Bike from the Dead's Freshly-Exhumed Finds (Everything I've dug up since 6/15/21)

[Bike from the Dead]

Earlier this Sunday, I went to the Springfield, Missouri bicycle swap meet. I was hoping to find parts to fix up all my current project bikes. While I didn't find as much as I had hoped, I still found a decent amount of parts that I could use. Here's what I brought home from Springfield: 1 AMF wheel, 1 AMF thank headlight lens, 1 handlebar, 1 rectangular headlight, 1 rigid fork, 1 Schwinn springer fork, 1 Schwinn feather chain guard, 2 perfectly seasoned seats, and 1 Waverly girl's bike built by The Westfield Manufacturing Company. I spent more than I anticipated at $190 ($164 after factoring in what I sold,) plus a couple trades, but I'm pretty happy with what I got. All these parts are going to help get my project bikes back on the road!

Up first is an AMF front wheel I bought for $3. I really needed a rear wheel, but as long as I have the hoop, I can lace it back up with a coaster brake hub.

Next, I got an AMF headlight piece and lens that look to have come off a girl's bike. I don't really need the chrome pice, but that original plastic lens is just what I need for my 1962 AMF-built Western Flyer Sonic Flyer I'm rebuilding. I traded 2 Schwinn feather chain guards for this and a couple other parts.

I actually got both the wheel and headlight piece for my Western Flyer I got from my grandpa. I didn't know which wheel was original to the bike at first, but I eventually figured it out. Only the front wheel was correct for the bike, so I'll need to redo this wheel hoop with a coaster brake hub. I might stick with the Komet Super hub that was originally on this bike when I got it, or I'll install a Bendix hub. I'll also want to use that headlight lens in place of the 3D-printed reproduction lens I got some time ago.

Next is this Schwinn chain guard that I paid $20 for. I plan to use it on my 1950 Schwinn DX bike, The Schwinn Dixie Dreamcycle, in place of the previous chain guard. That flat spot in the middle is the perfect place for a decal with the name of the bike.

Next is a fork I traded for along with that AMF headlight lens. This will replace the fork that snapped on Schwinn Dixie last year. The steerer tube is about an inch too long, but it'll be easier (and safer) to thread and cut this fork, than to slice and splice a new steerer tube to a busted/shorter fork.

Next is a handlebar that I traded for along with those other 2 previously mentioned items. I have an idea which bike I'll use it on, but nothing's set in stone just yet.

I also found this generator-powered headlight for $5 that I thought would be a nice alternative option for my 2021 MBBO project, The Prowler. Don't know if I'll use it or not, but it's got a good look.

Up next is a part I'm really excited about: an early Schwinn springer fork! I don't know which bike I'll throw this on yet, but it turns out that it came off a bike I traded for at my first bicycle swap meet in Springfield back in 2019! I've long since parted with (and parted out) that bike, but it's funny how I got both the frame and fork on two separate occasions!

I'm not done yet though! There's still more to come.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

More finds from Springfield!

I bought this cool seat for $35. I want to say it's a Troxel, but it's hard to made out the brand. It's a little rough, but it's still got padding, and I love the character. I'm thinking of installing this on my Black Phantom frame I found earlier this year. I think it'd be a perfect match for the way I want to build this bike.

This seat was one of the last purchases I made before I left the swap meet. It's rough, but for $2, it was perfect! It's still got plenty of padding left in it, nothing's seized on it, and it's got the perfect ratty character! It makes me think of those canvas "desert water bags" I see on some classic cars. I want to say this is a Troxel too, but it's even harder to tell what brand used to be on that circle in the middle of the seat. What's really cool is that I knew just what bike I wanted to use this seat on the moment I saw it!

As soon as I got the chance, I mocked it up on the rusty Murray Meteor Flite I bought a few weeks ago. I think it's perfect! I wasn't too sold on the rust at first, but it's amazing how one piece can make a bike! In fact, it got me so pumped that I'm thinking about throwing this bike into the Build Off this year! I just need to figure out what name to give this project...

Don't go anywhere! There's still one last find to share from Springfield!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I didn't intend to bring another complete bike home with me from Springfield, but this bike was practically a rolling parts-pack! It's a Waverly bike build by the Westfield Manufacturing Company. I don't know what year it is, but it almost looks like an early postwar bike. The frame's different than other balloon tire Westfield step-thru bikes from the 1950s, but I don't know. I'm not real familiar with these Westfield/Columbia bikes. What I do know however is that I got a great deal on this bike for $50, and I didn't (okay, couldn't; I tried) haggle for it! I mostly got it for that wicked industrial-looking springer fork, but there's plenty of other good part on it beside that. The fenders aren't in too bad of shape, aside from some small dents here and there, the wheels are good, the chainring's cool, I could probably use the handlebars on another build, the seat post is good, one of the tubes still holds air, and even the frame's not too shabby. Heck, after throwing a different front wheel and tire on it, I found the bike even rolls and stops! It really needs a new chain, but it's a rider!

