So, a few days ago I spied this beauty on Craigslist and added it to my favorites, but because the price was so low I didn't even bother to email, since I figured there would already be 10 people in line ahead of me for it. Well, yesterday I saw it was still listed, so I sent a message saying I would take it if it was still available. Lo and behold, I get a call this morning, so I grab a tarp and venture out in the rain to see what's what.
Turns out the seller is a real nice guy, who does things like restore Jaguars to 100 point concourse level in his garage in his spare time. He received the bike, a Roadmaster-esque CWC bike that was badged Cussins and Fearn, as a Christmas present in 1954, when he was 8 years old. I think he said it was originally tan and red. He rode it the same way any other 8 year old boy would, then it got stashed in the back of the barn for decades. Some years back, he dug it out and set out to make it the blue bike he always wanted.
The wheels, tires, fenders, seat and chain guard are all new replacements, the rest of the parts have all been re chromed. He also included a CWC decal and the headbadge, which need to be put on. Cussins and Fearn were like a feed and general store here in Ohio back in the 50's. They pretty much disappeared before I was around, but the stores that they were merged into, like Big Wheel, were still around in the 70's.
I figure if you include his labor, I probably paid 1/10th of what he had into it. I plan to keep this one, maybe find a correct chain guard for it if I can get a better idea of what it looked like new.
Pictures:
Turns out the seller is a real nice guy, who does things like restore Jaguars to 100 point concourse level in his garage in his spare time. He received the bike, a Roadmaster-esque CWC bike that was badged Cussins and Fearn, as a Christmas present in 1954, when he was 8 years old. I think he said it was originally tan and red. He rode it the same way any other 8 year old boy would, then it got stashed in the back of the barn for decades. Some years back, he dug it out and set out to make it the blue bike he always wanted.
The wheels, tires, fenders, seat and chain guard are all new replacements, the rest of the parts have all been re chromed. He also included a CWC decal and the headbadge, which need to be put on. Cussins and Fearn were like a feed and general store here in Ohio back in the 50's. They pretty much disappeared before I was around, but the stores that they were merged into, like Big Wheel, were still around in the 70's.
I figure if you include his labor, I probably paid 1/10th of what he had into it. I plan to keep this one, maybe find a correct chain guard for it if I can get a better idea of what it looked like new.
Pictures:
