# Go Ahead and Laugh; early 80s Huffy Military themed build on the budget!



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

well. what i started with;
the Huffy Scout ATB; with a laptop bag lashed to it, as I got it;








the frame of the Huffy Scout ATB; after disassembly









the parts I hand painted with model paint; Suntour HERO derailleurs and no name Japanese brake caliper arms in Testors Dark Tan Enamel









the frame painted; in Rustoleum's Satin Nutmeg (only $3.79 locally compared to Aervoe Field Drab's $9.97!!)









close up of the very slight difference between the two paints; front brake assembly on the fork









front Derailleur and Bottom Bracket









Rear Derailleur









rear brake assembly;









I also plan to put on a couple hard panniers, or I could just stick to soft bags...hmmm. 
Mocked up with the wheels and pannier bags on the rack, I need to find the right hardware or rig something up for the rack to mount to the frame at a 3rd point (or 3rd and 4th points, we'll see) 








the area between the rack and the seat post/seat stay cluster; originally as a baby carrier, there was a piece to mount it to where the seat cross bolt is; but since I got it without that part, I am not sure how easy it is to find..









the handlebar set up the way it is now; on one hand, it's the same level as the black bike's handlebar, on the other hand, it does look funky, and because the top tube is welded to the main tube, I don't know if its strong enough? it WILL get painted, if I don't replace it with a more normal handlebar rig..









the crank rings and crank. main gear (bigger one) is a 56 tooth, the smaller one is something like 48 tooth, which is only 2 below the biggest gears I have on other bicycles. 









and in the natural environment!





































and at my parents' garage in full bright daylight;









no rack; and yes that is one of those airsoft plastic helmets that is apparently rated for BMX and cycling..tho it will be replaced by a more reputable helmet (probably a Pro-Tec half shell style)
for comparison; that helmet is painted in Krylon ultra-flat Olive Green; and you can see how it contrast with the satin/semi gloss nutmeg paint on the frame..in daylight, the nutmeg/coyote brown blends better with the ground/environment, while in shade, the olive blends better against trees and foliage, but not against the ground. most of the trails for bicycling has the same color features as this one shown..and yeah, I am aware of the seat's positioning...just tightened the seat rail clamps.

the painted parts are Original Equipment (as received on the Huffy Scout when I bought it for $25); the black brake levers are Stars, the thumbies are Shimano SIS click-shift, not sure how old... the wheels; are Araya RM20s 26x1.5s with walmart tires I think.. I might get a set of no name alloys and paint them, or get a set of black wheels, not sure yet.


----------



## Metalhack (Aug 13, 2011)

I'm not sure if its me but I can't see the pics.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

sorry, I edited the pics; apparently on my other forum; their software automatically put sizes in IMG tags.. which didn't work here.

As for WHY did I do it...well. 1) its an old huffy from the 80s, I think 1983ish?, mass produced and generally considered bottom of the pile...frame tubing is pretty good, just looks crude on the drop outs and welds/brazes.
2) I wanted to do it as cheap as possible....
3) it was fun. 
I plan on getting either decals of Army style font with the name of the bike, OR a stencil kit so I can spray-bomb the lettering myself....in dark brown. maybe replace handlebar grips with a set that's close to the saddle color...or replace the saddle with a black one..


----------



## apat13 (Jun 19, 2006)

I don't get it.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

eh. I don't have to justify myself to anyone  this being VRC...this bike fits the Vintage and possibly Retro part..maybe it aint a Classic in the sense of a Bridgestone or Mountain Goat or Ritchey....but it is from the same era; and it's something I've wanted to do for quite a while...build a bicycle with a militaryish theme....but instead of using the all too common olive green or dark greens I've been seeing EVERYWHERE...I decided to go a little bit more modern in paint colors that would work for this environment, which is Coyote/Nutmeg Brown...using military bags instead of going the route of getting custom bike bags for this also fit into the "cheap military bike" theme I have going on...while leaving the black commuter and cyclepro commuter and Mountain Goat alone 
canteens because there's no frame eyelets/mounts for cages; army bag up front because I don't currently have a rack bracket; two smaller military pouches for my first aid kit and gloves and snacks; when i do get the bracket for the rear rack, it will have either 2 pannier bags or two hard panniers to balance the weight out for bikepacking.


----------



## apat13 (Jun 19, 2006)

On the contrary, I am pretty sure you have to justify _everything_ you do in the VRC forum. This forces one to consider what the difference between "vintage" and "old" is, and I will agree with you that it is certainly not a classic.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

apat13 said:


> On the contrary, I am pretty sure you have to justify _everything_ you do in the VRC forum. This forces one to consider what the difference between "vintage" and "old" is, and I will agree with you that it is certainly not a classic.


I don't see in the rules where I have to justify sharing what I like to  besides; it gives people ideas of what to do to their throwaway frames....
it functions pretty good, the frame is decent..heavy yes but decent..and if it gets stolen...no big loss for me. I also think it's a good example of a cheap mass produced American made frame set that got Japanese parts on it...seems the Suntour Hero derailleurs were before the Honor and the XC groups...so even though they might be considered garbage on anything else...they fit the Huffy's "oh so cheap" theme  
and I learned quite a bit of how to take a bike apart and put it back together along with adjusting stuff here and there and tuning the thing in general....so it's a learning experience, and to be frank, you wouldn't cry over bending this frame in an epic fall, would you?  
way I see it, its kind of like the difference between the AMC/Nash cars and the Italian cars of the 60s and 70s....


----------



## jaxes88 (Oct 17, 2012)

Great job and I'm glad to see that you're having fun doing it. If people knock it for being a huffy that just means that they have lost touch with mtb'ing is all about, it's about having fun, not showing off how rare or expensive your stuff is. If it's fun bike to ride down a trail on then it fits my definition of good. Glad to see you went with the desert camo too, like you seen OD seems to be over used.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

precisely! it is fun to ride it around! it has that feel of being more sturdy than the MT1800 I have.....(the black commuter); and the steering is OK..pretty good when going downhill....brakes could stand to be better, but at least the cables are new  yeah, the camo scheme..it's one of the middle colors from the current camos used by the USMC and possibly the Army in Multi-Cam... not too light like the Khaki stuff, not too dark like the mud browns and greens, and because its not green, its different from practically 90% of the "military bikes" out there


----------



## apat13 (Jun 19, 2006)

CamoDeafie said:


> I don't see in the rules where I have to justify sharing what I like to


 You obviously have not gone through many VRC threads



CamoDeafie said:


> besides; it gives people ideas of what to do to their throwaway frames....


 Yes, throw them away.



CamoDeafie said:


> it functions pretty good,


 Doubtful. Even brand spanking new and correctly tuned this is only borderline safe to ride on the road, and downright dangerous to ride off road. They come with warnings that they are specifically "not for off road use".



CamoDeafie said:


> the frame is decent..heavy yes but decent..


 It is heavy, yes. Decent? No. It uses the lowest grade materials available for the task and the cheapest possible assembly methods. Just because you like it doesn't change what it is. Much like a honda civic with a 2 foot wing, fart can exhaust, custom graphics, wicked dark tint, and huge rims....it is still just a honda civic and always will be.



CamoDeafie said:


> and if it gets stolen...no big loss for me.


 You are correct sir.



CamoDeafie said:


> I also think it's a good example of a cheap mass produced American made frame set that got Japanese parts on it...seems the Suntour Hero derailleurs were before the Honor and the XC groups...so even though they might be considered garbage on anything else...they fit the Huffy's "oh so cheap" theme


 Garbage on one bike is garbage on any bike. Although you are correct, they are as cheap as it gets.



CamoDeafie said:


> and I learned quite a bit of how to take a bike apart and put it back together along with adjusting stuff here and there and tuning the thing in general....


 Considering my tools of choice for working on huffy's are a mallet, adjustable wrench, and a rusty screwdriver, I am not sure there is anything good to learn from it 

seriously though, if you had fun doing it and learned something good for you. I just don't get what this is doing in the VRC forum.


