This project consists of a 1980 Beach Cruiser 26" frame, 1952 Spitfire Middleweight front and back fenders, and 1969 Stingray handlebars. Tires and rims are aftermarket, as well as the seat. Those comfortable air cushion grips are by Schwinn; and the crank and sprocket are off a 1976 Stingray. The pedals are Schwinn, as well. I took some ideas from the ever-so-popular GT Kruiser, The Moon Bicycle, with that West Coast attitude. As you can see, I did some chopping, a little here, and a little there. And, I might add, I did some flipping-over on the rear end, as well. As I chopped, I would bend here and rake there. Then,I did some constructive mending, and some cutting away at the fenders that were badly damaged from the years gone by. Then I did some undercoating to the fenders to give it that BikeRod&Kustom look. So, with that in mind, my budget is right on course. Now that the bodywork is done, I chose the closest colors I could find. I took an idea out of an airplane hobby book, for the scallop look on the tank. Then, when the colors were nice and dry, I did a urethane finish on it. So there you have it-the Diversity Schwinn Kustom Kruiser 26", designed and built by
Larry Lujan.
Portfolio: Larry Lujan
Below: Blood Sweat and Tears & Flaming Hearts- A fine pair of
Schwinn kustoms for the ultimate in father/son cruisin'.
I bought this bike at a local thrift store; it's a 1977 20" Schwinn. There's a lot of kids and clubs out here in Southern California.  So, it's fair to say I jumped on the bandwagon of creating a custom bike. I made this decision because the wheels, handle bars, seat, etc. were not original. I stripped down the bike, and was on my way to creating a custom bike, not just to look at but to ride!
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I decided to build a kustom 5-speed Schwinn. I took a 10-speed Schwinn Varsity that I had lying around and removed the gears and one shifter. Then I got the small front sprocket and put it on a Sting-Ray crank. Let's not forget the chain and derailleur. Now that we have the power train, let's go to work on the frame. Now I cut out my 1/16" steel plates for the tanks and the half-moon plates for the rear of the frame.
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Then, I used the piece of shifter bracket I had cut from the Varsity and welded it to the downtube of the frame. My next step was to assemble the bike for my son to test ride. I then found that I needed to weld ¼" I.D. tube to the right lower chainstay, to use as a guide for the shifter cable. My next step was to prep the bike for the bodywork.
For the Lad:
Blood Sweat and Tears
I then primered and sanded to prepare for paint, which is a black lacquer base. The idea for the flames came from an early '80s issue of EasyRider, to give it that nostalgic look!
For the Dad:
Flaming Hearts

The idea for my new bike, Flaming Hearts, came from Ree Cycles and the GT Dyno Kruisers. A little bit of that, and a little bit of this.
My choice of frame for this project was an old '79 Schwinn Cruiser. Since I had a frame to work with, I was thinking of a way to apply that kick-back look. Starting with the rake of the neck, I removed 1½" from the top bar. I applied very little heat to the bottom bar. Then I removed the center post and subtracted  3 ½" from that. At this time the bike was assembled in its raw form. Welds were done here and there, so I could test the ride before going any further. I continued building the frame by adding tank plates and rear half moons, etc. Now, after a week riding this bike in its rough form, checking for any problems, I'm happy to see that my work is now ready for the next step. My bodywork is now done. My choice of colors is red & white. Overall color is a white base with red
flames. Once again I took the idea from a hot rod Harley magazine. I bought new rims and black wall tires, seat, u-bars, and grips. I really enjoy riding this bike. It was really fun building it.
Mr. Ranger
Huffy Kustom Kruiser 5-speed. This was a basic early 70's coaster brake Kruiser. It was an original kandy red in kolor. The years had claimed much of the charactor that this bike portrayed, so I decided to make something special of the frame. I stripped it all down, then took the frame and removed what was left of the kandy red; which was very easy, since the paint was well sun-bleached. Once I had it in bare metal, I decided to weld some plates to it- tank only. After doing that, I continued with the next step, bodywork; and primered it well. A good foundation is very important to me, since that is what reflects a good finish. Allowing each coat of primer to flash at least 8 to 10 mins, I chose a forest green urethane enamal for this Kustom Kruiser. Then I took a little white and added it to a little forest green, and got a pastel. Then, when my son was doing his home work one night; I noticed he was learning about the American Indians. I noticed a firebird in his history book, and added a little of that to the graphic on the tank and other places, as I continued with the frame. The drag bars and the gearing came off an older mountain bike, and the rims were CMC, real MEATY spokes. So there you have it, The Mister Ranger Bike. Yogi would have been proud to have ridden this bike!
