Indian chief girder front end
To the left is a Santa Fe rail road Super Chief pocket watch fob, in black and yellow - perfect. Railroad engines of that era, though massive and ponderous, moved with a grace imparted by the elegant shape of the engine out front - alot like the skirted front fender of an Indian Chief which also like its namesake has a commanding presence. Skills he was justifiably proud of such that driving cars was beneath his dignity, he bought many but never drove one.
INDIAN CHIEF GIRDER FRONT END MANUAL
My Grandfather, a very large man who suffered no fools, worked for the railroad for 45 years, the latter half as an engineer and chosen too pull the president's pullman when it came through his territory because of his smoothness at the helm, knowledge of the railroad manual and wilting air of authority. Inspiration for the colors selected for this machine. Many pieces where removed from wood crates filled with iridescent ground shells used as moisture absorbent. At the end of the conflict he disassembled it, mailed all the smaller components home with a lot of spares and hand carried the frame home on board the ship. This machine was exported new to the Philippines where it was later acquired by a chap in the Navy on shore leave while serving in Vietnam. This machine had an interesting history and the objective with this restoration was to preserve the original owner's personalization, primarily excessive chrome plating - what is now referred to in the AMCA as "period modifications" - while building an internally hot rodded reliable Chief with some running improvements yet all correct exterior fasteners and components for year manufactured. Pass your mouse over the images for an explanation and good luck with your restoration. Rear muffler clamp changed to simple strap. Starburst horn replaced with more generic looking horn cover Rear brake drum strengthened and grease fitting added. Welded tube replaces casting for shifter mount on later models. Scrapers cast into the cases with a pickup tube.īushings replace needle bearings in form pivots. Later machines changed from a scraper type sump plate to Silent ball lock starter replaces sprag faced gears.Īluminum geared oil pump (3 pressure/two scavenge). Longer more stable side stand fitted to left front motor mount.įuel tanks have tighter component fit and back plate overlap.Įngine case pinion housing modified for straight-thru line boring. Speedo drive fitted to front backing plate.Īlemite fittings added to hubs for lubricating bearings. Stewart Warner Speedo and stamped steel dash fitted. Some Noteworthy Features of the 1948 Indian Chief The originally planned two Chiefs - the one crusty/one shiny theme - but we'd worry about The seller must have been clarvoyant, a couple of weeks later and right about the point I'd concluded none of my friends were going to pull the trigger and maybe I shouldn't let this opportunity But after regaining my composure, relieved not to have succumbed to the temptation to get it myself, I informed the owner that marketing this machine would be simplified immensely if he'd drag all the boxes and pieces into one spot and preferably lean most of the vitals together as a stand-up basket to help fuel the imaginations of potential buyers grasping to visualize a real motorcycle It had an interesting history and there was a sizeable amount of spares that came with it including a complete 1953 80 c.i. Was a matching number 36th Chief made in the 1948 - first day's production - and an export model at that with the only Stewart Warner speedometer I'd seen in kilometers. Though completely apart and strewn from attic to garage and Morgan building out back, it in fact on the behalf of my local AMCA'rs who might have an interest, Recovering from the financial blow of three recent major purchases I was in no position to even contemplate another but agreed to Lately, after the usual initial hyperventilation with each "discovery", I was just learning to be more selective.Ī crusty old harley shop I’d hung out at for years called right after Thanksgiving in 94 saying someone had strolled in looking to lighten their project bike load and a 48 Chief basket case was one of the machines on offer. New to this complete turn of events, I'd deliriously kept purchasing pace initially with all offers coming my way but was rapidly coming to the realization that a working bloke's finite funds really had a limit regardless of how conditioned oneīecomes to subsisting on bread and water diets to pay for them. In the antique motorcycle hobby there comes a dangerous point where the tide changes and machines begin to find you rather than