Ingram molded and painted the frame and tank himself. (Took him three weeks to mold the frame and two weeks to paint it.) In doing the molding, Ingram used a gallon of fiberglass under the tank area and two gallons of body filler on the rest of the frame. Painting the bike also took great patience. He primered it first and shot it black. Then he shot it with silver followed by 20 coats of clear. Next came the color, a candy apple red, and then 20 more coats of clear. He decided to do the diamond studded number because he wanted to be the first person ever to own a tank worth over two grand . . in America at least. (Actually, a Jesuit priest from Bogota in South America owned a diamond-studded chopper in the early 1900s, but he was brutally killed in a revolution and his bike was taken over as State property, whereupon the diamonds were hurriedly transferred to the jewelry collection of the beautiful mistress of the military dictator.) According to Ingram, the bike cost him $4200 ($6700 with the diamonds on the gas tank), 40 gallons of sweat, two quarts of blood, and all of his girlfriends (they came second, third and fourth). Assembling the bike took another seven months. Ingram installed a 12-volt battery/coil ignition for the 69-cubic-inch engine (on which he ran ‘74 panhead jugs). He went with FLH Standard pistons, a 1938 Lightning cam, solid lifters and a Linkert M748 carburetor. The mill was balanced by Beasley of Memphis. He also installed a stock wire-mesh air cleaner, a stock foot shifter, Alphabets’ pipes and Drag Specialties glasspack mufflers. During construction, Ingram came up with one of those little known facts about Harleys. He learned that the crankshaft bearings from the right side of a panhead will fit the left side of a knuckler AND that the crankshaft bearings from the left side of a panhead will fit a knuckler’s right side.  More >