"BUCK ROGERS", has its taillights mounted with the solar collector's aboard as well. I have tested the tail lights, and they are functional ! Are you paying attention @Ron Funkhouser ? Good I knew you would be! This is such fun seeing this thing come to life! Stay tuned kids, more to come! Thanks from Dennis.
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! Now hear this, and now see this! "BUCK ROGERS" is all put back together and is alive and kicking, and there will be a short video shot this evening when the sun goes down, so that all of the intrepid down the cosmic rabbit hole, fellow travelers, can see what this creation is capable of. Now I have to just be patient for the new trick 20" bicycle wheels to arrive. Amazon tracking says they should be delivered to me on the 15th. And then the rest of the project, as described before, can come to fruition! Needless to say, I am very stoked about this absolutely insane project! I have a ton of respect for all of the HAMBER'S, that put countless hours and ton's of money into their kick ass rides. Sure this is only an old headlight, with new guts and a few embellishments, but to me and my eye, its a custom piece of functional automotive art! While not on the same level of dedication and chrome and paint that @Moriarity put into that kick ass lawn mower of his, but I have the distinct privilege of knowing, that this is the only one like it, and I don't think that Mark can duplicate it, any time soon. (CHESHIRE GRIN) But if he does feel like it, well this build thread is a hell of a roadmap to start with. Time for a cocktail and waiting for the sun to go down! The "BUCK ROGER'S" evening show and exhibition of solar power, filtered through old school stuff, is just a few hours away. Thanks from Dennis.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who sees value in jewels/reflectors for added detailing. See Dennis, I'm kinda sick too. Jewel shaped, fitted and mounted in the grille crank hole. Hubcaps drilled and blue (green) dots installed. Rear bumper bolt jewels. And my Wife's old "grocery getter"...6 reflectors on each mud flap. note the jewels on the skirts and front fender guard.
Hey @hotrodjack33 Absolutely magnificent and truly outstanding! Bravo! I knew that you and I are from the same cosmic hippie tribe! Very proud to say that as well. Thanks from Dennis. The mother ship, is on final approach!
This is the first time, seeing it spin around, on this old turntable I built years ago. I will redistribute the internal light string on the left side, to match the right side, but this will be okay for now. Enjoy from Dennis. The link below is for YouTube.
Seeing that left tail light not having the same brightness as the right tail light, got me motivated, at 4:00 AM this morning. I was pretending that @hotrodjack33 and @Okie Pete and maybe @squirrel ,were looking over my shoulder and saying " you know you need to fix that, so get with it " So I had it all apart again, and tended to the problems it had, and I got them fixed, and all put back together by 6:00AM. I had that feeling of a job well done, because I didn't do it half-assed or cut any corners. I am sure a lot of you know what I am talking about. Anyway, now I just have to wait for the two bicycle wheels to show up, and then this project can take its place on its wind driven, rotating base/pedestal, and be another source of entertainment for my neighborhood, and me as well. Just so all of you know. When the base gets built and the pole that this will sit on is anchored and leveled, the headlight will be positioned about 8 to 9 degrees negative of level. The stalk isn't adjustable, so the pipe that it will fit into will be tilted forward and strengthened with triangle gussets at 45 degrees as well. Stay tuned fellow gear heads and older tye dye hippies, the finish line is in sight. Thanks from Dennis.
A very good friend of mine, that is an excellent lady artist, and purveyor of all things old and cool and classic, carried this "Cole's Hot Blast " cloisonne/enamel/metal badge around with her for 25 years. She had no real use for it, other than it looked cool and was very well done as far as the way it was manufactured, many years ago by that ancient stove company. She gave it to me a few years back, and its one of the coolest things I own, it has a place on the table next to my couch. I thought to my self, this might look really cool on the "BUCK ROGERS" space nerd rescue beacon. But to do it right, I would need an extra one to balance out the appearance as seen in these photos. Mine is in excellent condition and the old style square nut turns and isn't galled up. So a quick dive into the deep end of the EBAY pool of fools, and I almost drowned myself! The cheapest one was $185.00, and the other one was at $275.00 ! I am currently at cost level $493.00 in this little exercise of making a cool thing, that does an illumination trick. I rolled my eyes and marched right back over to the table next to my couch, and put "MY" " Cole's Hot Blast" stove badge, right back where it always sits. Amazing that a modicum of sanity, crept into my cranium and found a perch upon which to sit! About dam time, if I say so myself ! As "Dirty Harry" said in the film. "A man's got, to know his limitations" Your results may vary! Hell, everyone's results may vary ! Thanks from Dennis.