Trick or Treat
This AMF 26" was one step away from the dumpster. This one, and an old but salvageable Schwinn 10-speed without rims, were given their last rites! But, the wheels upstairs were a- turning. I could see the gearing of the Schwinn 10-speed on the AMF Kruiser. Yes the vision was there, but I didn't have the heart to share it with the guy who was throwing them out. I'm sure you know where I'm coming from? So, I grabbed my new-found treasures, and bid the nice ol' guy goodbye. When I got home I GOT BUSY!!!!!, starting with the AMF. I started stripping the many spray can jobs this frame had picked up on the way. Now she is in her birthday suit! I noticed, when the smoke cleared, the reason this bike was going to the dumpster. The left rear drop-out where the wheel nuts up, was loose and coming out of the frame. So, I got out the welder and repaired as needed. At this time, I primed. Down the road, I chose the famous Harley kolors: black & orange. Now, as I continued on, I said to myself, "How about those ol' Schwinn fenders you have hanging in the garage, the ones with all those dents"? So there I go banging a tune on these ol' American Schwinn fenders. trying to make some good sense out of them; bringing them back to life. So here I go with the paint scheme. I don't know where I came up with this one, sometimes it's best to not question it. Everything is now painted & the Schwinn Varsity parts are now tuned and oiled. The bike is now complete; and off to work I go!  And guess where I'm going?  Right to the guy who was throwing them away. We don't have to go any further with this, I'm sure you get the picture.
"Diversity"
Schwinn Kustom Kruiser
This project consists of a 1980 Beach Cruiser 26" frame, 1952 Spitfire Middleweight front and back fenders, and 1969 Stingray handlebars. Tires and rims are aftermarket, as well as the seat. Those comfortable air cushion grips are by Schwinn; and the crank and sprocket are off a 1976 Stingray. The pedals are Schwinn, as well. I took some ideas from the ever-so-popular GT Kruiser, The Moon Bicycle, with that West Coast attitude. As you can see, I did some chopping, a little here, and a little there. And, I might add, I did some flipping-over on the rear end, as well. As I chopped, I would bend here and rake there. Then,I did some constructive mending, and some cutting away at the fenders that were badly damaged from the years gone by. Then I did some undercoating to the fenders to give it that BikeRod&Kustom look. So, with that in mind, my budget is right on course. Now that the bodywork is done, I chose the closest colors I could find. I took an idea out of an airplane hobby book, for the scallop look on the tank. Then, when the colors were nice and dry, I did a urethane finish on it. So there you have it-the Diversity Schwinn Kustom Kruiser 26", designed and built by
Larry Lujan.
Larry Lujan in 1965,
tightening spokes.
Bone Yard Cruiser
Alright, as for the 1981 Murray  Kruiser chainguard, I used 5mm Mylar. Its somewhat of a very thin plastic. I then laid the chain guard down my table, cut out a square peice of mylar, and taped that to the  face of the guard, Then drew out the letters with a fine point black magic marker. Then I removed the tape from the mylar, and guard. Took my X-acto knife with a special  board I cut on; its called a   LOEW -CORNELL CUTTING MAT. It's made for cutting stencils. I bought it at Michaels arts and crafts, here where I live. The cost is $35.00 . Then I sprayed this adhesive spray they sell at Office Depot. Its made by 3M company. Once every letter is cut out, easier said than done, just take your spray and dust mist
very lightly on the back of your pattern, here's the tricky part: and lay it down as straight as possible. Iron it down real good with a clean rag, a little Prep Sol; painters do this prior to painting; you probably know this already. Just make sure it is sealed around the letters real good, so it doesn't bleed under. Spray your choice of color, just enough to cover.
The other scrolls and such are my reckless ideas, kind of stuff I do with 1/4 " masking tape. As for the Murray, a nice young lady bought it from me, around 3 years ago; only to bring it back, and have me put gears on it- 5, to be exact. She went to the beach on it as soon as she bought it. People were asking her where did she buy that bike? She replied the Bone Yard! She told me people were having fun with the name. With that in mind, her friend bought one as well. Not as nice, but it was still a Bone Yard Beauty.
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