Vintage Class: Havasu Dave's Cat Hustler

#1
This was HPE Muskin's (Cat) version of a chopper mini, after 1972. It was called the R3503 Hustler. There are not too many still surviving, and many of the parts are no longer in existance.

My plan is to recreate this bike to it's original design, with modifications as required. The goal is to do nothing that would prevent me from adopting original parts, should they be located.

I still need to procure many parts, but I do have enough to get started. I am not a skilled machinest, or fabricator and have limited equipment in my garage. In short, I am just a regular guy trying to restore another rusted piece of nostalgia back to it's original glory.

I hope Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda turn "Synergy Green" with envy. (I already know what color it's going to be. :smile:

 

BC DAVE

New Member
#6
Way to go go Dave :thumbsup:





Have a great time and enjoyment building your ride here on OldMiniBikes Build Off - 2013 :thumbsup:




BC DAVE :thumbsup:
 
#8
cool you sure dont see many restored hustlers. i have one but i de-raked it and shortend the forks . probrobly dumb but it was my younger days
 
#10
Welded replacement front tank mount and kill switch tab. Fabricated sissy bar using the one existing photo of a complete Cat and scaling from the known rear tire dimension (14 inches) and arriving at 20" sissy bar height.

Note the sissy bar mounting "pipes" have been cut off. They did allow for a standard bend on the bar and a firm mount, however this forced the seat to be a lot wider than the tank and that looked wrong. Sissy bar isn't perfect, but most will be hidden by the seat which will provide semetry. I hope.



So I heated the bar and slowly squeezed it to fit between the frame, and welded 1/8 bar stock to the bar beneath the seat mounts. Far from perfect, but it works. I have tried a few variations of "seat pan plastic thing" fabrication methods, but so far I haven't figured it out. Of course I can go with a simple narrow seat base and tall seat. This is the most difficult part of the project. The next plan is to just build the seat base and then build a FRP pan on top of it, separate it, then mount the pan beneath the seat base.

 
#11
The CAT/Muskin design to hold the sissy bars on was a joke anyway....

Those Ape Hangers rock......that thing is gonna be awesome.......:thumbsup:
 
#12
The CAT/Muskin design to hold the sissy bars on was a joke anyway....

Those Ape Hangers rock......that thing is gonna be awesome.......:thumbsup:
Yeah, that is what I have come up with too. And that plastic seat thing, and the foam seat insert, all must have been junk. When I sit on the bike, (Steppin Wolf playing in the background) I can easily flex the 5/8 bar with my back. So anything "plastic" would also flex, and eventually crack.

Unless I built it with FRP and reinforced it with woven on top of the mat. Then it ends up being too bulky with the added seat pan required for upholstering.

It does feel cool sitting on it though it's going to be a real bearcat to ride.
 
#13
Yeah, that is what I have come up with too. And that plastic seat thing, and the foam seat insert, all must have been junk. When I sit on the bike, (Steppin Wolf playing in the background) I can easily flex the 5/8 bar with my back. So anything "plastic" would also flex, and eventually crack.

Unless I built it with FRP and reinforced it with woven on top of the mat. Then it ends up being too bulky with the added seat pan required for upholstering.

It does feel cool sitting on it though it's going to be a real bearcat to ride.
Looking good so far!
 

45t

Well-Known Member
#14
Cool build Dave! :thumbsup: I'll be watching the progress for sure.

That Hustler is going to be cool! Do you have a frequent buyer discount or reward points program at your chrome shop? They are going to love you. :laugh:
 
#15
Do you have a frequent buyer discount or reward points program at your chrome shop? They are going to love you. :laugh:
I get the chrome at 20% discount from retail by a reputable So Cal place cuz of my hotrod links/friends. Trust me, it is still a big surprize when the bill comes. One of those deals where I wait until the last moment to casually mention to "her" that I need $700 for chrome I just slapped on a $300 mini bike. I'm getting a warm regard for rattle can argent silver.
 
#17
Ain't many CAT Hustlers out there....just try a search for members that have one....:detective:.....:shrug:

Put you're heart and soul in that baby ...you'll be glad you did :thumbsup:
 
#19
Ain't many CAT Hustlers out there....just try a search for members that have one....:detective:.....:shrug:

Put you're heart and soul in that baby ...you'll be glad you did :thumbsup:
Aye. Thanks for the chrome shot. I've envisioned those forks several times as chromed. Especially the springs. Gotta make a fork brace too. No front fender, probably won't have one, so I need to make the fork brace look cool, instead of the oem square brace piece.

There's about four photos of these on the web, all of them we know about, none of them showing the ellusive seat/bar setup. It shall forever be a mystery to me. Hard to build something when I don't know what the hell it's spoda look like. :shrug: If I only had an injection mold machine, and a template....lol!
 
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