oldlugs

I just picked up a frame and fork at a going out of business sale, its a tall 24' frame with an American bottom bracket, its got a chain guard marked Pacific on it, and the head badge decal reads Nishiki.
I've got only the frame, fork, and chain guard.
I really can't find much on these online, the guy says the bike is from the mid 80's, it was ordered to convert an already sold bike to a larger frame for someone but the guy never brought the bike back. It was hanging, wrapped in cardboard in the storeroom of a bike shop since new.

The shop owner who was going out of business wasn't the owner back then, he worked for the guy later on but was told by the last owner where it came from. He never sold and knew little to nothing about Nishiki.

I'm guessing by the presence of a steel chain guard its a cruiser or some sort of cruiser, mtb hybrid?
There's no provision for front brakes, no hole through the forks and no cantilever brake mounts.
There's also no hole to mount a rear caliper, so this makes me think it was likely a single speed with a coaster brake?

What size tires did these come with?
Aluminum or steel wheels?
What Coaster brake would have been used back then?
(Being an Asian brand, I doubt it would have been Bendix).
What type of handle bars and stem?

What did they have for cranks? how long?
What years were they sold?

oldlugs

That looks pretty similar.
Mine is red, the Chain guard has the Pacific emblem on it versus the frame, and the top tube is blank. The rear brake bridge also is not drilled for the reflector or brake caliper.
I don't think I've got any larger one piece cranks around, but I may have some early BMX cranks if I can find a decent adapter for the BB.
I guess its either a coaster brake or I drill some holes for calipers and go with a single speed freewheel.
I also thought about maybe running a three speed rear hub but they ad a lot of weight.
I'm looking to make a fishing bike out of it, something with a rear rack, and low gearing to make it through the sand on the beach.

SquidPuppet

How the heck do you do that? They are Fatty McSolid Steel.

oldlugs

That's my experience too, any time I do the stand up and coast over something in the trail, I bend the cranks.
I'm not athletic by any stretch of the word, but I am 6ft 3" tall and 350+ lbs. I've never been lighter than 290 in my adult life, and that was 40 years ago.

I also had more than one bad experiences with carbon crank arms and with some earlier high end Campy cranks on road bikes. I realize I'm too heavy to ride over obstacles or bumps seated, but its often a matter of lifting only slightly off the saddle as to not break the bike. I've broken cranks, axles, stems, bent bars, and elongated bottom bracket shells in the past.

The larger, heavier bikes do best, the higher end the frameset or components, the faster they seem to fail.
I've rode a Schwinn varsity as a teen for over 27,000 miles till I could afford something better, that something better didn't last very long. After two Paramounts, a Raleigh Pro, a Nishiki Pro, and handful of Peugeot PX10's I gave up on anything that wasn't built like an army tank. The Chromoly is strong, but its thin and it does flex, its the flex that does it in with time. I found out that if I could stand up on a bike and see the frame flex as I pedaled, it wasn't for me.

I'm a long way from those days now and a 50 lbs heavier. I don't ride daily, but am looking to get back to do at least some riding of some sort to try and stay in shape as I get older. I'm an avid surf fisherman and I've been watching a few guys using these new fat tire bikes on the beach. While I suppose one of them would be ideal, I've not seen one in my price range and adding accessories to them is a new ball game as well. Most have custom built rigs welded up to carry rods, tackle boxes, or to pull trailers.

I think I can get by just fine with a normal cruiser, wet sand is like concrete and most of my riding is on the street or boards. I am in no way looking to be able to cruise up and down the beach with a loaded bike in soft sand, I'm just not up for that yet. The one fat tire bike I rode was a cheap one, it pedaled like I was towing a Buick behind me and the cheap parts didn't give me the feeling of confidence.

I got the Pacific for cheap, so all I need to do if find some parts now.
I'll need to find a decent coaster brake I suppose, and a pair of 26x1.75" rims. I've got some old steel rims but they weigh a ton. I also have to find an affordable tire suitable for the sand and street. A trip to the one bike shop here gave me sticker shock for a set of tires, they wanted $88 for two tires and two tubes and they were the cheapest China tires they had in 2.125. I'd really like something with a higher pressure than 30 psi too. Fat soft tires make for high pedaling effort and high rolling resistance.
I've got a seat post, and an old man type saddle, I do need to find an old school type stem and bars though. I'm more thinking a pair of straight mtb bars than what is on the bike pictured above. I like the bars level with my saddle.
What is the current go to coaster brake? Or should I just go find a good used Bendix or Suntour?

SquidPuppet

Get yourself a Shimano CB-E110. Very inexpensive, perform very well, well built, replacement parts are available everywhere if you need them. Shimano hasn't changed it in a couple decades, if that gives you an idea.

**** They are available in two different size spoke holes. One for 14G spokes, and one suitable for 12G spokes. Avoid the one with the large flange holes if you intend to use a "regular" size spoke.

**** I use spoke washers to pull the elbows deeper into the skinny flange. Makes for a more durable wheel.

oldlugs

I just noticed another difference between the frame I bought and the blue one shown above.
The blue bike appears to have water bottle bracket braze ons, mine does not. The only braze ons are the two tabs for the chain guard.

I found a junk beach cruiser with a set of aluminum wheels, the rims are 26x1.75", its got a black painted Shimano coaster brake hub, and a matching black front hub. The tires may even be usable if I want white walls.

SquidPuppet

Junk is subjective. What is it?

I'm requesting a double check on the rims. 44mm wide? Most are 32mm.

oldlugs

I'm not sure what the parts bike is/was, the frame as cantilever like an old Schwinn but with aluminum rims and whitewall tires. Both the top tube and bottom tube were cut with a hacksaw so it would fit in the trash I suppose. There was no headbadge, no decals. Someone gave it a really good coat of house paint or something thick applied with a brush. The bars were huge, but wrapped in about 6 layers of electrical tape. The wheels, stem, front fork is all I kept. I put the rest at the curb last night.

The rims are single wall, they're marked only with the size, 26x1.75. They're basically the same profile as an old Schwinn S2 rim from the 50's but in aluminum. The spokes are rusty on the rear wheel so I'll have to respoke it but that's not a big deal. I stripped it down and took the hub apart for some fresh grease and all looked good in there. The two rims lay flat on the table and have no flat spots so they should be an easy build. I just sort of wish I was building something better than a set of el cheapo rims to a pair of cheap steel hubs. The flat black finish on the hubs is pretty cheap looking. The only markings at all is on the brake arm.
I'm tempted to dig out an old Suntour coaster brake or even an old Bendix, something with a better finish on it. Its a toss up whether or not I want to put any good parts into a bike that's destined to be run in the salt air on the beach and boards.