----------



## zygote2k (Jun 5, 2011)

HA!
You should take this to the next big mountain bike race. They have a special event dedicated to bikes of this type. If you were looking at the event calendar, it would say, "HT 9pm". That meant at 9pm, they would set the Huffy on fire and Toss it over a hill or if it was a good event and someone brought one of those catapults then it would go further.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

apart13; riddle me this; 
where is the warning sticker?
on the frame when I got it, there were only these;
Huffy Scout A.T.B. All Terrain Bike Geometry
and SCOUT, 
Made in USA
Huffy, Dayton USA
...even Huffy's serial number guys have NO idea when this was made...which puts it way before the outsourced ones....
granted; it might've used cheapest materials at the time...... but there's no cracks, no bends in the frame, which surprises me....I would know, I bent two 1990s Huffys curbjumping and falling down. 

anyways. I really am curious now as to just when did Huffy nosedive in quality...because I see that the 50s and 60s and possibly 70s Huffy/Huffmann bicycles do go for a decent amount of money (more than what I spent on this whole build, which is....not much to say honestly lol) 

but like i said, go ahead and laugh  the only thing that's important, I'm having fun with this thing, until I change the chain on the Mountain Goat and give it a better saddle than what it has on it  chain stretched on the Mountain Goat, so it needs changing, and saddle...way too uncomfortable for me.


----------



## Metalhack (Aug 13, 2011)

Looks cool....


----------



## sho220 (Aug 3, 2005)

apat13 said:


> Doubtful. Even brand spanking new and correctly tuned this is only borderline safe to ride on the road, and downright dangerous to ride off road. They come with warnings that they are specifically "not for off road use".


If it's so scary unsafe, how is it still around after all these years?

Not saying I'd ride it off road, mind you...


----------



## apat13 (Jun 19, 2006)

The title of this thread starts with "Go ahead and laugh" so; HA. 

Huffy has never made a mountain bike, they make toys that look like mountain bikes. 

Do a post on fixing up your Goat....that would be wholly appropriate.


----------



## apat13 (Jun 19, 2006)

sho220 said:


> If it's so scary unsafe, how is it still around after all these years?
> 
> Not saying I'd ride it off road, mind you...


Easy, it was never ridden off road.


----------



## sho220 (Aug 3, 2005)

apat13 said:


> Easy, it was never ridden off road.


meh...I've seen kids jump 10 foot gaps on old beater 10 speeds....it'll be fine...maybe...


----------



## sho220 (Aug 3, 2005)

If you can't look at this bike any other way, consider that it's not being dumped into a landfill. Would I ride it off road. Uh...no. Will it be fine for tooling around bike paths or the neighborhood...probably. He didn't do the history of bikes any favor by saving it, but I'm sure the environment appreciates it. I've saved pieces 'o crap before just for that reason alone...nothing wrong with that...

This doesn't need to be dumped into a landfill...



If it can be turned into this...


----------



## sho220 (Aug 3, 2005)

sorry...duplicate posting...my web browser is tripping out...


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

oh yeah, I plan to post up the Goat when it gets finished. there's already a thread a couple pages that has the pics of the two Goat and MT1800 that I brought home from the state surplus warehouse; I paid $30 for the Goat, imagine that!  I WILL be getting rid of the 95ish Schwinn Frontier (its got crappier shifters and wheels than the Mountain Goat), maybe the MT1800 after I finish the CyclePro....and possibly buying another bike, if priced right and of a reputable company.... hopefully one that needs new paint, which would give me an excuse to paint it in another camo color


----------



## Boy named SSue (Jan 7, 2004)

zygote2k said:


> HA!
> You should take this to the next big mountain bike race. They have a special event dedicated to bikes of this type. If you were looking at the event calendar, it would say, "HT 9pm". That meant at 9pm, they would set the Huffy on fire and Toss it over a hill or if it was a good event and someone brought one of those catapults then it would go further.


Our Huffy tosses were always a competition to see who could throw one the furthest. A friend twisted his ankle and ended his season in one.


----------



## sho220 (Aug 3, 2005)

CamoDeafie said:


> oh yeah, I plan to post up the Goat when it gets finished. there's already a thread a couple pages that has the pics of the two Goat and MT1800 that I brought home from the state surplus warehouse; I paid $30 for the Goat, imagine that!  I WILL be getting rid of the 95ish Schwinn Frontier (its got crappier shifters and wheels than the Mountain Goat), maybe the MT1800 after I finish the CyclePro....and possibly buying another bike, if priced right and of a reputable company.... hopefully one that needs new paint, which would give me an excuse to paint it in another camo color


Love that Goat...I am so jealous.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

sho220; I DID consider turning the Huffy into a single speed......using a pair of spacers and turning the rear wheel into a single speed......but the presences of hills around here and shallow trails where I can ride within my skills; precluded that, especially if I'm considering this for bikepacking tours on forest roads and relatively flat areas, nothing like riding more challenging trails, which I definitely would be using the Mountain Goat for....
yeah imagine my surprise when I saw it in the State Surplus warehouse


