Article By: Clinton Wallace
Photos By: Missi Shoemaker
Originally Published In The March 2019 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
I first met Eric Vaughan a few years back at the Southern Throwdown and at that time he was like many of us, where he just worked on bikes in a little spot in his garage for about 5 years with a dream of one day maybe to do it full time with his name on the front of the building. One of the first bikes that I saw of his was this sweet scoot. This project started one day when Eric saw a Craigslist ad for a Shovelhead for $1500.00 just a few miles from his house. He rushed over to check it out. The woman that was selling it said that it was her brother’s bike and that he had been locked up and that he just got out and was staying with her. She was making him sell it to pay rent and help pay off some debts. Eric forked over the cash and got it back to his place, and first order of business was to get it running.
Once it was a runner, he knew where there was a 49EL basket case that a guy was wanting to sell, so he went over a suggested an even swap. The guy told him that he must be plum crazy, which led to the name, but they shook hands, and a swap was made. The frame was a stock 48 wishbone that was in good shape, and no mods were needed for his vision of a cool chop. The first item on Vaughan’s to-do list was to rebuild the motor and transmission, which he did himself. Once Eric started building the bike, he had a tank that he had planned on using but remembered a tank was given to him by a good friend, Paul Posso. As soon as he set that second tank on the backbone, he immediately knew that was the one that he had to run. Eric had already welded the bungs into the already painted the frame for the other tank.
So, instead of undoing what was already done, he decided to make some nifty stainless-steel mounts to utilize the tank with the mounts that were already in the frame. That’s what’s so cool about building true choppers; there is no restriction on creativity. Once the tank was mounted, it was off to paint, where Rat Daddy Customs was to lay down the base coat, and Blue Rooster Customs took care of the graphics. When it came time to decide the color for the base coat, Eric went back to his childhood where he spent many days with his grandfather building model cars. He remembered his favorite car they built, a 1970 Challenger that was plum crazy purple, so the color was set. When it came to the back fender, he took a Lowbrow Customs Manta Ray 4 ¾” fender and widened it 1”. For the pipes, he started with some stainless-steel, and crab cut them to make rad set of pipes, though they fought him every step of the way. The final detail of the project was given to him by his wife Nicole Lipari; she gave him a War Bird pendant that he made into the gas cap. Now that’s a good ol’ lady.
This bike wasn’t built for just show, no sir, Eric rides this sweet scoot everywhere. This past summer Eric and some friends took out to go to the Catalina Wine Mixer in Winfield, Alabama. Eric and his sweet chop made the 1400-mile trip with no problems. As of April 2018, Eric’s dream became a reality when he opened Destroyer Garage in Houston, Tx. At Destroyer Garage, Vaughan does a little bit of everything from full oneoff builds to changing tires. He’s a rad dude with a great family that’s living his dream running his own shop. So, if you’re in the Houston area and are looking to get some work done on your project or a complete build, or hey maybe you just need a tire mounted, make the trip to Destroyer Garage, Eric will fix you up.
Plum Crazy Tech Sheet
Owner: Eric Vaughan
City/State: Houston, Tx
Builder: Eric Vaughan
Year: 1949
Model: Panhead
Value: ???
Time: 9 Months
ENGINE
Year: 1949 EL
Model: Panhead
Builder: Eric Vaughan
Ignition: Timer
Displacement: 74 ci
Pistons: Stock
Heads: Stock
Carb: S&S Super E
Cam: J Grind
Air Cleaner: Speed Club
Exhaust: Stainless Steel by Eric Vaughan
Primary: 1.5” Open Belt
TRANSMISSION
Year: 1951
Make: Harley-Davidson
Shifting: Jockey
FRAME
Year: 1948
Model: Harley-Davidson Wishbone
Rake: Stock
Stretch: Stock
Forks:
Builder: Harley-Davidson
Type: Servi Car Springer
Triple Trees: 7/8”
Extension: None
WHEELS
Front Wheel: Star Hub
Size: 21”
Tire: Firestone
Front Brake: None
Rear Wheel: Star Hub
Size: 16”
Tire: Firestone 5.00 x 16
Rear Brake: Mechanical Drum
PAINT
Painter: Rat Daddy Customs
Color: Plum Crazy Purple
Type: PPG
Graphics: Blue Rooster Customs
Chroming: Atlas Plating
ACCESSORIES
Bars: Roland Sands
Risers: Visionary Cycle Products
Hand Controls: None
Foot Controls: Foot Clutch
Gas Tank(s): Lowbrow Customs Alien
Oil Tank: Re-pop Panhead
Front fender: None
Rear Fender: Modified Lowbrow Customs Manta Ray
Seat: CyFair Upholstery
Headlight: P.M.CO
Tail light: Prism Supply
Speedo: None
Photographer: Melissa Shoemaker