So quite a while ago my brother told me his neighbor had an old bike stuffed in the back of a barn. I managed to sneak a peak at it at one point, but wasn't sure I wanted to pick it up.
It festered in the back of my mind for a whole year. They were in and out of town, our paths just never seemed to be able to cross, until... FINALLY... I was able to go back and make a deal! Hauled it home on the hitch carrier, and after a few basic checks, gave it the old boot. What do you think? Not bad for a barn find!? Check out my new shirts!!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/rusty-phoenix-motors Connect with me here! https://www.youtube.com/c/RustyPhoenixMotors https://www.facebook.com/rustyphoenixmotors https://www.instagram.com/dorkpunch_rustyphoenixmotors/?hl=en https://www.instructables.com/member/Rusty%20Phoenix%20Motors/ https://rusytphoenixmotors.blogspot.com/Saturday, September 02, 2023
Sunday, March 19, 2023
What if my gas tank is rusty? How to seal and coat a fuel tank!
So... Don't ever take your hand off the funnel when pouring tank liner in...
SUPER common problem when working on old motorcycles- the tank is rusty, has pinholes, or it's just filthy dirty. RED KOTE to the rescue! I've used this stuff several times with great success.
You can find Red Kote here: https://ebay.us/LPRnEx
Sunday, March 12, 2023
How to buy parts for a project mini bike! Amazon and Ebay to the rescue!
Have you ever struggled to find parts for a project? I'm going to let you in on a few secrets...
Be sure to subscribe to my channel!
Friday, February 10, 2023
DIY Seat Cover for a Vintage Dirtbike! Don't tell my wife...
I might have snuck my wife's sewing machine down to the workshop for this one...
Sunday, January 29, 2023
DIY Minibike Frame Restoration in Action!
The "build" vid for the frame! Would love to hear your thoughts on this!!!
Check out my new shirts!!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/rusty-phoenix-motors Connect with me here! https://www.youtube.com/c/RustyPhoenixMotors https://www.facebook.com/rustyphoenixmotors https://www.instagram.com/dorkpunch_rustyphoenixmotors/?hl=en https://www.instructables.com/member/Rusty%20Phoenix%20Motors/
Saturday, January 28, 2023
Disaster Strikes...
Here's what was left of the muffler after the pressure washing...
Saturday, January 21, 2023
And so it begins... DIY Motorcycle Restoration Commences with Frame Cleaning and Paint!
Made a little progress this morning. Got the frame cleaned up and painted.
Love this paint, it goes on thick and seems to hold up well to years of abuse. Takes forever to dry though... VanSickle tractor paint, I find it at CAL ranch.
It's a start. Have a loooonnnnngggggg ways to go still.
Friday, January 06, 2023
Stripping the poor minibike down!
First video.
Been shopping for parts, and man this could get expensive! Going the budget route for now. Plan on fixing / cleaning / painting everything I can on my own, but there's a couple of things I haven't found at decent prices used- muffler, gas tank, and front end. Think I'll buy repro's for the tank and front end, and trying to make my own muffler using the stock header pipe.
Spent the afternoon pressure washing the big parts. Most of them came out great. The one exception is the exhuast... The pressure washer punched all the rust spots all the way through. Don't know that I could save this one even if I had all my tools accessible.
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Tuesday, January 03, 2023
Before and after- Saving a vintage Honda minibike that should have gone to the scrapyard.
It's time to make a go of this, because he's already tearing it up on his older brother's Z.
A few "before" pics we took just a couple days ago:
Annnnddd.... where she's at now.
It is MEGA rough. But I think we can save it. Going to need a few harder to find parts- front end, muffler, rims, maybe a gas tank.
Not going to restore it. A 6 yr old will be thrashing on this one, just like his older brothers did on theres. They got them for Christmas 12 years ago. https://www.advrider.com/f/threads/hope-my-boys-like-second-hand-junk-for-christmas.646877/
Stay tuned for more. Planning a whole YouTube video series on this one! Goal is to have it done by August 10.
Think I can do it?!
Friday, December 23, 2022
Operation CHRISTMAS BREAK.
Well, I survived the first half of the school year. Made it to Christmas break. I've got a laundry list of everything I'm hoping to get done over the break. Think I can get all these things done!? What should I focus on first?
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Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Remember me?
Hey! Yeah, I'm still alive. Been an interesting few years. To add to the last post... 5 years ago...
Remember the cancer? Well it's in remission. Stage IV melanoma, a liver full of tumors, a few large growths in a few other places. Gone. All of it, all gone.
Shortly after my last post, my wife at the time decided that since I was dyin' it was as good a time as any, and left me with my 3 boys. So I spent the last 5 years as a single dad, raising 2 teenagers and a toddler, while recovering from something that should have killed me.
It didn't. Kill me, that is. And supposedly, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Not sure how I feel about that, but I've learned a lot the last few years. I've been brought to my knees, and been picked up again. I've experienced miracles- the most recent of which was re-gaining access to this blog!!! What a fight that was.
Lot's of new things going on, can't wait to tell you all about them!!!
STAY TUNED! Setting a goal right now to make posting here happen at least once a week.
And, a little teaser of what I've been working on the last few months:
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Been awhile...
Hoping to do a little more blogging: We got "real" internet for the first time in 3 years. Little easier to upload pics and actually write from a computer than trying to do anything from a phone... If you want to catch up on whats been going on there is a little info on my Instagram at, you guessed it, dorkpunch.
In other news. 2017 has been off to a rough start- Met my insurance deductibles and all that crap in the first week of the year with a popped appendix and a few other things.
To add insult to injury, turns out I have cancer. So yeah... Been a rough year.
On the bright side, now that we have internet and I'm moving a little slower than I should, I have a bit of time to upload pics and update y'all on all kinds of things. Stay tuned for... Something. I dunno. Probably some bikes, a few hot wheels, several welding projects, and likely a little info on the cancer treatments and all that junk.
Wednesday, April 06, 2016
Alphatig Review: Building a Welding Cart #5
Still to do: make a hanger for the torch, a nub for the ground clamp, and a box for the pedal. Build the drawer. Figure out where the welding rod holder will go. Build a little leg on the front at the right height- NO front wheels. Clean it all up. Paint it. Put the dang thing together.
Tuesday, April 05, 2016
Operation: Spring Break 2016 #3
High on the list is getting to the floor. Its got some really loose spots- not really creaky, the boards just have a lot of flex. Picked up some shims and started wiggling them in.
Shims:
Floor feels 100% more solid. Its going to have to be, because I just picked THIS up:
And it will be sitting right about in that spot. Eventually. When its cleaned up. Which may not happen for a long, long time... *sigh*