Back in the saddle with this "sun racer"

[ReVo]

Just asked my parent's next door neighbors of more than 60 years if they still had old bike I remembered from my childhood. Turns out they did! My mom got me some pictures of it and I finally looked at it today.

The lady who sold it to me used to baby sit me as a child. I remember climbing in the big tree in their front yard even! The lady's father used to tell my brother and I about the past and he rode the bike around the farm to check the crops my dad grew there. He passed away about 8 years ago and his daughter has been riding it ever since. It sat in there barn for years as well.

I talked to the lady and she told me her grandfather bought it brand new years ago and it's been in the family ever since. We agreed on a price of 100 dollars and I'm super excited to find out more about it! The headbadge reads sun racer and I'm taking a pot shot on that it's Snyder built. If anybody has more info on it I would be very appreciative!

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[deorman]

You're probably right about the manufacturer, the traces of paint and geometry look identical to post-ww2 Rollfast bikes.

 

[ReVo]

Well, I got some info from the cabe as to deciphering the number on the bb to figure the year. It reads 84SN which I guess if you swap the two numbers you get the year. This only works for 1940 and up, I guess. So with that I can guess it's a 1948 Snyder built bike.

It needs spokes, tires, and a good cleaning. I cleaned a few spots and I found some purdy O.G. Red and white under the brown. I'm not gonna paint this thing, not with those boss stripes!

The seat isn't original, but it is a Persons and it's in awesome shape so I think it will stay. (with a bit of cleaning of course!) The wheels are also color matched red with white stripes. It also seems to have the O.G. Torrington pedals. The bars are pitted and peeling, but who cares! It's not a spring chicken anymore! All in all I think it's all there.

I'm gonna start doing some research on how to properly clean it without destroying the paint. Any tips or hints are appreciated!

 

[deorman]

Paint looks familiar.

Some would say leave it rusty, but I'm not on that list. Do an inside/downside test spot first for whatever you do is probably the best advice I have to offer. Looks to me like the bit you already did is working. I find I have good luck on tough spots with some gentle Brillo action, but only on paint or metal, never on decals. Fortunately the graphics on these bikes are well bonded overlapping paint instead of decals.

 

[horsefarmer]

I have a somewhat similar rollfast frame, sadly after removing the black rattlecan paint, it's rougher than yours... Glad you are keeping your O.G. finish!

 

[ReVo]

Paint looks familiar.
View attachment 26161
Some would say leave it rusty, but I'm not on that list. Do an inside/downside test spot first for whatever you do is probably the best advice I have to offer. Looks to me like the bit you already did is working. I find I have good luck on tough spots with some gentle Brillo action, but only on paint or metal, never on decals. Fortunately the graphics on these bikes are well bonded overlapping paint instead of decals.

I've been using 0000 steel wool and wd40 and it's been working great! I'm not a fan of the full rusted look either, the wear is something I do like. Your bike is awesome! Snyder built bikes are some of my favorite!

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[ReVo]

I have a somewhat similar rollfast frame, sadly after removing the black rattlecan paint, it's rougher than yours... Glad you are keeping your O.G. finish!

I wouldn't dare strip it. Its like a snapshot of the past. All the years and miles this thing has seen. Those scars and patina can't be recreated. As for your rollfast I'm pretty sure it the exact same frame. Keep it original! I dig it, man!

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[ReVo]

The 0000 steel wool and wd40 treatment is working nicely. The fenders are a bit crustier than expected, but still solid and cleaning nicely. It's all coming apart nicely as well. Thank God they kept it in the barn all those years.

With a stroke of luck I found that the years of used motor oil soaking left a nice greasy crust on the sprocket which chips off easy. There is wonderful O.g. Chrome under there!

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[horsefarmer]

The paint on those fenders is really cool!

 

[ReVo]

Okay guys, I'm in a bit of a internal battle with tire choices. I know I want to use up all the fender space I can so fat franks came to mind. I know I don't just want black walls and I dont feel like white walls either. So it's beige...

Or clay...

Or crazy insane red white walls!

Shoot me some perspective, guys no opinion is a bad one! [emoji106]

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[ReVo]

I finally pushed myself to finish cleaning this thing and getting back together today! It was so worth it! It still needs the wheels rebuilt and trued and I'm getting some nice cream brick pattern tires for her as well. Certainly the best riding bike in the corral!

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[ReVo]

Upon some further research I discovered what HSB&Co. stands for.


-Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co.
This leading hardware dealership was the descendant of a Chicago store called Tuttle, Hibbard & Co., which took that name in 1855 when William G. Hibbard became a partner. In 1865, Hibbard was joined by Franklin F. Spencer, and the enterprise was renamed Hibbard & Spencer. By 1867, the company's annual sales of hardware had reached $1 million. When longtime company employee A. C. Bartlett became a partner in 1882, the company's name became Hibbard, Spencer & Bartlett & Co. When Spencer died in 1890, the company was already among the leading wholesalers of hardware in the United States. In 1903, the year Hibbard died, the company opened a 10-story warehouse next to State Street Bridge in downtown Chicago. In 1932, the company introduced a new line of hand tools under the brand name “True Value.” By 1948, Hibbard's annual sales reached nearly $30 million. Business slowed and profits were shrunk, however, as new hardware cooperatives began to bypass traditional wholesalers. In 1962, the company's owners, who wanted to move into the real-estate business, sold the hardware operations and the “True Value” brand to John Cotter for $2.5 million.

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