1959 FL "Hot Rod"
Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 10:09 pm
Before we get into the project itself, I've got a story I have to tell ya first! I've lived here on the island of Maui since '67, when I moved here with a somewhat custom '63 BSA Lightning. But I quickly got into the HD's over here, where I've had two panheads since '68 and '69......
I just got the title squared awaya couple years ago on my #2 panhead, the '59. The #1 pan is the '62 chop I've been riding "on and off", (mostly "off" lately....) since '68, when I finished a chop job on it. Then in '75 shipped it over and did my first long mainland ride (8,000 miles/6 weeks) on it (west coast ocean side roads mostly, LA up to Canada, all around Western Canada and across to great lakes, down to visit HD factory in Milwaukee, to Nashville, head back West, Salt Lake, Vegas, etc etc). The chop sits and waits now for me to finish 'er up with a rebuilt tranny and motor, new or respoked wheels, rebuilt front legs (the old 18" over wide glides were hanging up, didn't slide no more), it'll get there eventually........
#2 is a '59 FL that I got as a basket case in '69, but I put it together and had it sitting around for a coupla years, had it running once, used the plates off the '62, as I did not have title for it. Then I tore it down and started work on the cases to build up a drag racer blown 93" motor. Dropped that idea when it became obvious that the stock '59 cases were probably gonna get blown apart that way.
A couple years ago I finally ran down the last registered owner of that VIN, through a good friend of mine that worked at the local DMV. The last reg. owner it turned out is still alive, an old Hawaiian man named Joseph, and it turned out his sons are good buddies of one of the guys I have been riding with for the last 40+ years.....
Anyway, my old riding buddy, George, after I tell him the story, tells me he knows Joe Sr and his sons, and gets in touch with Joe Sr. Joe agrees to help me out getting the title squared away (I pay the fees, fines, etc), and he gets replacement owner's papers for that '59. Joe remembers selling it as a basket case to a guy, who sold it to another guy, who sold it to ???, 'cause at that point it got lost, he didn't even know the name of the guy I bought it from. I didn't worry about the title back then, as I was just going to use it for parts for my '62, and build the blown 93" race motor. Later I got interested in putting it back on the road, but the lack of title was a problem! So the pile of parts sat all these years in the back of my shop under a couple of blankets and lots of boxes of other parts. hidden away......
So now with help from George and Joe, I finally get all the papers in order for Joe, and he signs off on them, and we transfer the title to me, took about a year for all this to happen, but I finally got the legal ownership papers for the '59 a couple years ago in my name! Now I gotta find the energy and the time (I'm 72.....) to put both pans back on the road in good shape! I have enough parts to make a nice lookin' little lightweight hot rod bar hopper out of the '59, and keep the '62 as the old rigid stretch it always was.....
I couldn't believe my luck on this one, it usually doesn't work out that well for me on most things....>>
Started one of my new private web pages for the '59 project, there were others over the last couple of years, but some of them didn't turn out so well. Put in a listing of the old links here if you want a peek. As I get time, I'll pull some of those pix off of some of those other pages and post 'em here....
Aloha,
"2Loose" Willy
I just got the title squared awaya couple years ago on my #2 panhead, the '59. The #1 pan is the '62 chop I've been riding "on and off", (mostly "off" lately....) since '68, when I finished a chop job on it. Then in '75 shipped it over and did my first long mainland ride (8,000 miles/6 weeks) on it (west coast ocean side roads mostly, LA up to Canada, all around Western Canada and across to great lakes, down to visit HD factory in Milwaukee, to Nashville, head back West, Salt Lake, Vegas, etc etc). The chop sits and waits now for me to finish 'er up with a rebuilt tranny and motor, new or respoked wheels, rebuilt front legs (the old 18" over wide glides were hanging up, didn't slide no more), it'll get there eventually........
#2 is a '59 FL that I got as a basket case in '69, but I put it together and had it sitting around for a coupla years, had it running once, used the plates off the '62, as I did not have title for it. Then I tore it down and started work on the cases to build up a drag racer blown 93" motor. Dropped that idea when it became obvious that the stock '59 cases were probably gonna get blown apart that way.
A couple years ago I finally ran down the last registered owner of that VIN, through a good friend of mine that worked at the local DMV. The last reg. owner it turned out is still alive, an old Hawaiian man named Joseph, and it turned out his sons are good buddies of one of the guys I have been riding with for the last 40+ years.....
Anyway, my old riding buddy, George, after I tell him the story, tells me he knows Joe Sr and his sons, and gets in touch with Joe Sr. Joe agrees to help me out getting the title squared away (I pay the fees, fines, etc), and he gets replacement owner's papers for that '59. Joe remembers selling it as a basket case to a guy, who sold it to another guy, who sold it to ???, 'cause at that point it got lost, he didn't even know the name of the guy I bought it from. I didn't worry about the title back then, as I was just going to use it for parts for my '62, and build the blown 93" race motor. Later I got interested in putting it back on the road, but the lack of title was a problem! So the pile of parts sat all these years in the back of my shop under a couple of blankets and lots of boxes of other parts. hidden away......
So now with help from George and Joe, I finally get all the papers in order for Joe, and he signs off on them, and we transfer the title to me, took about a year for all this to happen, but I finally got the legal ownership papers for the '59 a couple years ago in my name! Now I gotta find the energy and the time (I'm 72.....) to put both pans back on the road in good shape! I have enough parts to make a nice lookin' little lightweight hot rod bar hopper out of the '59, and keep the '62 as the old rigid stretch it always was.....
I couldn't believe my luck on this one, it usually doesn't work out that well for me on most things....>>
Started one of my new private web pages for the '59 project, there were others over the last couple of years, but some of them didn't turn out so well. Put in a listing of the old links here if you want a peek. As I get time, I'll pull some of those pix off of some of those other pages and post 'em here....
Aloha,
"2Loose" Willy