While I'm fairly certain this bike will be parted out for my other rides, I still just had to fiddle around in Photoshop to see what this bike would look like if it was converted to a men's bike. Got to say, I like the possibilities.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Last but not least for now, here's some detail shots of the Waverly.

Well, that's all I've dug up for now! Hope you enjoyed checking it all out!

 

[rat krate orange]

Nice finds their Austin.. Lots of possibility's here.. Happy building...

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Nice finds their Austin.. Lots of possibility's here.. Happy building...

Thanks Razin! I'm looking forward to putting these parts to good use. It's going to be fun!

 

[rat krate orange]

Check out @Oddjobs post and you can check out my Skully Wind Splint Special that i just put together..

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Check out @Oddjobs post and you can check out my Skully Wind Splint Special that i just put together..

Got a link? I can't find it.

 

[rat krate orange]

Got a link? I can't find it.

Silver king unchained... Enjoy...

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Picked up a ton of free upcycling materials on Saturday. Not the usual kind of bike parts, but they're definitely going to be used as such in the near future...

 

[Tallbikeman]

Here's the other bike I picked up from my grandparents last Wednesday: a 2-speed Schwinn Deluxe Racer, built in October 1967! I'm fully convinced this thing is 99% original, save for maybe the tires and tubes. Part of me wants to keep this bike, as it's still rideable, albeit in need of some maintenance, and it's something from family, not an ad off Craigslist or Marketplace. Truth be told though, as nice of a bike as this is, I can't see myself riding this bike much. I don't know why, but I just never got into these road/track bikes like I did cruisers and muscle bikes. So, as nice as this bike is, I'm thinking I'll be happier if I sell it or trade it for something I really want.
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The taillight still works, but the headlight doesn't light up now for some reason. My guess is the failing electrical tape on the wire leading to the headlight. I remember applying that a few years ago, as the wire frayed, but I guess it's no longer doing its job. I do remember that headlight still worked last time, though.
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Small detail, but is that how the bolt holding the chain guard to the frame is supposed to go? I thought it was supposed to be the other way around...
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What a great looking Schwinn Racer. Looks to be a 3 speed probably with a Sturmey Archer hub. The overall design of these skinny tired Schwinns coupled with the 1020 steel frames make for very smooth riding bicycles.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

What a great looking Schwinn Racer. Looks to be a 3 speed probably with a Sturmey Archer hub. The overall design of these skinny tired Schwinns coupled with the 1020 steel frames make for very smooth riding bicycles.

Yeah, it was. Can't say it was anything I was attached to though.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Okay, I wish I could've posted this a month ago, (like, to the day,) but here's my freshest find as of August 17th. Saw an ad on Marketplace for 5 free bikes and some other stuff close to home while I was still house-sitting in Sapulpa. Wasn't even sure everything would still even be there after the 3-4 hours since the ad was posted, but to my good fortune, everything was still there! Not only did I get all 5 bikes (which for the most part are just good for parts,) but I even got an old train set too!

First, the bikes: I haven't taken the time to identify all of them yet, but I at least know what some of them are.

First, what I'm guessing is some 1960s-1970s Murray-built 10-speed bike. Nothing fancy, but it could be a good parts donor for the coolest bike out of the lot, or it could even be a nice bike on its own. Looks like it's got the most... innovative reflector too, made out of a chunk of a road sign!

Next, another Murray-built road bike from the 1970s at the earliest. This once was sold through JC Penney apparently. Not sure what I want to do with it, but it's got some great parts. The chrome is pretty mint on this one!

Next is an AMF Starlight. This would make a great rider, if the frame and fork weren't bent. Shame too, I like the color. Still, there are plenty of parts on this bike that are worth saving.

The fourth bike in this collection of freebies is this AMF Debutante. I really love the chain guard and handlebars on this one! Part of me wants to part this bike out, but another part of me wants to chop this one up and convert it to a stretched boy's bike! Either way, this one's got potential!

