Classic & Vintage - Might be biting off more than I can chew...

So, I brought my mom's old bike home for a restoration. My biggest concern here is how to bang out the dents in fenders. Any other things I should lookout for?
Its a White's Auto bike of some kind... Weighs at least 40lbs
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=197583&d=1302634284

197583

Do any of the dents interfere with function? If they don't, could you just leave them? Patina definitely grows on you the more you have to fix it :).

You can push them out by hand from the inside with a baseball or large wooden spoon with minimal effort. Looks like a great project.

No, they don't interfere with function, just a cosmetic thing. The metal is pretty thick, but I like the idea of wood - maybe in combination with a leather mallet? Going to need lots of sandpaper and steel wool I think...

Yep, that's a project. Get a tetanus shot.. :)

I think it's great that you are fixing up your mom's bike. I just got an old Schwinn of similar vintage up and running. I tell you what, those old bikes ride really well. You forget how solid a bike can feel when they are made like the old ones.

Progress??
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/paulmargo/2011-12-22_17-03-24_170.jpg

Yeah, that's beautiful.
I vote for Rustoleum "Royal Blue". I've always wanted to paint a tanker that color.

It something. And welcome Pallen (cusco-awd) from DI.

Are you serious about getting them out? Do you have a Harbor Freight near by? They sell a body hammer kit with a few dollies. also a bean bag kit..... Just peck them out and get some lead sticks. and you can make that thing so pretty.

A set pf automotive bodwork dolly and hammer would work for fender dent removal.

Bend a bar of solder to the right curve and whale on it for a bit with the piece resting on a bag full of sand. They made those fenders pretty stout; expect to work up a sweat.

It something. And welcome Pallen (cusco-awd) from DI.

Oh hi! didnt know you were on here.

Thanks for the tips on the dents - I may check out what Harbor Freight has. I'm pretty new to body work type stuff.

A friend that does a lot of work with old bikes is helping with the mechanicals. He disassembled everything and had some spare parts from other bikes to donate. Huge thanks to him, I wouldnt begin to know where to go for a new crank and stem.

Do you have a body shop near by? See if they will give you a couple old body panels to
practice on. Some cheap hammers, dollies and a bean bag are all you need to get started.
Some 80 grit paper to check it as you go.

Slow and easy does the job. There are no speed secrets in this process.

The color turned out a bit more purple than I expected, and if I had it to do over, I would not have done metallic, but its painted.
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/paulmargo/IMG_20120205_134439.jpg

that colour looks pretty sweet to me! how's the de-rusting of the cranks etc.? Do you have to respoke the wheels? Good luck with the project and keep us posted!

The guy helping me with the mechanicals has a bunch of old bikes and parts. He found a clean shiny crank that is very similar. It has a smaller paisley pattern instead of the large paisley this one came with. He also has a set of wheels with new rims that uses the same New Departure hub. Its cheating a bit, I guess, but I'm pretty happy with the arrangement. :)

Nice progress on the project pallen! Even if you're cheating a little bit, it's no biggie, especially if you're trying to hit a deadline for getting it in the road.

Got home and this was on the back porch. My friend thats been helping me with this had everything assembled and ready to go. Very nice work cleaning the bars and grips, saddle, even head badge!
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/paulmargo/IMG_4951.jpg

nice work. looks like brand new.

I got to see the painted parts before pallen assembled the bike. Really nice work, especially on the fender dents. Hope to see the whole bike soon.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/paulmargo/IMG_4951.jpg

That looks amazing. Great work man. Are you going to give that back to your mother?

He better give it back, if he doesn't want to get grounded!!!

I hope your mom loves it. Great job!

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=197583&d=1302634284

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j47/paulmargo/IMG_4951.jpg

Great looking bike!
I'm sure your mum will be over the moon about it.

She saw pictures on the internet of it last night. Cant wait for her to see it in person. I would love more to see her ride it, but she says she cant ride a bike anymore due to back and other health issues. I don't want to push her to do something she's doesn't feel good about, but that sure would be fun. She's talked about how she rode that bike all over the place as a kid, so I know there are a lot of good memories there.

It looks beautiful! The chain and the pedals look like they still need a bit of attention. I know I'm nitpicking, a very small OA bath might be the ticket there. or, in the past I've had very good success at cleaning up an old chain with a wire wheel in an electric drill. I broke the chain, and held it against my cement floor with my leather work boot, and used the wire wheel to clean up each side of the chain (all 4 sides), then reassembled and cleaned & re-lubed the chain. The chain looked almost new, but ymmv.

I've also cleaned up pedals with a small wire wheel on a dremel tool, but they don't stay nice. I suppose a very light coat of oil on the metal parts wouldn't hurt as long as you kept the rubber blocks dry. In any case, your work is great, and that bike looks fantastic. I know my wife was ecstatic when I fixed up an old huffy camaro, your mom will be very happy.

As for concern over biting off more than you could chew: Ha.

I've seen your hand at several endeavors and you are a pretty able craftsman.

Not sure why the chain looks that way in the photo, in person it looks pretty good. The pedals are probably going to need to be replaced. They are actually broken in places. Unless I can find a way to repair them, I'll be putting something else on there.

Holmes saved me on the biting off more than I could chew part. I knew absolutely nothing about vintage bikes when I started this, no idea where to find parts or how to take these things apart. I might have eventually figured this stuff out with help from the internet, but that would have significantly lengthened the time on this project.

Bike swaps coming. You should be able to find some pedals if you need 'em.

1/8" chain is cheap (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AO9PYS/ref=wms_ohs_product) Why bother messing around for that?

Ha, chain IS cheap. I replace the chain on my wife's bike with new and it looks beautiful. On the first bike I worked on, I cleaned up the chain with a wire wheel before I knew about how inexpensive chain was. LBS guy was telling me I had to replace chainrings and freewheel along with the chain because they were wear mated. When I showed him the cleaned up chain he couldn't believe it, previously it was so rusted you could hold it out like a stick. I mentioned it here for the OP because I couldn't see from the pic if there was any funky skip-tooth or odd size action going on.

Using worn chain is very expensive in the long run. Chain is cheap but cogs, and especially chainrings, are expensive. Many/most C&V rings are unobtanium.

Good idea on the chain. Honestly, I dont expect this bike to get a lot of miles, but if a chain is that cheap, that's is a no-briner.

Chain -especially single-speed chain and most of the regular derailleur chain is so cheap I don't understand why people go nuts with high-end chain oils. Some of the oils cost more than the chain they are supposedly trying to save. Then there is the hastle. Why bother messing around that much? I put on cheap oil when it needs it and don't bother to clean the chain ever. I know people who take their chains off and go through all this massive process of soaking and cleaning and other arcane rituals.

I put the chain on and leave it there. When it goes bad or I need to take it off I throw it away and put a new one on. My time is worth a lot more than messing with a chain.