----------



## apat13 (Jun 19, 2006)

sho....comparing a lugged cromoly frame to that huffy isn't really a fair shake. Yours was at least built with the intention of going off road....it has real brakes after all.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

the laptop bag/huffy combo was a CL ad; the Mountain Goat, well, it didn't have a tag saying WHY it was there..unlike the MT1800 black bike that had one saying "abandoned"....what goes on is that the Oregon State Police, and city departments all send their surplus equipment, seized bicycles, heavy equipment, surplus vehicles to this place, State of Oregon Surplus warehouse, where they sort through them and put some on Ebay, (Oregonmotors2000), some in the room for direct sales, and hold auctions.... the prices are often reasonable..lowest was $25, highest, $300something for what looks like last year models .... there was a Cannondale hardtail for $150, a Specialized RockHopper that I missed the chance on the next time I went; and several Murrays, Roadmasters, Magnas, truly crappy bikes with beat up paint, rusty wheels, torn seats.....the majority were womens bikes and BMXs.....so basically..yes "stolen bike discount store" depending on the circumstances. What they told me is basically, after 90 days in the evidence vaults if stolen, if they are not reclaimed by their owners, they are forfeit. the majority of the good bikes were abandoned in storage units or in fields or so on, while the beat up ones were often the stolen ones as well as the BMXs . when I got the Mountain Goat; it had 5 or 6 random stickers on it, lots of mud and crud and grit, flat tires, some crappy looking heavy tubing rack with the top stays being completely rusted over...crappy fenders....I took all that off and the stickers, gave it a good wash down, then waxed and buffed the frame and fork, it came out looking MUCH better. the next thing is to get a chain tool, new chain, new seat, and work on it...maybe new brake pads, and put the Arayas back on it (they're currently on the Huffy....as a place holder until I get a set of cheapo wheels for it)


----------



## jaxes88 (Oct 17, 2012)

CamoDeafie said:


> I also plan to put on a couple hard panniers.


If you're gonna go that route, some ammo cans would make great panniers and go great with the military theme


----------



## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

Hmmm. Not a mountain bike. But good effort.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

jaxes88 said:


> If you're gonna go that route, some ammo cans would make great panniers and go great with the military theme


well, that was the original plan, until the company selling the specific ammo cans I wanted, balked at shipping them (over a month and not shipped....something's wrong here..) so most likely it would be the Sportsman's Utility Dry Box from MTM Case-Gard in army green or camo; at 15" long, 13" high, 11" wide.. which is the same size as the "ammo" cans I wanted from Load-Up....



> hmmm not a mountain bike, but good effort


well, its also not a cruiser or road bike either; it doesn't do any specific thing excellently, however, it does most things OK.... so its rather deserving of the term "all terrain b(whatever you wanna say)" lol

at the most, when the frame fails, at least I will have a good excuse to find a good/better frame at the State Surplus Store and swap the brake parts, maybe shifters/derailleurs to that frame and paint it the same color....


----------



## tductape (Mar 31, 2008)

Will it stay in tune. Is it safe? Does it make you smile.


----------



## CamoDeafie (Jan 5, 2013)

we shall see if it stays in tune; the brake calipers are not original to the frame, nor are the brake levers and shift levers, however my big worry is the derailleurs. I do have a set of Shimano RD2TY derailleurs in a bin that I can swap onto if the Suntour things don't work out.

as far as "safe", so far, the first few rides I've done with it have been uneventful, though, I really do not have a great basis of what is safe and what is not, what with the kinds of bikes I tend to ride...... but it doesn't feel so squirrely when riding, nor does it feel like it will fall over at the slightest turn; a little front heavy due to the bags I put up front, but the rear rack set up ought to balance it out..and because it has a rather long wheel base compared to the black commuter, it feels stable enough.


----------



## trodaq (Jun 11, 2011)

Um..........Nice lawn


----------



## Berkley (May 21, 2007)

CamoDeafie said:


>


The chainstays and seatstays are pinched over the rear dropout. They *might* be tack welded if you're lucky, but it doesn't appear so.

Definitely wouldn't take it off road. Would be cautious on road.


----------

