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For over a couple of weeks I'd been trying to use any of my existing OEM rear brake master cylinders and get them to work properly. And matter what, they leaked at either the fitting end or at the plunger end. So, sometimes you just have to throw in the towel and install aftermarket $hit to get things to work as they should. Ordered one from Mid-West, did the install and now entering day four of finally having a functioning rear brake.
Finally got the tub and sidecar fender back from the painter. Tub is getting the inside sprayed with the same bedliner material that I had done to my 87 El Camino. Spent the last couple of days getting the parts back on the fender, figuring out how to best make my own harness and run the wiring, and then getting it mounted on the frame without scratching it all up. (65 models did not use a fender tail light, but I thought it looked naked without it). Hardware is from Colony; the tail light and top fender light are all OEM parts that I had rechromed or painted. Wheel hub and rim are OEM. Spokes are Buchanan stainless
Last edited by panz4ever; Oct 27, 2025 at 11:24 AM.
Wow, just skimmed through the thread. I didn't see in the thread, but is this a 100 point restoration? My hats off to you. While I enjoy restoration projects, I don't have the patience for a multi-year restoration. The 1990 Fat Boy I'm doing right now is a nut and bolt Day 2 restoration that will be ridden often (until I sell it).
I can't wait to see the finished product. Very nice work!
Got the inside of the tub finished with the same type of liner I used for the bed of my 87 El Camino. In the process of re-opening (drill and round file) all the holes so that I can add all the trim, seat, footrest and everything else associated. Slow work so that I do not muck up the paint. Probably a couple more hours work before reassembly begins.
Last thing I finished yesterday was the check strap. Ended up using strap material that was used for a 1960 Chevy Corvette rear axle rebound strap. Everything else I located was too thin and would have required layering and stitching the material together in order to get the proper thickness. Pattern and thickness appear to be the same. Had the spring powder coated. I do my own parkerizing. Found the brass tubular rivets at MacMaster-Carr. They come in a bag of 50, no option. It is the only place I could find them.
Wow, just skimmed through the thread. I didn't see in the thread, but is this a 100 point restoration? My hats off to you. While I enjoy restoration projects, I don't have the patience for a multi-year restoration. The 1990 Fat Boy I'm doing right now is a nut and bolt Day 2 restoration that will be ridden often (until I sell it).
I can't wait to see the finished product. Very nice work!
Kind of a 'yes and no' answer to that. Trying to get it as close to correct as I can (just because I guess). It will never be a 100 point bike. Almost all bolts are aftermarket (I do my own parkerizing) or Colony aftermarket. Windshield should be the peaked type and not the rounded type. Then there is a bunch of little things that are not correct for the year. I figure when I am done it should be about 85-90% correct.
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