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kram

kram

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On Saturday I picked up a pile of parts, and it was one of the 'take it all or nothing deals". There were four frames, a couple pairs of handle bars, and a repop springer fork. I'm not sure yet which frames I'll keep.

1952 Schwinn 26" girls frame. I love this paint scheme on the old schwinns.
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A no name 26" girls frame
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1972 Schwinn 26" boys frame. It has a 60's chainguard, murray chainring, and a lot of layers of paint. Also this weighs a ton!
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What looks to be a Murray or Higgins cantilever frame. The guy said he thought it was a JC Higgins but I don't know. Is there any way to date these frames?
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Build up that Murray..that bike is sweet..Nice finds they are all cool :?:
 
Your yellow frame looks like a western flyer that I used to have. Same color and it had the seat post clamp attached the same way as yours does. Only difference is that mine was a 24" bike.
Lancer
 
I think I can help out a little. With that girl's yellow frame, it does look very much like a Columbia, but I think, rather, it's a Monark. The differences between frames of the two makers can be really slight for certain years, but the dropouts and kickstand bolt through area are slightly different than those of a Columbia, to me they look like those of a Monark. And, the other key bit is, that tag under the crank chamber. Those tags were used on many of the Monark made Jc Higgins bicycles sold by Sears. I'd say that's probably what that bicycle originally was, a Monark made Jc Higgins. As for the men's Murray frame, I hadn't heard of a way to date those before, but there may be... what I do know about them is that the "502" number is found on Murray cantilever or straight-bar and cruiser frames at some point in the serial... it seemed to be their mark for cantilever/cruiser frames. A colorflow frame, with the bent lower frame bar (it bends down at the front, where it meets the frame) is labeled "MOD 502" under the crank, and sometimes it seems that the "502" is incorporated into another number as your frame has it.
 
I agree with unchained on the girls bike probably being a Monark due to the tag on the bottom bracket. The mens Murray framed bike Is somewhat contradictory to what I have seen. Is the bike a 24" wheeled frame or 26"? The Murrays from the 40's and 50's used a letter for the date code, "P" stood for 1958. The 66 stood for 24" Deluxe with coaster brake. Now, the contradiction Is 2 fold. 1. Of the Murrays I have seen, the serial numbers were on the left rear dropout until sometime In 72, then they switched over to stamping them on the head tube. 2. In the mide 60's , Murray switched the style of serial number from using a letter for the year to using a number. In your example: MO = Murray of Ohio. 6 = 1966.. Was It a left over bike that got restamped? Don't know. Still trying to learn these Murray serials. I am baffled but will definitly try to find something out. As far as the numbers "502" having any significance on a Murray built bike, Only If It was the first 3 digits of the serial number. In the case of the first 3 digits being "502", It would mean that It was a Sears badged bike and of couse sold by Sears. The next 5 digits after a serial that begins with "502" Is the part number listed In the Sears catalog and would help you date a bike. Hope this helps a little anyway. Kenny.
 
30thtbird said:
I agree with unchained on the girls bike probably being a Monark due to the tag on the bottom bracket. The mens Murray framed bike Is somewhat contradictory to what I have seen. Is the bike a 24" wheeled frame or 26"? The Murrays from the 40's and 50's used a letter for the date code, "P" stood for 1958. The 66 stood for 24" Deluxe with coaster brake. Now, the contradiction Is 2 fold. 1. Of the Murrays I have seen, the serial numbers were on the left rear dropout until sometime In 72, then they switched over to stamping them on the head tube. 2. In the mide 60's , Murray switched the style of serial number from using a letter for the year to using a number. In your example: MO = Murray of Ohio. 6 = 1966.. Was It a left over bike that got restamped? Don't know. Still trying to learn these Murray serials. I am baffled but will definitly try to find something out. As far as the numbers "502" having any significance on a Murray built bike, Only If It was the first 3 digits of the serial number. In the case of the first 3 digits being "502", It would mean that It was a Sears badged bike and of couse sold by Sears. The next 5 digits after a serial that begins with "502" Is the part number listed In the Sears catalog and would help you date a bike. Hope this helps a little anyway. Kenny.
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Wow, I just learned some great information. Thanks for sharing that.
 

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