At a bicycle swap meet I bought a pair of old wheels and tires and this Shelby frame, crank set, and fork. Note the characteristic Shelby frame design splits the top tube in front of the seat tube. The fork is kind of cool; it's an internally-sprung device that Shelby called "Shock-Ease." The bike has a nice art-deco head badge that simply says Cadillac.
Although the finish is more art project than restoration, all the parts are old except the Brooks saddle and reproduction handlebar grips. The silver and orange I chose because the color scheme looked good on Lindberg's Lockheed Sirius float plane and the Pan Am Clipper flying boats, aircraft that spoke for all that was speed and adventure between the wars. The paint pattern itself was inspired by another airplane, the Travel Air Mystery Ship, which was a successful air racer in the late 1920s. The cranks, sprocket, and seat post I gun blued, which was an interesting process like photo developing on steel.
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