1970's Hiawatha built by Murray

[horsefarmer]

Picture as found.

Guessing at least 1971 due to BMA/6 sticker.

here is serial # on head tube don't know how to decode though.
Had to swap out rear wheel cause it's a Schwinn s7. Decided to go with a vintage white painted set from a swap.
Also found a Murray rack at the same swap.

The Duro tires I bought look cool, but I'm not happy how they fit, 26 x 2.125 are a little tight under the fenders.
Only other set I have around right now are some 26 x 1.50 blackwalls - have to give them a try and see how they look...

 

[pholTmonx]

Awesome bike. I like knobbies with no fenders... Quick bricks would look slick under them if it were mine.

 

[horsefarmer]

Awesome bike. I like knobbies with no fenders... Quick bricks would look slick under them if it were mine.

Good point, I have some wider red duros with rib tread maybe I will swap and drop the fenders.

 

[horsefarmer]

Got to thinkin, I put new tires and tubes on a Schwinn middlweight wheelset a year ago. So I dug 'em out and put them on the Murray...

Like them better than the wider red Duro's, but they still rub a little on the bottom edge of the front fender. Maybe have to try and bend the front fender at the 45 deg position behind the fork?

 

[gowjobs]

You can open up the radius of a fender by gently pinching in the width a little bit. It looks to me like you just need to press the bottom/rear corners of that fender in a little narrower, and the bottom center of that fender should round back out.

Edit: The more I look at it, the more it looks like the crown/curve was flattened out on that fender from where it meets the fork all the way to the back of the fender. Just use your hands to push the sides in a little, and the rear of that fender should match the wheel radius better.

 

[pholTmonx]

Too bad there is not a tab mount on the fork usually will push the rear brace back just a bit further.
Looks great.. I'd run it like this or with he redwalls but those I'd pull the fenders I show off

 

[Wildcat]

Can't go wrong with the classic Murray frame!
Try the blackwall tires on the white wheels and do a comparison.

 

[horsefarmer]

I'm thinking of taking a c-clamp and squeezing the front fender slightly in the areas there is the most "gap" between the fender edge and the whitewall. maybe this will "grow" the gap at the bottom edge of the fender where it is tight now? Question I have is should I loosen the front wheel so the fender stays can move or leave them tight?

 

[Wildcat]

Your fender brace looks all the way back at the axle, so I would leave it like that and gently give the fender a squeeze right where the brace is, just a little at a time until it barely misses the tire.

 

[horsefarmer]

What I did, and it worked out great, was to use a c-clamp (in the red circled areas) to squeeze the fender narrower. I left the fender stays tightened to the fork cause they were all the way out away from the tire anyways.

Worked good, and the c-clamp kinda works as a gauge too ! I gained about 1/8 inch clearance at bottom edge of fender, and the curve of the fender follows the tire better now too.

 

[Jaypem]

Delicate work!
It's nice not to have to start changing the stays around too much...

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Great work getting the fenders nice!

Luke.

 

[horsefarmer]

Polished the rusty old chrome with aluminum foil. Added a old Murray rack and an unknown tank from
Dr. Tankenstein, both repainted matte black and rusted a bit for patina.

Took it on a ride last Saturday on the trestle trail in Neenah, WI. Looks pretty good next to my wife's Western flyer !