Blazer Trail Bike

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Putter

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#1
#1
Hey guys,

Thought I'd start a thread on the rebuild of my 1960 (??) Blazer trail bike.

I picked this up a couple months back at a garage sale for $120.

Pretty much a complete bike, I believe it's the original 3hp Briggs with a later model shroud on it.

These were built with a two speed jackshaft and a torque convertor drive.

This may take months to complete but I intend to update the progress as I go.

Here's a few shots of it as I recieved it.

Bob
 
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#2
#2
Here's the bare frame after 5 minutes in a steel shot blasting cabinet, it sure makes life easy for stripping paint and rust.

You can see the serial number adjacent to the fork tube, BM1066.

Bob
 
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#3
#3
Here's a few shots of the engine prep.

The block's bore was in very nice condition, no deep scratches, no taper, no ridge. So just a quick hone with a 3 finger hone followed by my favorite way to finish an aluminum bore.....

Wrap a red Scotch-Brite pad around the 3 finger hone's stones and soak with WD40 before honing another minute or two. This leaves a very smooth finish.

The crank polished up beautifully with some 500 grit wet-or-dry with WD40 on a lathe at low speed.

The head was flat sanded with 180 and then 400 grit paper to flatten it back up.

Also, I blasted most of the other engine parts to get decades of "stuff" off of them.

The rod is immaculate, only .002" clearance to the crankpin and no gouges at all!
 
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#6
#6
Hmmm, sumthin's not right!! :shrug:


I got looking at the fork and tube and such, then at what few pics I could find of these old Blazers and discovered this bike has the wrong fork on it!

Someone grafted on front suspension many years ago.

The grafted on fork tube has tapered bearings and seals whereas the stock Blazer should just be a bolt through the pipe. (I think)

I did notice the bike has a reverse rake to it, with the front being way higher than the back of the bike. The lower frame rails have about a 3"-4" rise from back to front. (not parallel to the ground)

I think I can trim a few inches out of the top coil springs and probably find shorter lower springs to shorten the height back to where it belongs.

Anyone recognize this front end? Tote Gote???
 
Richard Trotter

Richard Trotter

#8
#8
Yes, it looks like a tote gote fork but someone has done a lot of work to it. Do the springs go all the way to the top of the tube? Some forks have a piece of tube as a spacer on top of the spring.
 
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#9
#9
Richard Trotter said:
Yes, it looks like a tote gote fork but someone has done a lot of work to it. Do the springs go all the way to the top of the tube? Some forks have a piece of tube as a spacer on top of the spring.
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Thanks for the suggestion, Richard. :thumbsup:

Unfortunatly, the springs do go all the way up the tubes. :no:

Oh well, it was worth a try! I'll figure something out to get it to sit right.

Bob
 
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#11
#11
Thanks for those pics, Richard. :thumbsup:

Very similar to what I have, yet oh so very different!

My springs stop in the tubes about an inch below where the tubes are flattened out before the weld to the handlebars.

Looks like I'm going to have to be creative in my chopping and trimming. :smile:

Bob
 
6

67tempest

Member
#12
#12
Excellent work. Wish I had access to a shot blasting cabinet, that frame came out looking like new. Going to have to blast mine the old fashioned way out in the yard. How does that 2spd jackshaft arrangement work?
 
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#13
#13
67tempest said:
Excellent work. Wish I had access to a shot blasting cabinet, that frame came out looking like new. Going to have to blast mine the old fashioned way out in the yard. How does that 2spd jackshaft arrangement work?
Click to expand...
The 2 speed looks to be all based on a sliding sleeve inside the two sprockets. I have not taken it apart yet but when I do, I'll post pics in this thread for all to see. Then it should make sense! Right now it looks like it's just magic! :laugh:
 
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#15
#15
There will be lots more posts coming, lately though, my unheated garage has not been too user friendly. :no:

I've done very little on this project since my last post, just a bit of engine work.

Also, I chose and purchased colors for painting, Dupli-Color Ruby Red for the engine, power train pieces and wheels and Rust-oleum Ivory w/clearcoat for the frame parts.

So, stay tuned! Eventually I'll be able to get back on this project. :thumbsup:

Bob
 
A

azacher

New Member
#16
#16
Oh man, what a coincidence, I ended up painting mine almost the exact same colors, but in reverse! I went with the duplicolor retro-red metallic for the frame and painted the wheels Cub Cadet white, both with rattle can clear coat! I also found a great place to get a seat made for cheap, I paid $30 with shipping for a red-and-white vinyl seat, complete, made to my specs...let me know if you want the ladies info and I will be happy to pass it on. I found her on etsy.com.

 
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#19
#19
That is a beautiful bike, Azacher! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

The seat looks wonderful and I really like the dark red color of the frame.

Also, welcome to the board! :biggrin:

Bob
 
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