Last but by no means the least, my favorite frame of the bunch: This mid-70s Sears Free Spirit 10-speed! I'm not 100% sure who built this one (I'm guessing Murray) and I can't tell what size wheels it had (my guess is 24", based on the size of the frame and what I've read on these.) What I do know is this bike was originally red, white and blue, and it's a twin tube frame. That automatically makes it one of my coolest freebie bike finds, at least in my opinion! It's definitely missing a few parts, but it's got potential. I haven't messed with 10-speed bikes before, but this would be a great candidate to start with!

And now for something completely different: old model trains! I don't know much about the one I found for free next to the dumpster everything else was sitting against, but as a bit of a train nut, the moment I saw that box with old toy train stuff, I had to bring it back with me. I doubt any of the tracks or even the engine still work or could be salvaged, but at the very least it could make a great display piece after some dusting. I just didn't want to see it get thrown away!

 

[Tallbikeman]

Twin top tube 10 speed. Cool. Like your train set also.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Twin top tube 10 speed. Cool. Like your train set also.

Thanks!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Brought home another freebie this Sunday! This time it's a vintage girl's Huffy bike that once served as wall decor in some guy's shop before I got it. I'm not too sure what this bike started life as though. On one hand, it looks like a muscle bike frame, and the banana seat and sissy bar seem to indicate that. On the other hand, it could've started out as a kid's cruiser, since it has a pair of full fenders, the handlebars are more cruiser than muscle, and the wheels have only 20 spokes each. I couldn't find any matches to the frame through Google, though I did see an original muscle bike version of this same frame the day just before I got this bike.

Admittedly, I don't need to be bringing home more bikes, especially when they don't have any parts that could be donated to my current projects. That said, I figured I could try something new with this bike. Normally, I build bikes for myself and no one else, as this is a hobby for me, but I'm strapped for cash right now. After the positive response I got from my last RRBBO entry, I figured I could try building a bike for the sole purpose of selling it and making some much-needed cash. Granted, I don't know what a bike like this could realistically fetch, especially given the condition and the fact that it's a girl's bike. Still, it didn't cost me anything more than maybe a gallon of gas or two to acquire this bike, and I should have enough parts to build this bike into something rideable. I think the real challenge will be not getting too attached to this bike, because I do actually like the frame style.

After wiping the dust off:

Also turns out the tubes hold air, at least long enough for taking a few pics.

And now for some detail shots:

One issue I'm going to have to work around if I want to make this bike rideable again: someone decided a long time ago, for whatever reason, to cut into the steerer tube and pry it open! I don't know what they were thinking, but ultimately, I doubt I can use this fork again. I'm sure someone more skilled than me could weld a new steerer tube onto this fork, but I haven't had the best luck with that. I bet I could remove the fork using Dad's cut-off wheel though, and I have plenty of good forks I could use on this bike.

Saw this hole under the top tube. I'm guessing it was for letting gases out while the frame was welded together.

Saw this stamped on the kickstand.

I think this is the serial number for the bike. It was under the bottom bracket. Looks like "2047." Anyone know what that means?

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Okay, talk about a delayed post, but I finally found time to go through my backlog of bike pics and get everything ready for posting!

Last year when I went to the Springfield, Missouri bicycle swap meet, "belkerx3," one of the folks over at The C.A.B.E., noticed that I was close to where he lived, and invited me to come over at some point and talk bikes with him. Later on Christmas day last year, we finally got a chance to meet. He showed me his cool collection of vintage bikes, and I showed him pictures of the bikes in my collection. What surprised me about my visit with Mr. Belker though, was that he had some bike stuff he wanted to give me... for free! He had some books and parts he had no use for anymore, and he wanted to see them all go to someone who could use them. I was blown away! That was one of the coolest Christmas gifts I've ever received for sure! Hopefully I'll think of something good to gift Mr. Belker in return, especially after what he gave me later near my birthday...

Admittedly, my plan for that Schwinn frame was to build it up as a mild custom using what parts I had that I wouldn't miss, but for the life of me, nothing I threw on this frame looked good to me. So it's sitting in storage for now while I figure out how to build it up. As for the rest of the parts, some I traded for other parts you'll see in a following post, the rest I'm keeping for my current projects. And as for the books, I've already read through 2 of them, and I'm working on the rest. Definitely fun reading material!

I'm not done yet though! There's still more backlogged posts I've been meaning to share on the way!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

This next post is big enough that I need to split it in half just to fit all the photos.

Ok, so earlier this February, @billn invited me to tag along with him at the Darryl Starbird car show in Tulsa. We had a ton of fun checking out all the cars there (I especially liked Bill's 1950 Chevy truck he brought to the show,) but to our surprise, someone had entered some vintage bikes into the show under "Special Interest!" If either of us had known, we would have entered our bikes into the show! Well, after Bill went home, I hung around for the rest of the day and checked out the rest of the show. Eventually, I found the guy who entered his bikes into the show.

