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J

Junglebiker

Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
6
Location
Papua New Guinea
What to say? I'm a motorcycle mechanic from the US living and working in Papua New Guinea, (eastern half of the big island north of Australia), as a motorcycle and small engine mechanic/welder/machinist/fabricator for a group of people who are translating the Bible into the 800 languages of this country.
Anyway, I love rat rods, mainly because I think that they are true to the original hot rod ideal--go fast for cheap and don't do it the way anybody else did. Someday I'd really like to build something based on a 1920's or early '30's Ford or maybe something different like an Essex or a Hudson or a Hupmobile, or whatever. I can't afford to do anything now, but I can check out what else is going on and store the ideas in the back of my mind for some other day.
Here in PNG I drive a '68 (?) short wheelbase Land Rover. 40 years old and it shows. In the US I have a convertible '65 Thunderbird that is really in need of some attention and a 351W Police Interceptor that I want to put into something.
 
Welcome!!!

Junglebiker,
Welcome to the gang & I'm glad you found us. We're definitely gonna be interested in the rod scene over there... is there any? Make u're self @ home & feel free to join rat in!

BoB
 
Hot rod scene here is pretty much nil where I live. Mostly diesel Toyotas around here. As for old US stuff, there still a few WWII trucks floating around. I have a flathead V8 out of a cab over Ford Canada truck and a few bits and pieces of a CCKW, also bits and pieces of other cool things like .50 cal Browning machine guns, P-47 Thunderbolts, P-40 Warhawks, etc. Saw an 80 ci flathead Harley in Rabaul, but it was pretty rough and was in a "museum" of WWII junk in various stages of decomposition. I would love to have picked up the Harley, but the government here is really funny about WWII stuff--so I might have built something out of it and then been told that I had to turn it over to them. But who knows? I probably won't be here forever and it'd be cool to build something whenever I'm back in the US--right now I'm basically storing up ideas.
 
Yeah, I've been to Australia--they do have a pretty sizable hot rod movement there, it's true--I'll be spending about 6 weeks in Melbourne later this year, so I hope to see a little more of that when I am there, maybe get some pics for everybody. So far, I've not had too much opportunity to check out what's going on there, although I can tell you that the Aussies have no problem with calling a 1970's, straight 6 powered, 4 door sedan a hot rod. It took me a little while to get used to that! But ultimately, it's all about what floats your automotive boat, I guess, so more power to 'em. I've thought about building something here out of avaliable junk, (flathead Ford V8 or straight 6 Holden, WWII era CCKW cab and the huge banjo rear-end out of the old Ford Canada truck. I might have to use both axles out of the Ford Canada truck and build it as a 4x4 as there isn't more than 1000 miles of asphalt here. The New Guinea frankenrod has been cooking in the back of my mind for some time, now. Maybe I'll get started on it next year. Too much to do this year. I'll attach pics of a couple of a bikes that I have built here over the past few years. This'll be my first attempt at uploading pics here--I hope it works.
 

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Welcome to RRR, Junglebiker. Nice bikes. That New Guinea frankenrod sounds like a plan. Let us know if you decide to build it.
 
Go for it build the PNG's 1st frankenrod!

Just think no Taiwanese plastic Shrunken Head hanging from your mirror...pop round to the local headhunter tribe and get a real one :D just make sure it's not yours :eek:

P.S. LOVE the trike!
 
Hey JB....welcome to the house.....those are a couple bad little thumpers you have there...sorry to here about the old Harley thing......sucks when you can't do what you think would be right to the old tin. :eek:
Anyways...keep us posted with some more pix of the place :rolleyes::D:cool:
 

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