The three speed hub and wheel that I found on Amazon for next-to-nothing arrived a few days ago, and I’ve installed it. I was looking forward to building a wheel, but it would have cost more to build the wheel than to have it built for me — what a deal! There were a few issues with the drop-out spacing, but nothing that a properly sized nut couldn’t fix:

Threw the chain on, too. It’s too short, so I’ve ordered a second chain to add the missing links. I still need to replace the rear cog with a larger one. The color was the only design decision here — if this chain isn’t spaceworthy, it’ll be replaced:

I also finally installed the headset parts and fork, now that I’ve found the right components in the starship scrapyard:

And all of the springer parts fit together, no problems, the first time! Thanks McMaster-Carr, and Skunk for welding the U-bolt in place, and Threespeed for the tips on the drill press. I had to drill out the 5/16″ notches in the sway bars to accomodate a 3/8″ axle. The beehive springer retainer still needs to be clamped in place in this photo:

That’s about all I can do for now; still need a bolt to secure the stem. While I wait for that order to come in, I’m going to clean up this swing bike in time for Halloween: