1969 All-Pro Dragster III

Stage 1 (1969 Kmart All-Pro)70s era of my BMX bike (circa:1974-1977)

UPDATE: 8-15-2013 Final found some information about the bike when in was original. It's a 1969 All-Pro Dragster III. It was exactly like the Huffy Dragster III, only labeled as an "All-Pro" for Kmart. Plus, my Schwinn stingray after it was a 1973 and I know I had this All-Pro for more than 2 years. And, I found the Aggressor MX 20x2.125 front tire. Still need the "Mag" front sprocket.

UPDATE: 1-22-2013  Tracked down a few more parts to make this a proper replica. Parts revised: 5 1/2" Ashtabula cranks, Schwinn Scrambler forks (Ashtabula made) refinished in original black oxide dip (blueing), Wald OG box bars, and a yellow vinyl snap top tube pad. Still looking for the Huffy "mag" front sprocket and a Carlisle Aggressor MX 20 x 2.125 front tire.

UPDATE: 11-26-2012  I was talking with my parents on Thanksgiving and they told me I got the bike for my 5th birthday. That would have been September 1969. So that makes this a 1969 All-Pro Huffy frame. I've also added vintage box handlebars.

Don't know 100% if this was the frame or another I had back then. As it went, my Dad wouldn't let me strip my Schwinn Stingray. So I dragged out this frame. It was my first new bike, a Kmart All Pro (Huffy) 3-speed "dragster" style with "Hurst" style shifter on the top tube, white letter cheater slick & front tire, ape hanger bars, sparkle banana seat, sissy bar, "muffler" chainguard, and "mag wheel" front sprocket.
(1974-75) First, I repainted the frame with the leftover "Schwinn" metallic red paint from the recently refurbished Stingray. Next came the knobby tires I bought for the Stingray, but of course, didn't fit. I mounted them on these weird looking wheels with thick spokes and dimples around the nipples. These wheels look like the wheels on my 1975 Honda XR75. The freewheel was probably a Shimano (not much else back then). A friend hooked me up with some used Tange forks that I painted flat black. The bars were from a Schwinn I believe. They had a pinched crossbar to slide into the gooseneck gap. The gooseneck was purchased at the Schwinn shop but was an Ashtabula that looked like the Schwinn's, only flat black. The seat was a quilted 10-speed unit. Post and clamp were stock chrome steel.
The Shimano "Tourney" brake and lever was from that same "stripped" 10-speed Euro-cruiser. My Dad made a bracket, tube, and bolt to hold the side-pull brake. The crossmember on the seatstays were drilled for a fender, not a brake. Plus, the brake was short for a Euro 10-speed.
Since I was already riding a motocross bike, I liked Moto-X-Fox and DG products. I stuck a Moto-X-Fox decal on the head tube. Last came the yellow pads, and a set of orange MX grips to keep with the Fox theme. I loved this bike and eventually sold the Stingray to buy more BMX parts. This bike went thru a lot of changes in a few years until I got a "real" BMX bike (chrome GT).
Step ahead to April 2011, cruising thru eBay I found a seller with some vintage Moto-X-Fox decals and the brain started spinning. So, I purchase 3 decals, a set of yellow vinyl snap pads, and a set of Ame "cam" orange grips ( the original type were orange Hunt-Wilde's from the Schwinn shop, can't find them now). I dragged the frame and forks from the junk pile, stripped & painted them as close as I remember. The handlebars, crank, and front sprocket are from another "junk" bike maybe a little newer than this build era, but still very, very similar. The crank is a restored 7 1/2" non-Pro Ashtabula. I still need that Huffy "dragster" mag wheel front sprocket, if anyone might know where. New chrome steel trap pedals, quiltted Troxel seat, post, clamp, BB, and Kenda 20 x 2.125 knobby tires almost exactly like the original Carlisle tires add to the goal. The Shimano Tourney brakes and lever were discovered at a local Las Vegas bike shop. I used an Odyssey linear cable for safety along with new DiaCompe shoes. I got lucky and found an NOS Ashtabula gooseneck, NICE!
The wheels were given to me by my friend Gary Pierce, owner of JustBMX in Las Vegas. They are original Femco wheels, exactly like what I started with back then. I pulled the axles to re-grease them to find out that they were dry and new. These wheels are NOS and were never mounted or greased. SCORE!
Riding this bike is a little funky due to the geometry and some parts. It makes me recall the days of building it originally, and sometimes wish I was there again. I'm thinking of building a copy of it from later in it's life when it was white with chrome GT forks, blue anodized parts, black Skyway mags, blue Comp 2 tires, Addicks blue nylon chainwheel, and blue Tuff nylon pedals.
I'll post a picture of me riding the bike in the mid to late 1970's when my Mom finds it.

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