I bought a 1951 panhead chopper out of Montana with the idea to make an old school bobber out of it. Then came a call from Tar at Dead On Customs. He called to see if I was interested in a 1937 knuckle. I had wanted a knuckle rather than a pan to begin with, so I contacted the guy in Portola and made the deal. It had been in a fire and he was tired of trying to get it back together. He claimed that it ran, so I bought it and put the pan on the back burner.

 

I got the knuckle running and began the process of making a bobber the way I wanted it. I sold the 1951 to fund the 1937 project. I dechromed a lot of the parts and repainted them black. I added Firestone tire from Coker, 19” on the front and 16” on the rear. I made an air filter cover out of a 1930’s to 1940’s style siren. Paint was done by Morel’s Auto Body.

 

When I was breaking it in, it started smoking so I pulled the motor and found several problems with it. I sent the motor off for repairs and found out that it had been dropped and the case was cracked. I had the case repaired and a valve job performed. The motor has been reinstalled but I have yet to take it for a test ride.

 

Blasting Squad wanted a bike for its 2021 calendar and they chose the 37 knuckle for their September bike.