Originally Posted by
VRJAKE
This suggests Erickson may have continued to build frames after departing R+E, but perhaps only customs, and perhaps in very limited numbers.
I bet he made more frames on his own after '84 than he did during his R+E residency. But yeah, all custom one-offs, I don't think he ever dabbled in stock production models. Always a one-man shop, no employees. His shop for a number of years was in a one-car garage, about 50 feet from my house, so I used to go there pretty often.
Perhaps he was able to use R+E equipment to weld this frame, perhaps he tapped into any number of Ti builders from the period to build to his design. The owner did not know, thought perhaps a builder in Colorado may have made the frame?
Yes now that you mention it, that rings a bell. I think he had Kent Erickson (no relation) in Colorado build his Ti frames. If I'm remembering right, that's a good thing, Kent Erickson is a very talented Ti builder.
I'd be surprised if he partnered with R+E, I'm pretty sure there was next to no contact between him and them after he sold his share and moved on in '84. Things were just a little tense around the time of the breakup, and they were competitors after that. Though years later after Angel also sold and moved back to Panama, he came back for a visit and it was nice to see those two pal around again. They were good friends at the start of their partnership. I remember watching those two wrestle at a party once — the laughing, fun (and alcohol-fueled, no doubt) kind of wrestling, but they're both very competitive and they both really wanted to win. It got intense, furniture was knocked over, very entertaining!
Mark B