J.C. Higgins - from original owner

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economessed

economessed

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I was fortunate enough to buy this bike from the original owner, who went to Mitchell Street in Milwaukee to buy this bike in (he thinks) the late 30's or early 40's. He delivered newspapers on it for 3 years, and told us how he built a trailer to haul the Sunday editions around with it (must have weighed 200 lbs -- this is a heavy bike). Can anyone pinpoint the year? I'm going to do a full restoration on this one. The only issue is the rack, which has some cancer right at the tail.

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Ratfink1962 said:
Sweet bike!

Is that a siren mounted the the r/h side of the fork? never seen one like it.

That cancer can be fixed!
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I believe that is a bell the works the same way as a siren. Another one of those accessories I wouldn't mind owning for a while.

Nice ride! I wouldn't mind owning it either!
 
The bell has surface rust, but works great! When you pull the chain, it rubs against the tire and rings. How cool is that?
 
economessed said:
The bell has surface rust, but works great! When you pull the chain, it rubs against the tire and rings. How cool is that?
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Very cool.
 
ratina said:
Is that one of those "1 year racks" that someone just found the girls version of?
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Yes, it's a signal rack. It's going to need some new metal in one corner (brazing job) and then some new lenses. Aside from that, the bike is complete and undamaged. I've got a Monarch to do ahead of this project, so it probably won't get touched yet this year.
 
Can anyone pinpoint the year?
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See if it has a stamping on the BB. First row should say 'MOD 502', second row should be a 4 or 5 digit number, likely in the 4500-4700 range, that's the catalog #, post that, and I'll see if I can match it up to a particular year. The 3rd row is just the production/serial#, anfd doesn't tell us anything. -Adam
 
Great patina! It being a JC Higgins, id say it would be post war, as prewar they called them Elgins, mid 40's to early 50's, would be my guess. And Murray built. AND from the original owner... sweet!
 
economessed said:
ratina said:
Is that one of those "1 year racks" that someone just found the girls version of?
Click to expand...

Yes, it's a signal rack. It's going to need some new metal in one corner (brazing job) and then some new lenses. Aside from that, the bike is complete and undamaged. I've got a Monarch to do ahead of this project, so it probably won't get touched yet this year.
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Awesome!

Just found the link to the girls version that was just found: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=31143

According to backpedaler, 1955 was the only year those racks were made.
 
Awesome!

Just found the link to the girls version that was just found: http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=31143

According to backpedaler, 1955 was the only year those racks were made.
Click to expand...

I really appreciate the information. The fellow who sold it to me was born in 1939, so he couldn't have purchased it in the late 30's early 40's unless he perfected time travel. No matter what -- it's a great bike, and I'll enjoy bringing this one back to as-new condition.
 

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