Manco reconstructive surgery project

markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#1
#1
My buddy has been wanting me to chop a bike up for him, so he bought this run of the mill late model Manco streaker off another buddy and told me to give it a "nip and tuck". Just kinda freestyling it, no real set plan other than he wants it as low as it can go.

This is what I got done today:

I knocked about 3 inches out of the frame uprights using a 3hp briggs as a guide (should have taken a before shot, but if you've owned a streaker you can probably tell its chopped :wink:)

I was going to just use the sections I cut out to stretch the frame but I actually cut it twice so I dug out a donor frame I have been cutting sections and tabs off off for projects and cut out four 4" lengths of tube, sleeved them, and lopped the frame in half:



He actually wants it lower than this, but wants 6" tires front and rear:

Not gonna happen I say, I dont want to mess with the headtube. So its probably either gonna sit about this high in the pic above or its getting a 4" wheel tire in the front. Yes scrub brake is coming off and the rear wheel will be mounted outside the frame pretty much where its at in the pic. there should still be enough room to fit a clone in with tank etc.. removed. If thats done I would like to see the engine plate centers and a jacksaft installed, but he says he will be happy with a 3.5hp and this is how low he wanted it.
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#5
#5
Stangrcr1 said:
Interesting. I know where a streaker is sitting unwanted....

Looks good!
Click to expand...
Gotta say it was very cooperative to alter, just had to hammer a wedge up the front frame rails to stretch the tubes out to meet up when I dropped it. Could have simply cut the tubes off the bottom though too, but I feel more comfortable sleeving it with my welding skill level.

Only odd problem was the tubing thickness was not consistent between the right and left side framerails, Left side after I ran the die grinder in the tubing to to take down the seam line the sleeve was a perfect snug/slip fit. the right side though I had to work the sleeve down and die grind the shit out of the inside....and a BF wooden mallet to get it to go together. I threw the right side inserts in the freezer and even heated the ends a little to help get it to go together.


Baja, the stock "pegs" are getting chopped off and a set of anderson style cast aluminum folding pegs put in there place are on the the list for todays work :thumbsup:
 
trinik7597

trinik7597

Active Member
#6
#6
nice markus :thumbsup: i thought about cutting up a streaker before ! that is a nice set of lomart wheels ya got going on there :thumbsup:
 
markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#7
#7
Just about done, The lomart wheel was on loan from the Markass collection while I finished fixing up some of his Bonanza wheels. Gotta trim the bottom of the forks off and some shaping to the tabs I installed for the axles. Good news is it won't need a kickstand......but will probably require having extra replacement footpegs onhand :laugh:

teetering over a "2x4"

resting on the footpeg, at least I nealied the angle of the footpeg pretty good :thumbsup:
 
Moedog07

Moedog07

New Member
#11
#11
That really transformed that bike. It looks good. Makes me want to copy it. My big block would look at home in there. :hammer:
Let me find my Craigslist app on my phone and start searching for a new project.
 
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markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#13
#13
Moedog07 said:
That really transformed that bike. It looks good. Makes me want to copy it. My big block would look at home in there. :hammer:
Let me find my Craigslist app on my phone and start searching for a new project.
Click to expand...

I'll be searching local for them now too, I kick myself now for never seeing what could have been when I passed up streakers that were offered to me....including this one awhile back :doah: Its funny, my buddy thats having me do this for him was pushing me to just sell him this Powerdyne frame I chopped and modded:

I said no way....But after doing some mock ups with various parts I have to the chopped streaker, I kinda like the Manco frame better :facepalm: Few more changes (and a 2 stroke) and I could pull off a an early '60's look with it very easy!
 
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markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#14
#14
Thought I would have been farther along with this but had some other stuff come up late last week. today I finished the welding up after some minor adjustments and am now getting it ready to go.



My welding is still pretty inconsitent as far as staying real unifom, its not bad but gets kinda "fat" so I opted to smooth out the welds on the "nose" tabs I made and installed on the bike so I gave JB weld setting up tonight on them and a few divits here and there on the frame

I cut the excess off the bottom of the forks off too and sort of shaped them up a bit....yes I am pretty sloppy wastfule with filler/JB I just let the rough grit paper and air tools eat it of later

butt shot

I left the seat mount welds alone...out of sight out of mind :wink: Incidentally this piece of steel is re-cycled from the Barris Super stocker...it was an extra plate someone had welded to the bike.



Dont think I showed this or not, he wanted some old style folding pegs mounted on it, so we used these NOS superiors that are actually clamp on ones.



What I did was cut the original ends "foot peg" area of the frame tube off. The square mount part is actually too big to fit into the tubing without a little shaping so I knocked the edges off just a little to only get a tiny bit in. The block was threaded for the clamp/mount so I cut a pice of threaded rod to the length of the frame bar and threaded the blocks together and tightened them up into the bar. Then I welded up the round voids (and reshaped with the grinder). So if it does get bashed I hope the threaded rod and tension helps prevent it from breaking right off anyway.
 
minibikin'

minibikin'

Sho-nuff
#18
#18
My Dad doesn't post here but he reads everything and he was remarking how much he liked this build. You nailed the stance Mark! Awesome job!!
 
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markus

markus

Well-Known Member
#20
#20
Wow, thanks everyone, chads dad too:thumbsup: Here are the final parting shots before my buddy picked it up this afternoon:


I decided to opt out of painting it, still have oak tree pollen falling pretty heavy (not good for painting outdoors) and I need to get a few other things done right off for some other people too so hes got a paint shop he does some work for that said they would squirt some color on it. Plus I still have to rebuild the Briggs he got for the bike too.

Karen, I was thinking about trimming those pegs down, just cutting flared end off and bringing up the sides a little....just to shrink them down a little to more fitting size for a little bike :shrug:
 
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