1960's Huffy Eldorado

[Fat Lip]

My first bike find of the year. The local flea market opened up for the season last weekend and I found this in the last row. It looks like a 1960's Huffy Eldorado with some missing and some incorrect parts. A previous owner somehow managed to fit 26 inch rims onto a 24 inch frame. It's tight but they fit. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. I got it real cheap so it might make a good candidate for the build off.

 

[pedals]

Got the same bike today, minus tank and nice paint. Mine has 26" rims

 

[horsefarmer]

Got the same bike today, minus tank and nice paint. Mine has 26" rims

On the plus side you have fenders, ornament and a funky green paint job!

 

[pedals]

Funky green with a lot of bird poop.

 

[horsefarmer]

Ha Ha, you said "poop"

 

[Fat Lip]

Got the same bike today, minus tank and nice paint. Mine has 26" rims

Yours is a 26" frame. If you look at my pictures you'll notice how there is no room for fenders and the rear rack actually sits on the tire. My frame is smaller and was made for 24" rims

 

[KJV]

Nah, yours is a 26 as well. The rack is jus not on correctly..

 

[Nagant]

There definitely does not appear to be much clearance between the rear tire and the fender mount stay bar or for the front tire in the fork. Did they mount regular 26" ISO559 tires and rims or did they mount some "26x 1 3/8 ISO590's?

 

[CRASH]

I have some El Dorado parts for sale in the For Sale section, if you're looking for something.

Nice finds!

 

[KJV]

They had 26x1.75

 

[Fat Lip]

I have some El Dorado parts for sale in the For Sale section, if you're looking for something.

Nice finds!

Thanks Crash but if I keep it I'm not looking to restore it. I bought it because the frame is similar to a Huffy Rail Super Stock. So I was thinking that I might build a 24x20 Rail out of it.

 

[CRASH]

I'm going to be building a 26/22 Super Slingshot out of mine. Great minds think alike I guess!

http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/26-24-or-26-22-super-slingshot.91519/

 

[Fat Lip]

There definitely does not appear to be much clearance between the rear tire and the fender mount stay bar or for the front tire in the fork. Did they mount regular 26" ISO559 tires and rims or did they mount some "26x 1 3/8 ISO590's?

There is almost no room between the rear tire and the fender mount. When I removed the rear rack I could see where the tire rubbed the paint off of the bottom of the rack. I don't know what the rims are off of but they aren't Huffy drop center rims. The tires are 26 x 1.75 Kelly Springfield on the front and Phoenix Harburg Extra Prima on the rear. I checked the serial number and it looks like this is a 1965 bike. The Huffy catalog for that year shows this bike was available in a 24 and 26 inch version. There's a 26 inch Eldorado on ebay right now and the seller listed some of the frame measurements. He lists the measurement from the center of the crank to the top of the seat post clamp as 18.5 inches. Mine is 16 inches. He also lists the measurement from the center of the stem to the center of the seat post as 22 inches. Mine is 20.5 inches.

 

[KJV]

One of my buddy's has both sizes of the Elderado. Told him about this thread...
he took his wheels and tried to swap.
called me this eve.
& said the 26 wheels wouldn't fit in forks, or rear, on the 24.

 

[Nagant]

Thank you for the info. I didn't realize they made a 24" version of the Eldorado until now.

 

[horsefarmer]

Ive seen those tanks before on feepay and thought they looked kinda dorky like from a kids convertible "pixie" size bike. But on the bike they look cool.

 

[Fat Lip]

One of my buddy's has both sizes of the Elderado. Told him about this thread...
he took his wheels and tried to swap.
called me this eve.
& said the 26 wheels wouldn't fit in forks, or rear, on the 24.

The rear wheel is jammed into place. There is no room for a fender. The tire rubs against the fender mount. There is only about a 1/4 inch clearance between the front tire and the fork, again not enough room for a fender. The front fork measures 14 inches from the crown to the bottom of the blades. This frame was made for 24 inch wheels.

 

[KJV]

The rear wheel is jammed into place. There is no room for a fender. The tire rubs against the fender mount. There is only about a 1/4 inch clearance between the front tire and the fork, again not enough room for a fender. The front fork measures 14 inches from the crown to the bottom of the blades. This frame was made for 24 inch wheels.

Yeah, that's the measurements of a 24" bicycle. Put 24" s on it and go.
Enjoy.I measured the forks on my friends bikes today. the 26"closer to 15".we took the fender off of the 24" put the 26" wheel on it,it was close.. but, it rolled.

 

[CRASH]

If you like, I can measure my 26" tonight for you.

 

[partsguy]

Got the same bike today, minus tank and nice paint. Mine has 26" rims

PM SENT!!!