Hiawatha year I.D.

[Ed Stately]

A neighbor wants me to do some work on his dad's old Hiawatha. He wants to replace the skip tooth sprocket, chain and rear hub to 1/2" pitch. And paint it back to the original blue and white. I'll be replacing the handlebars, stem and pedals and the seat. The stem is stuck, flipped the bike over to look for the serial number and half the bolt fell on the ground, someone must have tried loosening it and snapped it. I've got most of the parts except pedals and a seat. And he would like to know what year it was built. From what I've been able to find online it's a Shelby built bike. Serial number X30520. Any info on the year would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Wildcat]

The info I could find on Shelby isn't solid as far as I know, but a list made up shows X as 1935, which would be in the neighborhood, as it's prewar.

 

[Ed Stately]

The info I could find on Shelby isn't solid as far as I know, but a list made up shows X as 1935, which would be in the neighborhood, as it's prewar.

I figured it was older then he thought. He was thinking it was a 1947-49. Thanks again for your help. It's much appreciated.

 

[Wildcat]

I was guessing the rear facing dropouts were prewar, but this bike is advertised as a 47-48 Shelby:

And a 47 ad:

It looks like a close match to yours, and all the 35 bikes I looked at had a different frame, so maybe he was right on the date. My list shows K and L as 47 and 48 so maybe it's bogus.

 

[Ed Stately]

I was guessing the rear facing dropouts were prewar, but this bike is advertised as a 47-48 Shelby:

View attachment 248197

And a 47 ad:View attachment 248198


It looks like a close match to yours, and all the 35 bikes I looked at had a different frame, so maybe he was right on the date. My list shows K and L as 47 and 48 so maybe it's bogus.

I think I'll let him go with 47-49. Otherwise it'll just muddy the waters so to speak. Thanks again.