Murrarium

[Starnger]

Hi everybody!
Another score! Every next old American bike i buy here makes me surprised how did it come here. This time i bought a Murray Monterey in fairly good condition, paid about 150 bucks shipped. I know for USA that would be a rather high price for that bike, but here where i am i think it is reasonable
As usual, i got so excited to start working on that bike that i forgot to take pictures "before". But i believe many of us know how a stock Monterey looks like. Mine was a fender-less version, almost 100% original, apart from grips and a front tire. On of the previous owners also decided to "refresh" the looks of the bike with some spray paint, so that's what i had to re-do at first
Here is how the over-paint looked like: lots of glitter, mix of green, blue and silver, some nasty drops here and there.

I applied some acetone onto steel wool and carefully removed the top coating. The original paint underneath is beautiful. Some massive fading due to sunlight seems to be the reason for the overpaint, but in my opinion it looks so much better, showing the age of the bike. Unfortunately the yellow lines painted on the top tube were gone together with the spray paint, so i used some elastic tape to put them back.

Then added some color with acrylic paint marker.

And then i have removed the masking layer and went over with some steel wool to scratch it off a little bit, so it would match the condition of paint on the bike.

Next step is to cut up an old Electra sock to apply some BLO!

God bless that day when i've learned about sweet magic of BLO from this forum!

This is where we are for now.

I've tried to fit some nice 80mm fenders there, but appears both frame and fork are too narrow for that. So i have ordered some 50mm wide fenders to see how they would fit there. My plan is to go with white wall tires, possibly some geared hub, moon bars and few more nice details on it. I like the original looks of the bike, so my plan is to keep it mostly as it was, but to highlight the nice things about it and make it a rider.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That sock is PURR-FECT for ratting!

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Shimano 110D coaster brake?

 

[Starnger]

Shimano 110D coaster brake?

Yes it is, along with white wall Swallow tire, that somebody painted black

 

[Starnger]

Here is how the bike is now. I also have original seat and pedals that i didn't put for the picture, because i am honestly hoping to find some better alternative for them. The pedals are Wald, but not in a very good shape, and the seat is Selle, and i would prefer to have some softer, wider and more American alternative

 

[clamdigger]

Congrats ! A versatile , rewarding bike to work with. I think the chrome steel rims are so much more outstanding on this bike than bland, modern , alloy rims.

 

[Starnger]

Got a delivery from my friend from the Netherlands today! There is a matching Monterey for my friend, but an older one. Couldn't stand but to take a picture of them together!

The older bike is so much cooler because of the parts. It has a nice Messinger seat that is way better then the Selle that my bike had, fancier cranks and a real Carlisle Lighting Dart on the front! I only saw those tires on the photos and never in real life, and they look so awesome! Also it has a SACHS automatic 2 speed hub.
So i think similar procedures i applied to mine would now expect the older bike of a friend. The sticker on the seat tube says 09-82, so makes it 5 years earlier bike, but so different in cool parts

 

[Starnger]

Since i didn't start a separate build thread for this '82 bike mentioned above, i'd post some of the progress here

Now featuring some 1990's early Shimano Nexus 7 wheel set on steel rims, reproduction Murray grips, reproduction dia-compe seatpost clamp, vintage lightweight Schwinn pedals, Nirve white wall tires.
Tried to straighten the bent chain ring for the first time, it came out better then i've expected.

 

[Starnger]

So, the work on the bike is still on
Recently i have found a '63 ladies Murray for sale in Germany. Long story short, the guy gave it to me for free, and my friends helped me to get it. Totally spent under 75 bucks for delivery and about 25 for little presents for those who helped
It is not perfect, but as well not bad for an almost 60 years old bike.

My plan is to use fenders, maybe a rack and rims, grips, pedals and other cool original parts on the bike this thread was started for. I will save as many cool parts from it for the further projects. The sprocket and fork probably would go to the second bike posted here, '82 Monterey of my friend. The rest would be built up on some more modern parts and planetary hub and sold.

The seat springs has crack in them, the tank is missing the cover, the front hub axle has threads stripped on left side, the fenders are a bit deformed and the rear rim is scratched from the ground. But it does not seem to be a big deal and difficult repair. Apart maybe a tank cover, i would need to find some nice and smart way to reproduce it or somehow make it look good again and function.

