished, so ive had to make another.
Also i had no rear hub for the tuff.
Hmmmm.




maybe not.....

[oberonspacefruit]

yes i know the chainring bolts are not right but the addicks was a bit wonky so im trying to force it to behave.....





decals are partly my own design, partly schwinn. Derek did the decs. impeccable as always.
didnt use the dominater, so ive covered a generic kashi type. Orange vinyl. 3 quid off the bay, enough left to make a pad, which ive just glued rather than sewn, as my ancient treadle singer is on the blink.

seatclamp is some oddy thing which ive stripped to match the brake calliper. rear calliper its some old weinman road racer bike, seemed nothing else would fit and be at the right position for the rim. what a ballache that was....
not sure about the pedals, but they are used, and your a bit limited with orange intcha? didnt want to paint another set as it would wear too quickly.
some wierd MTB stem that i though could be pushed into service, its an SR, but like none ive seen before. 8 quid  of the flea.
pimped it a bit by white paint and some chrome decal paper left over from the stuff del sent me. scalpelled a few thin lines ala spintech. stem shaft was too wide for the rotor, so it had to be drilled out to 28mm(i think) with the biggest fookin drill ive ever bought, to use once......



schwinn logo done in acrylic on the vinyl. could have been neater but i was rushing a bit. shouldnt have sold the other pads but needs as must.




Rides nice. a quick plonk around the quarter pipe met with a nod of approval from the youths. the grip tape is handy, covers dents and is so stick it never moved despite being abused.
front brake is pretty good but i dont think rotors were fully developed potentially at this time. its like politely suggesting that you might want to slow down at some point. cheers Ed for your help with the orange bits....

[workshyfop]

yo!! nice to see something a bit unusual, always used to quite like this era of schwinns, used to be in bmx plus a lot. looks really good, looks like a stock bike with the way you've built it....

[oberonspacefruit]

thanks dude. cost was the main choice for this build, though i do love a clotheshorse. the more stupid ugly bars welded on , the better as far as im concerned.....
tried to do it with a minimum spend, knowledge and labour to offset the cost of finished/not fooked parts, but i reckon its still come in at over 150 quid.
you just can do an oldschool build for less these days im thinkin......finding and buyin a copmlete oldschool bike may come in at less if your lucky, but building one from a frame up is still the price of a "new" bike.

[oberonspacefruit]

out of a matter of interest, heres a few stock...

[QUADROPHENIA]

Philip you should have kept the A.O.D

[oberonspacefruit]

I know pete, hindsight is wonderful innit.

[deeman]

sweet build...i love all the wild coloured freestylers! 

[factory pilot]

I love an orange bike ( as most prople on here know only too well) so I love this ... Always in those US mags these bikes .. Great to see something a bit different !
Nice work dude!