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This era bikes is infamously hard to ID because many are nearly identical and it comes down to subtle differences in frame joints and geometry. I am far from an expert on anything pre-ballooner so don't proclaim my abilities yet! The fork is not original to the frame so that doesn't help any...

First frame is early teens-20s. Looks like it could be a Davis built frame but a serial photo will credit or discredit that. The frame is the only part original to that. Newer fork and everything else is newer as well. Second frame is postwar Monark.

814 W Main St, Owosso, MI 48867 I'm in!

That's funky. Not typical for sure. I think if it was for Whizzer compatibility, it would have been shy on the other side, where the drive wheel would be.

Agreed. Circa 1939 or so but a serial will confirm that. It would have certainly been skiptooth originally, but whenever it was redone, the drivetrain was likely changed to the now 1/2" standard.

Yes, it's Murray built.

As you suspect, not a whole lot is Elgin here! Frame and badge. Serial dates it to '39. It's more Schwinn with the fork, wheels, tires, fenders all coming from some deluxe postwar ballooner. Then the ever popular AMF chainring and 60s universal parts for the rest.

I've got SB as 1938. You did very well for 75$!

Okay, emerald sounds more like it; it's reproducing more like lime on my screen. I'd agree that that's the original color. It looks too legit not to be. I'm thinking it's like the green that was used on the Western Flyer Super which was based on this frame.

This looks to be the universal version of the guard mentioned above. Showed up on CWC and Hawthorne bikes but this particular one would have been sold aftermarket.

Early postwar Murray frame, probably JC Higgins, with everything else coming from a '35ish Shelby motobike.

The frame is an early postwar frame built by Murray. Likely badged JC Higgins--the MOS letter code will date it. Beyond that, it's all parts from an earlier Shelby motobike. Crank, fork, dropstand, wheels, fenders, and saddle are from a '34-35ish Shelby. I'd guess somebody had a Shelby with a...

Not all Panthers had locking forks, so I think this frame is whichever you want it to be. I do think that tone of blue would more likely have made it a Hornet, but I have seen one or two examples of a Panther wearing that suit. Doesn't matter at all though!

Picture of the original and length? I have a handful of 20" cranks and you can have one for shipping if I've got a match. I think an inch will turn a 20 into a pedal scraper--pretty big difference on a little bike.

Picture of the bike? It does look like a black enamel, which was the wartime finish of choice. They typically turn up more on very early postwar bikes than actual wartime bikes. I've never seen a blackout Musselman either, but it looks legit.

Sounds like '62 but a picture would really help. The only straightbar in 1962 would have been a twin-tube middleweight.

You can probably get one for 10$ shipped.. they're very common. I haven't got one or I'd offer it.

You'd need a postwar '47-49 "3-gill" tank. I think the geometry changed slightly when the downtube curve was increased. I have seen a green similar to that but on only one or two prewar examples. It's not like any postwar green I've seen but I can't credit or discredit anything. What about...

There are many different badgings that used this same inverted shield stamped badge. Most of them I've only seen prewar though then the much later AMF style one. I've never seen the other variants on postwar bikes so the typical Roadmaster one pictured above would be correct. Easy to come by.

Mid 1946 with that serial. The second frame is actually different. They're a good reference of the switch to a deep curve in the downtube taking place late in 1946. Very interesting that the serials are so close, to where you can get very close to narrowing down exactly where the change took...