AMF made Shelby Flyer (Cleveland)

[hatake]

AMF made Shelby Cycle Company Flyer. Or so it says. It barely moved, let alone coasted... Wheel rust is seen particulaily worse on one quartile of the rim, so I'm guessing it was parked for a long time in one spot. Weird, front and rear rims are a bit different. Front maybe a replaced (have raised center) at later time, perhaps?

Not sure the date, as I read different descriptions on this board for AMF/Shelby. Phil in one thread suggests AMF/Shelby/Cleveland combination the badge suggests around ‘54~’56, but Rustinkerer in this thread (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9047&p=92342&hilit=amf+shelby#p92342 which I think is the same frame?) suggests ’58 or newer (not sure why though).

It has a 1-speed coaster, which I just got done overhauling. Now I'm building the wheel back up. Next, cranks, headset, handlebar rust... Paint is flat and chipped here and there, but not bad compared to some of the patina I see here :wink: So I'll leave the paint intact, may polish a little, but am afraid that it’ll just strip off. I initially thought to repaint, but I’m not sure if that action is warranted as it is in a decent shape. It may just remain in its patina.

Do these forged forks suggest this is a later model?

Yes the front fender, chain guard appear to be missing. Bummer, otherwise this is a fairly clean and intact bike. Not bad for $60 lunch money (ok, a week of lunch money...). Rubber seat has “S” for Shelby perhaps, but awfully looking like Schwinn seat…or maybe it’s a transplant from a Schwinn. Not the prittiest seat I've ever seen either way. And I'm not sure why/how the seat post is securely mounted - without a clamp. Does it mean I have a struggle up ahead?

 

[rms37]

This bike was built by AMF and has a true cantilever frame. The earliest advertisements showing an AMF bike with a cantilever frame are dated 1958, which is when most manufacturers started building this style frame as the Schwinn patents had finally run their term. Production of these frames may have started in late 1957 but that fact means this bike is no earlier than late 1957 at the earliest.

Interestingly the bike in the other thread is probably from 1954 through 1957. It does not have the same frame as your bike and is actually earlier than yours. It is an AMF frame produced by them to mimic the configuration of the earlier Shelby built frames which were a sort of “Faux-Cantilever” with a single top tube and a single lower bar siamesed to it. These frames gave the popular “look” of a Schwinn cantilever with out infringing on Schwinn’s patent for a frame design with seat stays flowing forward continuosly past the seat tube to anchor against the downtube.

The badge on your bike mentions Cleveland as home to Shelby but not Cleveland Welding. Production of bicycles stopped at the Cleveland Welding plant during 1956 but the badge reference likely remained the same as either the sales arm for Shelby branded bicycles may have remained in Cleveland or possibly because the Shelby badges weren’t retooled to reflect the factory move to Little Rock.

The seat post on your bike is bound in place with a wedge like a stem. There will be a bolt head on top of the seatpost that you will need to loosen and tap with a hammer to remove the post.

If you post or PM the serial mumber I may be able to date your bike more closely.

 

[Wildcat]

That's one cool bike. Awesome pedals. Same frame as my build off bike, the Silver Flyer, but better forks. I never seen those blade forks on an AMF, but there they are. I would agree and say yours is late 50's made in Arkansas by AMF. Your sprocket is the version made before the star sprocket (like mine) and has the seat stem that tightens like a handlebar stem. Those frames have a little more rake than other cantilevers, I think it rides better more laid back like that.

What does the emblem on the seat tube say?

 

[hatake]

Thanks for the info rms, it makes sense with the patent Schwinn had on cantilever frame. Interesting bits on the seatpost bolt. Gotta check it out tomorrow. Here are some close ups.

Pardon my ignorance, but what would make these pedals interesting? I was going to replace them with my (rather tasteless) flat pedals later on, for more practical reasons.

 

[rms37]

The subject of production dating late fifties and newer AMF frames comes up often on this site and I have made headway into decoding these later serial numbers.

I am fairly confidant I have the codes up through 1962 but the problem with dating these later bikes is that the serial numbers may repeat and I don’t have all the later bikes cataloged to a degree that I am certain if or when that occurs.

The other problem is that in an effort to turn out more product, the bikes, the features and accessories, and especially the frames were not changed as frequently as they had been in earlier times so these cantilever frames were offered with very little change to differentiate them by year for quite a while.

On to the good news….

The combination of features on your bike coupled with the serial number lead me to believe this bike was produced as a 1958 model. The low value of the serial number leads me to speculate it is one of the first bikes built as a 1958 and thus probably one of the very earliest production CWC cantilevers out there. While that excites me in a scholarly way, it probably won’t blow anyone’s mind at the next party you go to…

I am also curious as to the style of seat tube decal used on this bike if you don’t mind posting a picture.

As for the pedals, they are period correct and in decent shape so parking them on a shelf and changing them out for better units for riding is probably a good idea.

Oh..and that seat is a Schwinn seat...

Thanks for the pictures and the serial number, each bike cataloged helps nail down the codes for dating more bikes!

Best,

Phil

 

[hatake]

Thanks Phil, I appreciate your knowledge and insight in AMF bikes. I'm glad this bike excited you a bit, and I know this topic would draw a blank face to anyone that I would talk to around here. My wife can't understand why I "bother with junks". I want to make it a fully functional beer runner that I can feel good about.

Why yes I did forget to post the seat tube decal. It appears this may have been a water slide decals from the way it is peeling. Says "MASTERWELD" "AMF Wheel Goods Division". I think I have seen this exact decal somewhere along in this forum.

And I did find another marking - this time on the front hub. "Mark VII".

I was trying to lace up the rear wheel with regular 3-cross. Spokes went through nipple heads and still not even close. So I'm staring at this picture that I took before I took spokes off, and it is a 4-cross pattern. Full of first for me, this is fun.