So fellow space traveling cosmic HAMBER'S, while I am waiting for the cool bicycle wheels to be delivered, I dug out these two cool elements from my stash, and this will be the second project to be the partner to the "BUCK ROGERS" unit. Known as Baby Dietz and Big Stonco. The Dietz unit, had a red sealed beam, so that got cut today over at Tom Mcintosh glass here in Ballard. He just smiled as this was his second one he has done, and he did a great job on it as well. The big Cast aluminum STONCO housing is a very cool unit, these were designed specifically to be used on airport taxi ways, so they are beefy, and can take the elements, and originally had a 8 inch sealed beam, that was 6 volt. The replacement sealed beams are $80.00, and that was 20 years ago at Pacific lamp supply here in Seattle. This project is going to be so much easier and quicker than the BUCK ROGERS unit, and it should be obvious as to why and how. Its already hinged, and everything is easy to get to, and the back of it can be cut so as to allow the same type of Solar Powered LED, color changing spot light, to be fitted and secured in it. I will probably just use the white light mode on the LED spotlight, but I will experiment to see how the 4 color's make secondary and tertiary color's, that either clash of make something else cool, color wise. If not, then the white mode, that will be seen as the striking emerald color as seen here in these photo's. The trick is to get the spot light as far as back away from the lens as possible, because there are no magnifiers in the green glass, to disperse the light evenly. I will just have to see how it goes, I might even try to fit another clear glass lens, into this housing, to get the same effect as the original sealed beam in the BUCK ROGERS unit. Possibly something like this. Well, that's about its for now, I thought I would give you all something to look at while waiting for the bicycle wheels to be delivered. Stay tuned kids, more fun stuff is about to happen. Thanks from Dennis.
WOW, OH JUST FUCKING WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So Fellow space travelers, and cosmic hoodlums and assorted HAMBER'S These amazing 20", kick ass wheels, arrived today, and they are magnificent, simply works of art! "Money has no real value, unless it's spent" In my little warped mind, I feel that I have spent my money very well ! Well time to get cracking on the next steps of how to get the base built and the adapting of how the spindles will fit the post, that the BUCK ROGERS rig, will spin around on! Are these cool fellow HAMBER'S paying attention now? @J.Ukrop @Jeff Norwell @ClarkH @Hitchhiker @hotrodjack33 @Okie Pete@Ron Funkhouser Stay tuned as this incredible adventure evolves! Thanks from Dennis for following along !
Hey @Hitchhiker Hey Matt, just go back and start at page one, there is a complete explanation of where this cosmic creation is going to! Thanks from Dennis.
Well today has been a monumental day of surprises, and interesting adaptations! Earlier today I had posted a few pictures of a particular unique glass lens, that belongs to a friend of mine that is a car collector. He asked me if I knew what it was from, I said no, and I said, I am interested in purchasing it from you if you are willing, he said, well what do you have to trade ? We just grinned at each other, and then interesting developments happened. He had to come into Seattle to see about getting some fancy welding done, for his intake manifold for his newly acquired vintage 1940 Indian, inline 4 cylinder Motorcycle, and I had some parts that he needed for one of his 68 Chevy, 3/4 ton, long bed pick up truck's, its the one you see on the 4 post lift. Earlier, on the mystery lens and mystery light thread I had posted, this 28 year old HAMBER posted a shot of the matching lens, and had indicated that it was from an underwater light for a pool, the match was spot on. And he also identified the big light that you see my friend holding, as a light from a Packard automobile, again, he was spot on! Thanks to @JohnLewis. And @In_The_Pink, I am very impressed with the information that you both provided, it is greatly appreciated. Truly amazing, the power of the H.A.M.B. to be helpful in identifying dam near everything that us geezer gear heads like and cherish! My friend had brought the cool lens with the half moon magnifiers with him, and we matched it with the cool emerald green lens on the "BIG STONCO" Cast Aluminum, aviation taxi way, spot light housing, and I was astonished at how close these lens are to each other in size. So he gave it to me for the parts I had for his truck, fair trade indeed. The green lens for the "STONCO" housing, is just clear green glass, no real diffusion patterns at all, but I shimmed the lens with the half moons, with bits of evenly spaced clear plastic tubing and voila, it fits and its isolated and it is secure in the housing! So that is a major load off of my mind, so as the project moves ahead, no worries about having the proper lens, to be cool at night time. Now that the wheels are here, I will be conferring with a local welder, to do a custom aluminum base plate that will be adapted to the new wheel, so that part can get underway. Fortunately he is close by and it will be interesting to see how this develops! That's about it for now, fellow cosmic hoodlums and potential candidates to get a ride on the mother ship. As summoned by the soon to be fully operational and spinning around on its new base, "BUCK ROGERS" space nerd rescue beacon, and its two new pals, "BABY DIETZ and BIG STONCO" Are you not entertained? Nod your collective gear heads, to indicate YES! Stay tuned for further, exciting developments of this incredible adventure! Thanks from Dennis.
