These are some of the projects we are currently working on. Enjoy!
Highway Classics Shop Tour
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Bill’s Pan/Shovel
This bike was brought to us as a Pan/Shovel. The customer wanted to convert it back to a Panhead engine. We pulled the engine and completely balanced and blueprinted it with a Panhead topend instead of a Shovelhead. After running it on the run-stand and making sure everything was in working order, we installed it back into the chassie.
Gov’s PanShovel Engine Rebuild
This is a 1953 PanShovel (Panhead lower end with a Shovelhead top end). It came to us from Pennsylvania needing to be rebuilt. It is a 74″ engine. You might notice that we had to fabricate custom top end oil lines because of the unique nature of a PanShovel engine. Part of the final rebuild process includes balancing and blueprinting the engine. Our customer wanted to take it back with him after his stay in Arizona for the winter. We were able to complete this project in about a month and a half.
Chris V. 1947 Kuncklehead
This is Chris V.’s 1947 Kuncklehead partial restoration. We are rebuilding the motor and transmission and installing it in his chassis. We are also installing new handlebars as well as replacing his aftermarket tanks with original ones. After all the changes are made the final step will be painting to match.
This is the first time the engine ran after restoration.
Bill Rodencal Visits Highway Choppers
A couple of weeks ago Bill Rodencal, the head Restorer/Conservator at Harley Davidson, called and asked if he could visit our shop while he was in town on his family vacation. He stopped by on a Tuesday and visited for about two hours. We talked about all kinds of Harley and Indian motorcycles. We were thrilled and honored to have such an expert in the field spend time both chatting with us and checking out some of our current restoration projects. The following Saturday, we took a ride to Cave Creek, Arizona and met him for lunch. We had a great time and look forward to his next visit. Thanks, Bill, for visiting.
Ken (left), Dave (center), and Bill (right)
Engine Case Repair
These cases were brought to us severely broken, and the customer wanted to save them. We have the capability of repairing these cases almost as if they were new. As you can see from the pictures, the top part of the case was broken completely off. In order to repair them, we fit them back together and dovetail ground all the cracks. Then we proceeded to weld the case back together. Early Harley cases are extremely difficult to weld due to the quality of aluminum used in the castings. We have a very talented certified welder, in house, that makes it look easy. Once the cases were repaired, we fit both case halves together and finished alining all surfaces such as motor mounts and cylinder deck. Once the machine work was complete, we went back and refinished the surface to give it a factory original look.
Here are some before and after photos.
Mike’s 1948 Indian
We are making headway on Mike’s 1948 Indian Chief. The engine is balanced and blueprinted. We put all new gears in the transmission, including mainshaft and countershaft. The engine and transmission are joined together and installed in the frame. We also did the the last sheet metal fitting to make sure that there are no issues or extra holds and that it all fits perfectly prior to painting. Mike chose red and cream; he likes to refer to it as red and vanilla. Much thanks to Dave at The Shop in Ventura California. He is a long time friend and Indian guru.
Buddy’s 1947 Knucklehead Restoration
This is Buddy’s 1947 Knucklehead restoration that we completed. This is one of several motorcycles that we have restored or worked on for Buddy. We worked on this project for about two years off and on between other projects for Buddy and other customers. The bike is painted Skyway Blue (one of three original colors offered that year). We were very pleased with the way it turned out, as was Buddy.
Below is a video of one of the initial tests we did on the engine on our run-stand.
We test ride our bike projects several times before the customer picks it up.
Dennis O.’s 1946 Indian Restoration
Dennis brought his 1946 Indian to us this last summer for a full restoration. It was a complete bike but was fully disassembled. These pictures show some of the process that the bike is currently going through as we begin our restoration. The frame and finders have been sandblasted in preparation for bodywork and paint. We have cleaned the frame, removing all non-original pieces, and we have gone though most of the parts to see what is good and what is still needed. We will post more updates as we continue working on this bike.
1950 Indian Barn Find
This 1950 Indian was found in a barn in Pennsylvania. It was originally brought to us for restoration, but we talked the owner into getting it running and leaving it original after we saw how special this bike was. 1950 was the first year Indians were produced with a telescopic front fork as well as left-hand shift and right-hand throttle. It was also the first year for the 80 cubic inch motor. This bike was painted black when it came to us, but we removed the black paint to find the original Indian Red paint. Original-paint bikes are much more desirable than restored ones, in our opinion. In order to get it running, we may have to do a top-end on it. We also anticipate having to rewire and rebuild some components. This project may take a couple of months. These pictures may give you an idea of what an original 1950 Indian looks like.
