1950 Restoration Project

[LFWILSON]

I have been working on this for about 5 months with about 3700$ into it. It came with the brass DRIVE CAREFULLY handle bar plate and polished alum gas tank side plates.

[Mike Sal]

That's a nice looking bike.  Do I have you in the registry yet?  If not, send me a PM with your real name & the state you live in & I'll get you added.

I don't see how anyone can have less than 3k wrapped up in one these days even if you have all of the parts to start with. 
Mike Sal

[Bruce]

The brass plate is cool.

[admin]

That's a nice looking bike.  Do I have you in the registry yet?  If not, send me a PM with your real name & the state you live in & I'll get you added.

I don't see how anyone can have less than 3k wrapped up in one these days even if you have all of the parts to start with. 
Mike Sal

Looking good!

 I agree with Mike.  It seems that these bikes are more valuable as individual parts than they are as a whole.  With some of the current eBay prices for gas tanks, fenders, automatic transmissions, ect, you could part out the bike for more than just about anyone is willing to pay for one.

[pd]

But , You can't ride parts .

Pete .

[Mike Sal]

In our studebaker club the same thing has happened to the Avanti.  The parts to restore them are so expensive, they are worth more in parts than as a whole.  A couple of guys in the northeast who are more interested in profit than preservation, have been buying up all of the unrestored ones they can find & breaking them up for parts.  It only serves to drive the prices up even further on surviving cars.
Mike Sal

[oil-lamp]

Yea this is a sad trend that all old itens have to deal with, but there is an end. The end will come when everyone has parted the last complete item out, and no one is looking for anymore parts. Just trying to unload there own to a phantom market. That's why we need reproduction parts why buy old when you can get new. Hows the quest for a gas tank coming?  Are there any hopes for a tank to be fab anytime soon, how about a trans? Points to ponder.

[admin]

I don't see much hope for a gas tank being made.  The cost to have 2 dies made to press the tanks is just too great.  Who is going to step up for $10,000-15,000 to buy the dies?  You would have to sell at least 100 tanks at a price of around $300 each to break even.

[Mike Sal]

That's why we really need to find the guy who made the reproduction bikes & find out where the molds for his gas tanks are at. 
Mike Sal

[Bruce]

I'll message you...I know where the molds are

[Ricks]

I'll message you...I know where the molds are

Why the secrecy?

[Bruce]

Not a secret rick...just don't wanna post a number that isn't mine

[Ricks]

Not a secret rick...just don't wanna post a number that isn't mine

How about are they available?  How much?  What condition are the molds in?  Any pictures?

[Bruce]

I've seen pics of the stuff...the molds are fine and he had several of the tanks ,probably destined for the 7 frames he acquired with the stuff,along with forks and seat pans..only one fiberglass fender.   
 I believe he bought out the remaining brother of the two doing those bikes...he said..and I do not know...that the other had died,the one that made the fiberglass parts.
  My friend ken stopped in at his place to pickup some other parts and took the pics I seen....the molds looked perfect and ken said they did.
  Far as I know he's selling it all and currently not parts. He mentioned buying works man wheels and trying to sell some bikes as rollers,minus drive lines. Those repops had chain and Tecumseh's I believe.
 

[Ricks]

Bruce, this is a repro by the brothers.  They put too much crap on them to try to make them street legal, imho.