Well progress is moving ahead! I just now dropped off the" BUCK ROGERS" unit over at "JNL" welding, across from the old FOSS Maritime shipyard where I retired from. Jason used to weld for Broomfield's Marine exhaust systems, so he knows his trade well, and I have known him for a few years as well. He is a good fabricator and an excellent welder. So we are about two weeks out. So in the mean time, I will tinker with the " BABY DIETZ and BIG STONCO" unit, and see how that goes. So that's about it for now, as far as the BUCK ROGERS unit goes. Stay tuned, the finish line is insight! Thanks from Dennis. Time for a nap!
Well kids, there was a bit of interesting embellishment that got added to" BABY DIETZ" today. I opted to have interchangeable mascots that will be on the back side of the housing of the "BABY DIETZ" modified red light. We drilled some holes, and its very cool that either the top hat lady or the 57 Chevy hood rocket can be changed when the mood strikes. We also made extra cut outs on the holes that the stanchions will go through, the extra relief, is for the 3 16ft string's of white LED'S to slip through and not be pinched by the stanchions. I am very anxious to get this project rolling as well. That's about it for now till, the LED'S show up in the mail ! Stay tuned, more fun will happen. Thanks from Dennis.
Hey fellow traveler's and hoodlums out there in the H.A.M.B. Universe ! I just got this picture sent to me from Jason Smith of JNL welding, this is just tacked and mocked up, but he is spot on as far as what I originally intended as to how to properly have the stalk of the headlight bucket secured to the wheel. There will be a bolt and nut, that will let me remove the headlight bucket/stalk, from the wheel, a smart thing to do when traveling away from the house for a few days, so that tempted, spaced out meth zombies, don't try to steal it! The world has changed indeed! Your results may vary! HELL, EVERYONE'S RESULTS MAY VARY ! Thanks from Dennis, for following along on this epic journey !
Pretty Artsy stuff going on here Dennis...lots of vintage car parts certainly can uniquely compliment one another if one with an open mind can see where things can fit together and you have had many years of doing this even if it wasn't car parts. It's actually a form of Jalopy Art. It's a bonus that many of these parts have provision for lighting, mechanical function and are shiny to boot making for very interesting conversation pieces and visual art.
This is the first time I ever thought of putting a set of tail lights on a headlight bucket, plus the fact that it looks like a little space ship, just cracks me up! The fact that its actually functional and entertaining and is powered by the sun, come on man, it just doesn't get to be, any more cosmically fun than that ! I am glad that you can appreciate my insanity. Thanks from Dennis.