Turns out this guy, Ruby, was still in high school, but he loved to build these wild lowrider bikes! Granted, lowrider bikes aren't really my jam, but I can respect the amount of work that clearly went into these rides. (I especially dig the blue 20 inch Schwinn he put together.) We got talking for a bit, and we learned by accident that we had met before last year at the VW show in Catoosa! He still had my contact info from last time, as he had some parts I was interested in for my projects! This time, we made sure our phone numbers worked, and we agreed to meet up again the following week to do some trading on bicycle parts.

The main part I wanted from him was this chain guard I needed for my 2021-2022 MBBO entry, The Prowler, which I hadn't done much with since the Muscle Bike Build Off I built it for ended. Thankfully, this was just what the bike needed to get the momentum going once again! It's not perfect, but like the rest of the bike, it's going to be tweaked and modified to work.

That wasn't all I got from Ruby though. I got way more than I even expected to get! Granted, not everything I got is premium quality stuff, but I got a lot of pieces I feel are full of potential. I'm just happy that I was able to find a good home for the stuff I didn't need in exchange for the stuff I could potentially use!

Can't say I've seen these springer fork arms welded like this before, but I figured I might still have a use for them.

Remember how earlier I said lowrider bikes aren't really my jam? Well, that didn't stop me from getting these lowrider forks to see whether or not that's actually the case! Like with my first Off Road Build Off entry last year, I can't just stick to one style of bicycle build. I love branching out and trying new things, and experimenting with different bicycle build styles is no exception! I don't know what bike I'd want to throw these on just yet, but I think these would be a good way for me to practice riding bikes with more rake and trail in their steering geometry.

These wheels came off that rusty AMF GTO "Warrior Princess" from the first picture. I dig the patina on these wheels, where they aren't rusty so much as the paint's just chipping off. I need to build me something around these wheels...

Don't go anywhere! There's still more pics on the way right after this!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Admittedly, I got this 1973 Schwinn Lil' Chik and AMF-built Firestone GTO "Warrior Princess" mostly for the tube bends. I have plans for a few custom bikes I want to build out of all the frames I've acquired over the years that I don't care to build as they are, and from what I understand, unless you have a tubing bender, it's easier to work with preexisting tube bends than to make your own. That said, this old yeller Schwinn makes me want to build a yellow bike at some point! Maybe whatever I build out of this bike might just keep the yellow paint job...

Not gonna lie, if I don't cut up this "Warrior Princess" to build something else, I'm going to build it up and call it "Xena." Never even watched the show, but it's the first thing that springs to mind when I think "Warrior Princess." It's got a pretty good patina as it sits, but it's not a frame style I'm really attached to... so we'll see what becomes of it.

I also checked to see if that tank I got in the mix was for a Murray, and to my good fortune, it is! It's missing the guts, but that doesn't bother me. If I can revitalize this frame, that tank will most likely find its home on it!

Not done getting everything up to date just yet though! There are still 2 more fresh finds left to share, and the next one's a doozy!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

This one's going to be another 2-parter.

Ok, remember my good friend Mr. Belker who gave me all those books and parts on Christmas day last year? Well, when I was up there that day, he pointed out a bike he had hanging up in his garage that he purchased from my grandpa almost 30 years ago: a JC Higgins Flightliner! He didn't really need it anymore, as it had just been hanging up ever since he repainted and reassembled it all those years ago. Since he got it from my grandpa, who is fishing buddies with a relative of his, and since I'm into these vintage bikes, he told me I'd get first dibs on it. At first we talked about trading for it, but Mr. Belker wasn't really interested in adding anymore bikes to his collection, and I admittedly didn't have anything good to trade for such a bike. I asked him how much he'd want for it, figuring I could just buy it with the money I'd get on my birthday, but he came back with an offer I couldn't refuse: if I promised not to cut it up, he'd just give it to me. That was the easiest terms of service I've ever agreed to in my life! I met up with him again earlier this February, and after talking bikes and classic cars for a few fun hours, I took the JC Higgins back to my grandparents' house, and then after the birthday party was over, home. Amazingly, Grandpa still remembered this bike and selling it to Mr. Belker all these years later! Unfortunately, he doesn't remember how he got it, or what the story was on the bike beforehand.

I took that cool Fire Chief siren off so it wouldn't fall off on the long drive back home. I just forgot to put it back on for the photos I took when I got home.