Alt Bike Culture - Hassles recreating muscle bike - similar to one of my teens only larger

The auto shop did a great job on the paint - only it didn't come out sparkling ruby. I can see hints of it under fluorescent light or very bright sunshine - but it's nothing like the sample.

I've been having several construction issues. The rear axle (3/8" solid) is two short and I'm having problems with the sissy bar clamps. I need some good nuts that fit, the two 3/8" nuts I got from Home Depot don't work. Does anyone know where to get end cap nuts for a finished look? The XT linear pull V brakes I took off my son's bike set too close together and I cannot seem to get the tension right to keep them off the rims when not engaged. I'm considering new black cantilevers - but have to figure out cable guides. For a while I thought the sissy bar wouldn't line up but that cleared up when I extended the seat post to fit my height.
Both wheels are off center complicating brake issues temporarily until I work on them.

Cosmetically I'm not sure about black versus white banana seat. The black spacers and stem definitely need to be traded for silver. I have white bolt on grips and avid silver brake levers. The shifter is black and I have regular black grips. If I use the black grips I can cut the right grip so the grip + shifter match the left grip size. I also have white or black cables.

Ride - I don't know but I suspect the handling will be strange. It'll be definitely a cruising style slow speed bike.

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9195/dscn0240zz.jpg
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/5159/dscn0239s.jpg
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/7163/dscn0241x.jpg

Looks NICE! Try some stainless steel "acorn" nuts for a finished look...if you do white seats, grips, cables. White pedals would look COOL also.

The rear axle (3/8" solid) is two short

Can you cold set the rear triangle to get it to fit?

Now it looks good rather than putting white seats. For me it looks decent now but I only worry about body pain it may give. Somehow am not feeling comfortable...

Can you cold set the rear triangle to get it to fit?

No, it's an aluminum frame. I'm looking for narrower nuts. I also have to put a spacer inside the dropouts to adjust the wheel centering and take up some of the slack. It's not a good idea to put too much strain on the frame. I found some acorn nuts at an online BMX site but now that I know the axle is 3/8" x 26T I'll see if Home Depot has some.
I'll try out a set of cheap take-off cantilever brakes tonight. If they seem to work better I'll buy a decent set and look for some good hangers to center the cabling.
Does anyone know an economical site to buy a very short threadless stem in chrome / silver?

IMHO....If you're using the black seat, black cranks, the black stem "accents" them nicely.

How are narrower nuts going to make your axle longer?

How are narrower nuts going to make your axle longer?

One nut secures the wheel to the dropout. The c-clamp then slides onto the axle and is held on by a second nut (preferably acorn nut). The problem is getting enough axle protruding from the c-clamp to start the outside nut. Using a thinner inside nut uses less room so the second nut can thread onto the axle.

Thats looking great - do you know any sites here I could pick up a frame, banana seat and sissy bar?

There's a lot of sites out there. These are nice people to deal with.
http://www.bikeworldusa.com/

Hit the tag sales for a frame.

There's a lot of sites out there. These are nice people to deal with.
http://www.bikeworldusa.com/

Hit the tag sales for a frame.

Thanks I'll check it out

Oh man - I wish I hadn't waayy too much good stuff to spend money on!

Thats looking great - do you know any sites here I could pick up a frame, banana seat and sissy bar?

This site also has some cool muscle bike goodies
http://www.choppersus.com/store/

I like what you have done so far. What frame did you use? It has the look of a Schwinn Fastback or Manta Ray.

I have a 79 Schwinn Spitfire 5 that I want to do something similar with. I found an old 5 speed top bar stick shift to use on it.

What muscle bike did you have as a kid? I had a Sears Screamer 2 and my best friend had a Sears Gremlin. Muscle Bikes and Hot Wheels! Those were the days.

Look forward to more photos of you build.

This site also has some cool muscle bike goodies
http://www.choppersus.com/store/

Thanks!

Thats looking great - do you know any sites here I could pick up a frame, banana seat and sissy bar?

The choppers us link above has all of that. Really you can use any old frame as a starting point. It just depends on you styling needs. Cruiser frames look the most like the old muscle bikes.

The choppers us link above has all of that. Really you can use any old frame as a starting point. It just depends on you styling needs. Cruiser frames look the most like the old muscle bikes.

Some of the newer Hybrid frames with the high front stem would probably also make a cool looking muscle bike redux.

That looks amazing, I think something from a cruiser would set it off noice