Ahhhh, the trials and tribulations of dealing with the precise mechanical world of the mysterious realm of bicycles and the nomenclature of said, hidden beasts ! As the engineering aspect of this art project progresses, there was and is a slight snag. As indicated in the previous picture of the mock up, all was going well, till Jason Smith of JNL welding realized, that the protective cover for the top part of the spindle, was made in such a way as as the wheel spun, it would continue to tighten up the jam nut, thus, in short order, would cause the wheel to stop spinning! So he requested that I provide the specific nut that goes to the very fine threads that are shown here. A trip to Tacoma Screw Supply, quickly drew laughter and furrowed brows and the time worn statement, "There isn't anything in this building that will fit that" As per expected, I was directed to go to a local bicycle shop, and see what they had that would fit that very fine thread. There was only one bike shop open yesterday on Monday, and the old pro Chuck in the service department said, "Oh that, well that is what the " freewheel body screws onto " He showed me the cluster of graduated sprockets, that are connected to the internal threaded unit, that attached easily to the fine thread on my wheel. I was ecstatic ! I said so what do I have to do to get that section out of that freewheel cluster ? Chuck said, well that section really isn't made to be taken out of the freewheel body, I said, I have access to a plasma cutter and other tools, he just smiled and said, well wait a minute, I may have something in the back room. He then produced a very cool thin nut with two notches that a bicycle spanner wrench would fit, and it was wired to a card and it had a part number ! Chuck said, this will fit that thread! Voila, success! I paid the $16.00 for the nut and was back on my way to the welding shop to get things going! Upon arrival, Jason and I tried to screw that nut onto the area of the fine thread, and it just didn't fit at all, very close, but the nut would not catch, it was probably off by a .0001 of an inch, just enough to really piss off anybody that possessed a modicum of intelligence, obviously not me or the old pro Chuck at the bike shop! Both of us did not try to see if that nut would actually fit the threaded area as I had the wheel with me there at the bike shop. So I had to return it, and get credit for it, and then I was advised to go see "Recycled Cycles" over by the University district, which will be open today, as most bike shops in Seattle are open on Saturday, hence allowing the staffs of these shops, to have Sunday and Monday off ! Stupid me, how did I not know that? Stay tuned fellow "BUCK ROGERS" devotees, of how this next chapter of, will the squirrel find the right nut, deep inside of an unexpected unit ! Thanks from Dennis, for following along, on this journey of the absurd. Your results may vary, HELL, EVERYONE'S RESULTS MAY VARY GREATLY! The bummer is, they don't open up till 11:00 AM ! Classic case of HURRY UP AND WAIT !
Good news this morning, the 8 galvanized metal funnels showed up this morning over at Ballard Industrial Supply. As soon as I get this nut deal dealt with after the bike shop opens up, then I will be able to get the dammed paper stickers off of each funnel and proceed with that section of the build. Its going to be interesting to see how the narrow portion of the funnel spout will compress down in the vice, to finally attach the funnel to the bicycle rim. John Harwood and I are expecting no real complications when we get to that stage of the build. Progress is happening fast indeed. Fingers crossed that the proper nut will be found at the recycled cycles bike shop, when they open up at 11:00AM today. Pretty excited about all of this! Thanks from Dennis for following along with the flow of money out of my wallet, just to have something cool, that light's up at night and spins in the wind!
Man oh man! What a great day this day started out to be, and indeed, the universe smiled down on me and my strange endeavor, to NOT be thwarted by the delicate fine threads of the amazing bicycle wheel that is the central piece of this art project. I was on my way to go see the people over at Recycled Cycles over by the University of Washington, but on the way there, I thought to stop by Wright Brothers bike shop in my neighborhood of Fremont. I thought, just maybe Charles, the local mystical, sometimes taciturn, kind of off the beaten track, of all of the so called bicycle guru's in my part of the world, just might have, "The elusive freewheel thin retaining nut" That is about the best way to describe what I was looking for, in regards to what Jason Smith the welder needed, to actually be able to finish his portion of this build. I was actually able to park right in front of Wright Brothers bicycle shop, and that is a rare thing indeed, so the magic was afoot, and the energy was a tingling in the air anyway ! I banged on the door of the shop, and Charles came to open up the door, he never leaves it open, nor unlocked, he is wary and suspicious of every body that enters his cool old school shop, its a classic in the sense that it has order, but there is a ton of stuff everywhere, and he is the only one that truly knows where everything is! I had informed him of the fact that I was going to buy the set of wheels, and he said, at that time, let me see the wheels when you get them, especially if you have any problems with them, he knew that they would never be a part of a bicycle. When I walked in after he unlocked the door, he said, so you got the wheels, and