1937 Ladies Hawthorne Duralium

[nateyboy]

Picked this one up last week. I think the handlebar, stem, grips and seat have been replaced, but the rest of it is original including the gigantic faceted reflector on the rear fender. 24" wheels and tires were OE on these bikes. From the Montgomery Ward catalog: "Frames, forks, handlebars, and truss rods made of light weight Duralium—the same aluminum alloy used in streamlined trains and airplanes." Should clean up nicely!

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

oooo, look at that chain guard.

 

[ratina]

Cool stem

 

[charliechaindrive]

Cool! Duralium is the same type of aluminum we used to make our zeppelins from, wicked cool!

 

[soulshine73]

the stem on your bike may be original. I have the same one on my 39 monark silver king

 

[nateyboy]

the stem on your bike may be original. I have the same one on my 39 monark silver king

Thanks soulshine--someone else mentioned they thought the stem might be original. I've found a few different pics of these on the web and I couldn't tell for sure. I definitely think the bars are wrong as they are rusted. According to the catalog they should also be Duralium. The seat is an old coil-spring rubber Messinger--pretty sure incorrect, but I've never seen one like it. Your Duralium muscle build is the coolest!

 

[charliechaindrive]

Time for the polishing wheel! :shock:

 

[Pappy]

Very KOOL Nateyboy...did you get that from C/L up north of the river? Will you be at the El Torreon Swap this Sunday? Look me up and we'll swap some parts & some lies :mrgreen: I've got 2 of those Duralum Monark sprockets,one of each size,that will be for sale or trade at the swap...see you there...P 8)

 

[nateyboy]

Very KOOL Nateyboy...did you get that from C/L up north of the river? Will you be at the El Torreon Swap this Sunday? Look me up and we'll swap some parts & some lies :mrgreen: I've got 2 of those Duralum Monark sprockets,one of each size,that will be for sale or trade at the swap...see you there...P 8)

Yes I did! It was kind of a gamble. The bike was in the back of a dimly lit garage. I was happy it turned out to be so complete. I'll definitely be at ET this weekend. Still can't decide if I'm only buying or going to sell too. Either way I'm definitely interested in some swapping! Hope to meet you on Sunday!

 

[Road Master]

That is one HOT Lookin Rear reflector - never seen a housing like that before. I bought a CWC Braced Drop Stand w/ clip on ebay for my '36 CWC Hawthorne that came w/ that style reflector on the clip. At first I didn't think it was old but then I started seeing them on some 30s bikes so I left it on - very cool. Did that style chain guard come with those bikes originally? I've seen aftermarket chain guards w/ varying styles of holes which is why I asked. I assume the guard is steel. Great score all around - Have Fun! Robert

 

[nateyboy]

That is one HOT Lookin Rear reflector - never seen a housing like that before. I bought a CWC Braced Drop Stand w/ clip on ebay for my '36 CWC Hawthorne that came w/ that style reflector on the clip. At first I didn't think it was old but then I started seeing them on some 30s bikes so I left it on - very cool. Did that style chain guard come with those bikes originally? I've seen aftermarket chain guards w/ varying styles of holes which is why I asked. I assume the guard is steel. Great score all around - Have Fun! Robert

Thanks Robert! The reflector is great. I couldn't even see it until I got the bike outside in the light (if that gives you any indication of how dim and crowded the garage I rescued it from was). The chain guard is original. I looked it up in my Hawthorne collectors book and it was on the girls bike in the catalog from 1937. They show other aftermarket options, but this one was stock!