Kart Rods

[Orange Krate]

I love it when a plan comes together!

(Friday night is A-Team night at our house. Pizza and one episode per school week, just like when I was a kid.)

 

[itsid]

...
Hmmm a mini license plate seems to be needed now. A black & white one from a kids bike.
....

http://www.minipl8s.com/Pages/Bicyclesizelicenseplate.aspx

It's on my bookmarks for quite some time now..
I want one on my kart as well...
they make different sizes and colour schemes (even custom ones afair)

'sid

PS and thanks for the quick update

 

[Kelly Wood]

Continuing on.

Ah, morning time and I've got the paints I need but I guess I'm out of flat black.

... and you can't build a hot rod without flat black paint.

Off to Home depot I go for just one can. Coffee in hand, I wander around the store a bit thinking of what to use for the police light on this thing but it's clear that I'll be making my own in this case. There's nothing small enough to work just right and it has to have a vintage look to it. Pretty sure a bullet light from a harley or something will do the trick.

It's cold outside and paint doesn't dry well at all in 20 degrees, so I cleaned the body a bit, sat it and the flat black in front of the heater vent and let them warm up.

After warm, I rush outside, shoot the thing, and back in we go. I didn't shoot the entire hood, just around the edges... because that's gonna be white.

With that drying in front of the heater in a utility room, I get to the "bitter work" of making the stencils. They don't sell stencils the size I need nor is it the right font... so I made my own. Just do it on the computer, print it, size it up, then print the right one... then sit... and cut them out, very carefully. Just like the rest of them.

The beauty of this is the stencils will "stencil" perfectly as the body is metal. A bunch of little magnets should keep it in place when I do it and have no overspray.

After the meticulous cutting of the stencils, the paint is dry enough to mask off the front grille.

Once again, warm it all up, run outside on my porch and shoot it... then back in to dry. The spray paint I used on the grill is Valspar, brilliant silver (that metallic stuff) and I gotta tell ya, that stuff is shiny... and dries in like 5 minutes.

There's where I am now.

Back to stencil cutting. Time to make the star then prep the stencils for use.

Happy Saturday.

Kelly

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Absolutely fantastic!

 

[Kelly Wood]

Update, like 10 minutes later.

I was going to get back at the stencils then I looked down at the beast.

I noticed a weird shine on the dash where I'd picked it up and a small area where some tape was.

On the flat black areas, it was strangely shiny. You know, that kind of black widow/alien head kind of shiny?

The flat black had dried enough to touch and handle but wasn't fully dry...

so I started rubbing the whole thing, with my fingers.

Now it has a unique old, yet shiny look to it.

Pretty neat eh?

That's like tip #3 or so in my bag o' secrets. You paint first, then drill the holes & such, handle it, etc... gives it the old school look.

If it's perfect, you'll be mad when you do scratch it... might as well do it now. It's gonna be driven, not stared at behind a glass window.

Kelly

 

[Kelly Wood]

Hey Orange Krate!

I thought you'd like this.

When I was 15 or 16, I was on a cruise ship with my parents headed to Mexico, cabo san lucas, etc.

Part of a weekly show you like (and myself of course) happened to be filming part of the episode on the cruise ship I was on.

If you have it, look up the A-Team, judgement day part 2

Scootch to where I've shown in the pic... and you'll see me, 80's mullet & all.

Good times.

Kelly

 

[Kelly Wood]

Continuing on.

Mid afternoon, the christmas lights are up, house is cleaned, everything is done...

...and the paint is dry enough to mask the hood area off.

Done with that, let dry.

When that's dry enough, on with the stencils.

Thanks for watching.

p.s. You should smell my house. A mixture of Christmas scents and paint.

 

[machinist@large]

...... as the body is metal. A bunch of little magnets should keep it in place when I do it and have no overspray.
Kelly

That body it stamped steel?!?! That raises the cool factor more than just a little...... Pat

 

[Oxymoron]

You're uckfing awesome, man.

 

[Kelly Wood]

Update:

Finally, the day is over. Dinner done, all is well... and the white paint is touchable now.

Time for the Chevron. (that V emblem)

I think it looks super.

... and mean as h e ll.

A good day. Beer time... perhaps stencil time, in the dark.

Thanks for watching.

Kelly

 

[Doc Sprocket]

You certainly earned that beer.

 

[B.M.800]

Looks good!

 

[Kelly Wood]

Thanks!

Now, it's gonna have 2 sets of wheels. One for dirt (red wheels) and the street wheels.

The street wheels are going to be flat black as well. Seeing that cop cars, the type of look I want, have black wheels and those little center chrome caps, does anyone have any ideas on how to accomplish "baby moons" now?

They're probably going to be 2 to 2.5 In in diameter to look right. What to use...

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Trailer hub grease caps?

 

[Kelly Wood]

Oh heck ya. Thanks for that.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Anytime, my friend!

 

[machinist@large]

Thanks!

Now, it's gonna have 2 sets of wheels. One for dirt (red wheels) and the street wheels.

The street wheels are going to be flat black as well. Seeing that cop cars, the type of look I want, have black wheels and those little center chrome caps, does anyone have any ideas on how to accomplish "baby moons" now?

They're probably going to be 2 to 2.5 In in diameter to look right. What to use...

Ok, here's a question for you, based on what you recently posted while painting the grill area of Ms Moving Violation.

How well would the "Brilliant Silver" paint you used on the grill work on PVC? I'm thinking of the 'end of pipe' style pipe plugs (pipe caps), you know, the ones that could be used for coffee cups that you would install over the end of a pipe that is basically "hanging around".

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but most of the wheels and/ or hubs for wheels you have so far used have a fixed outside diameter; are there any PVC pipe caps that are in the zone, that you could then modify and paint?

Pat

EDIT: Doc's got a great one there as well (he posted while I was trying to type), but if you can't find something in that direction, do you think the PVC tap on caps might fill the bill?

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Having done enough plumbing, the only thing I can offer is that those PVC caps Have a VERY square profile. I don't think they'd fit the look. Good thought, though.

 

[Kelly Wood]

It sparked an idea.

use pvc, one that fits the hub snugly, or something. Then held in place with a set screw, allen set screw, something. It holds the cap, the chome cap in the end, over everything.

The pipe is flat black, only the cap is chrome. Hm....

Drawbacks: Pipe/cap thingy has to come off for wheel removal. (I sound like a machine now)

Anyone that has any thoughts, please chime in. It's how progress is made... and I don't have every idea.

 

[itsid]

3 3/8th is too large?

If not use Pedal Car Hub Caps (they look awesome!)

[ebay #321272415229]

To mount them, you can use those PE plastic Nut-Caps you can get at the hardware store and simply glue them into the hub caps.
that should hold them in place and is still easily removeable for a wheel change.

'sid