I told him about the plight of not having the "NUT" to apply to the fine threads of the area on that hub. He stopped me and said, what nut? So I told him of the adventure of the previous day, and Charles said, oh, well its not a nut, its an integral part of a single speed freewheel, and he continued to school me on what it was and what it did, etc, etc, etc. So that you all don't get bored with this, this is what he was referring to. As you all can see, its a very specific part, that has a definite purpose, in this case, its totally different, as its needed by the welder, Jason Smith, to accomplish a task, it was never meant for, but very needed, if "BUCK ROGERS" is going to come to fruition! Charles in his Birkenstock's and his well worn apron, walked over to a pile of stuff on the floor, and turned over a rag on the floor, and he picked up a greasy nut/ring similar to the one you see in the picture above. He had torn apart something the day before that had one of these parts, and just by chance, he wiped it off, and it threaded onto the hub perfectly! EUREKA, the holy grail had been found! He said, here its junk but the threads are good. I said WOW Charles, per chance you might have another one, just in case for the second art project I might need another one? He leaned over and opened up a drawer and he produced the one you see in the picture above. He said, this one you have to pay for, I said I will go get my check book, or can you take my credit card, he said, NOPE, CASH, only, I said how much, he said $10.00, and I just happened to have a $10.00 bill in my wallet, which I gladly gave to him, and we both just smiled, we both knew just how important this transaction was ! He smiled and said, by the way, that is a brand new "CAMPAGNOLO" so just so you know, that particular component isn't junk ! And indeed, I was most appreciative. I quickly scooted across the Fremont bridge to deliver it to Jason Smith, and Jason was smiling big time, because he knew that he could get on with it and get "BUCK ROGERS" ready to launch and get this project well on its way, to new adventures ! The finish line is in sight as far as the support stanchion on the wheel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Stay tuned fellow "BUCK ROGERS, BUCKEROOS" the fun is about to begin! Thanks from Dennis, for hanging in there to see what is up next !
ATTENTION, ATTENTION ! Hang onto your hats kids. Earlier today, about 3:30 PM, I got a text from Jason Smith of JNL Welding and these two pictures are what came over my phone. Behold, VOILA, "BUCK ROGERS, SAYS HOWDY" I was just blown away at what my eyes were seeing, Jason nailed it perfectly and I said, I will be right over to pick it up. He said, he had to go pick up his truck, he said, come over in the morning. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/U_GraDgyXb0 So the next phase is attaching the 8 metal galvanized funnels to the wheel over at John Hardwoods shop, which will be a fun project indeed. I have just now ordered, two 32FT strings of color changing LEDS, that will be woven over and under the funnels, around the circumference of the wheel, which will really add an impressive effect at night time. The solar collectors will be attached to the spokes of the wheel! This is going to be, major big time kick ass, in the world series of cosmic yard art, spawned from cool vintage parts, from the days back when automobile parts, were made with high quality, by people that really gave a dam about such elements! And that sure is rare in today's world ! I am sure that all, of you that have been following along on this strange little journey, have a smile on your faces, as "BUCK ROGERS" is definitely alive and well, and is almost ready to spin and grin in the night time ! Thanks from Dennis for your patience and participation! STAND BY FOR ADVENTURE ! By the way, OSHKOSH 2024 is going on right now !
And now, for a series of 6 little short video's of the emerging "BUCK ROGERS" unit. First a look at how it spins, and the comedy of a spontaneous smart ass ( me ) in Jason Smiths welding shop! https://youtube.com/shorts/GT3HBecDC1s?si=OZkRvlD9l5gy85-F
This shows the primary installation, on my worn out fence, of how it first looks on the stanchion. https://youtube.com/shorts/mTjg2FHAFcs?si=h8PRSBbFR3ao6IUI
The funnels are just temporarily taped onto the wheel, just as a proof of concept. On this coming Monday, I and John Harwood, will crimp the tails of the funnels flat, and then drill holes and attach all 8 of the funnels to the wheel. https://youtube.com/shorts/mZ53O-qI0Ns?si=UoMp_LHbwCorvr0d
These next 3 videos, as 1, 2, 3, Are three different views, of how cool this "BUCK ROGERS" Unit is at night time. I am also happy to report, that the two 33FT strings of Color LEDS showed up today, but they wont be installed, just yet. They will be installed, in an over and under weave pattern on the funnels via the circumference of the wheel, when we get the funnels permanently attached. Thanks from Dennis, for all of your patience and participation, as you all have followed me down this rabbit hole, of illumination and adventure!
So there you have it for now, there is a bit of tinkering still to go, but so far, the major pieces of what it takes to construct something like this, is over and now its just time to have fun and see if the actual mother ship, can discern the signals, or if the mother ship, will just go, " Move along, nothing to see down here" Thanks from Dennis. The next project, "BIG STONCO AND BABY DIETZ" is going to be even more fun, and a lot easier to accomplish! Yeah, famous last words!
The Jalopy Journal
