Rusty Huffy Muscle Bike

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Does this bike deserve a $25 head badge decal?

  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .
DeltaNine

DeltaNine

Joined
Jul 27, 2024
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Location
Redneck Riviera, Texas
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I found this gem at the Vintage Motor Bike Club annual meeting and swap meet in Portland Indiana last month. I can't say why, but there's always a ton of bicycles/parts there. A fun event if you are so inclined.
Vital Stats: HC0087141 on neck, C70487rj and C 2016 stamped on rear stays. From what I understand, the 7 is year of production. Gotta be 1967. Please pass along any other bits of info that can be decoded. Whatever decal that was once on the neck is long gone. It doesn't look like the chain guard ever had one.
1967 Huffy (1).jpg

The wheels are too far gone to mess with right now. I bought some generic aluminums. The rear does a nice Hawaiian Hula dance.
20240728_165605.jpg

Not using these parts either:
20240728_165652.jpg

Found this saddle at the swap meet too:
20240728_165934.jpg

These are off fleabay:
20240722_171413.jpg

This is where I'm at right now. Bike is fully disassembled. I used #0000 steel wool, then 1500 wet/dry, and finally medium polishing compound on the frame. Waiting for better weather to shoot 2K clearcoat. (Mosquitos are out in force now as well). I'm pleased with the results so far. I love this color blue. It reminds me of the '70s Honda Z50 and CT70 colors.
20240726_144603.jpg

The one piece I'm not entirely happy with is the chainguard. It took the worst of the rust. If anyone has a better/more appropriate replacement hit me up in a DM. We'll work out a deal.

Thanks to everyone for checking out my latest project. I'll post more as the bike goes together.

Mark
 
DeltaNine said:
I found this gem at the Vintage Motor Bike Club annual meeting and swap meet in Portland Indiana last month. I can't say why, but there's always a ton of bicycles/parts there. A fun event if you are so inclined.
Vital Stats: HC0087141 on neck, C70487rj and C 2016 stamped on rear stays. From what I understand, the 7 is year of production. Gotta be 1967. Please pass along any other bits of info that can be decoded. Whatever decal that was once on the neck is long gone. It doesn't look like the chain guard ever had one.
View attachment 275305
The wheels are too far gone to mess with right now. I bought some generic aluminums. The rear does a nice Hawaiian Hula dance. View attachment 275306
Not using these parts either:View attachment 275311
Found this saddle at the swap meet too:View attachment 275312
These are off fleabay:View attachment 275314
This is where I'm at right now. Bike is fully disassembled. I used #0000 steel wool, then 1500 wet/dry, and finally medium polishing compound on the frame. Waiting for better weather to shoot 2K clearcoat. (Mosquitos are out in force now as well). I'm pleased with the results so far. I love this color blue. It reminds me of the '70s Honda Z50 and CT70 colors.View attachment 275326
The one piece I'm not entirely happy with is the chainguard. It took the worst of the rust. If anyone has a better/more appropriate replacement hit me up in a DM. We'll work out a deal.

Thanks to everyone for checking out my latest project. I'll post more as the bike goes together.

Mark
Click to expand...
What a fabulous bike. I have two classic Huffys...step through cruisers...both dumpster finds. You've done a great job preserving this one in its original patina. I've heard of restoring a faded, old finish can be done with a rubbed-in treatment of boiled linseed oil. Have you ever tried that? Continue your fine work!
Jason
 
Thanks, Jason. Much appreciated!
I'm running into common problems associated with retrofitting new parts onto an old project. The axle on the new front wheel is slightly larger than the original. Nothing a Dremel won't fix, but it's getting warm here now. Probably done for the day.
I will look into the linseed oil trick.
I have a new-found love for old Huffy's!
 
DeltaNine said:
Thanks, Jason. Much appreciated!
I'm running into common problems associated with retrofitting new parts onto an old project. The axle on the new front wheel is slightly larger than the original. Nothing a Dremel won't fix, but it's getting warm here now. Probably done for the day.
I will look into the linseed oil trick.
I have a new-found love for old Huffy's!
Click to expand...
To clarify, you preserved the original finish and patina and clearcoated it? What kind of prep can you do to preserve and not modify an original finish, using just clearcoat? Just the light steel wool rubbing, fine sandpaper, then a polish?
 
jtmasters68 said:
To clarify, you preserved the original finish and patina and clearcoated it? What kind of prep can you do to preserve and not modify an original finish, using just clearcoat? Just the light steel wool rubbing, fine sandpaper, then a polish?
Click to expand...
That's what I did, but every bike will be different depending on condition and owner taste. Someone else might have preferred to leave the rust as the patina.
 
DeltaNine said:
Currently just in mock-up state. I will get to my local independent hardware store this week. Needs chrome bolts/washers etc. Am I weird because I enjoy perusing the fastener selection?
View attachment 276649
Click to expand...
Not weird. Without fasteners, the world would fall apart. That looks absolutely cool in the mock up.
 
I'm sure that I'm not the only person to encounter this problem. I love this bike, but, at 5' 11" my legs are way too long to pedal it effectively. Are there extended seat posts available? Howsabout the same for handlebars? Or is this the perfect example of 'what the heck was I thinking'?
Thanks in advance!
Mark
 
DeltaNine said:
I'm sure that I'm not the only person to encounter this problem. I love this bike, but, at 5' 11" my legs are way too long to pedal it effectively
Click to expand...
That's the thing about the little muscle bikes; they're really kid bikes, not meant for adult riders. You can get a longer sissy and seatpost, just make sure that you get the correct diameter post, there's a bunch of different sizes. You can get taller ape hanger handlebars too, which will help you fit a little better, but it's still going to be a 20" wheel on a small frame. Making your own muscle bike with a 26" cruiser is the answer. Wait around for about a month, there will be a muscle bike build off, you'll find plenty of ideas and inspiration. I'm going to attempt to make a tiny 16" wheel MTB into a muscle bike that fits a 9 year old boy. Gonna be Krayzee funn
 

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