 

[Starnger]

I'd change the thread name to Murrarium if i could, this has gone further then i have expected when starting it

 

[Captain Awesome]

I'd change the thread name to Murrarium if i could, this has gone further then i have expected when starting it

That can be arranged

 

[Starnger]

That can be arranged

Cool, i'd be thankful! Since this thread is now about three bikes not just one, i think that name would reflect the content better

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That Titan chain guard is epic. Love the "fin"look

 

[BartRidesEternal]

Beautiful bikes! Where does your friend from the Netherlands gets his bikes?

 

[Starnger]

Only the '82 comes from NL, Rotterdam. Found it on Marktplaats
The '87 comes from Wroclaw Poland, '63 from Frankfurt Germany. All of them are found at local marktplaats like websites. I basically search for them all the time and sometimes i score If you want me to find one for you - let me know, maybe i get lucky once again. And the '87 bike i started the thread with will be for sale once i finish.

 

[Starnger]

Well, getting the post up from 11th page of the forum feels like the work is going pretty slow

But '63 bike is getting ready! Fitted a modern springer fork here, and guess what, 1-1/8 headset fitted perfectly without any modifications.
I am planning to restore the bike to maybe not so original, but fresh condition. My intention is to build it in rational budget and sell to someone who is going to actually ride it. So after treating 60 year old paint with BLO i fitted some older German made wheels with Sachs Torpedo 3 speed hub.

Now i need to figure out how to mount a modern seat there and get some modern 1-1/8 stem.

 

[Starnger]

This one got finished and went to a few shows with me by now And even starred in a short advertisement movie we made, that i am going to post a bit later!

Modern re-upholstered Electra seat, modern stem, Hunt Wilde grips, modern front brakes and bell, modern bow pedals, modern led lamp, vintage Shimano cable ties. That's probably it for the parts I've added

Here we go, she shines again! The bike is for sale now

 

[Starnger]

Hi!
Some progress on '87 Monterey!
My friend have laced an 80's Shimano 3CC hub into an '63 Murray rim for me, so i have now an original-ish wheel with period correct drivetrain!
So the work continued.

Changed out the bottom bracket for the modern one, since the bearing races were shot.

By the way, that's how those pedals looked before the cleanup. Here evaporust did a great job!

Tried to clean up the '63 fenders with evaporust, but for some reason it didn't work. I think the goo mixed with rust might have hardened over the years, so i unfortunately had to clean the rear fender mechanically, so now the chrome looks more dull even after polishing comparing to the front fender. Nice vintage glass reflector is on.

As you see i also put a '63 rear rack after treating it with BLO and changing out the rivets with the bolts. The color looks slightly different, but overall good in my opinion. What do you guys think?

The big surprise for me was that the '87 fork is actually about an inch longer then the otherwise identical '63 one! So i had to use a spacing nut to fit the fender well. I also used modern fender stays instead of vintage plate steel ones.

The bike looks better and better every day, received some white Hunt Wilde grips for it today. Soon my friend will fix the matching front wheel for me and i will be coming to finish of this project. Still unsure of the seat used, this here is NOS Worksman seat, looks very close to older Persons seats but misses the stamp. Anyway, it looks a bit too new for me, but i kinda want to use some nice American seat on this one. We see if i find anything that matches better. I also put some nice used Electra moon bars that i believe fit the bike nicely and planning to use Electra Retrotunner white wall tires like on the rear wheel. Alternatively i have a set of black Project 346 Balloon tires that would fill those fenders nicely, but i kind of like the retro vibes of white wall more i think. What is your opinion about it? Would you put black tires or white wall here?

 

[us56456712]

Here is how the bike is now. I also have original seat and pedals that i didn't put for the picture, because i am honestly hoping to find some better alternative for them. The pedals are Wald, but not in a very good shape, and the seat is Selle, and i would prefer to have some softer, wider and more American alternative
View attachment 155091
View attachment 155092

Very nice

 

[GeePig]

I think another tire like you have on the rear would be good, it will make the front look lighter.