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

[Bike from the Dead]

Okay, I'm not sure how many of you saw my "fresh finds" from a month ago, but I ended up selling/trading roughly half of what I had acquired from that last haul. Here's what I've parted with from that last haul:

My Manton & Smith-built Nonpareil Bicycle Works girl's bike.

Literally the morning after I sold it, the guy who purchased had already fixed it up, got it rolling for his wife, and sent me this picture. That's how I know it went to a good home.

Both Columbia straight bar frames.

And the bent-up Columbia Springer fork.

It's not that I didn't like what I had and wanted to keep it, but there were other bikes I just really wanted more. However, the only way I can justify getting what I want is to sell or trade what I don't want. That, and making some expendable cash at a family garage sale helps.

Here's what I got once I had the funds and space: an AMF-built AMFLITE (AM-flite, or AMF-lite? One sounds cooler, but the other sounds correct.) Falcon, a Schwinn parts bike, and 4 chainrings/crank arms. I saw the AMFLITE Falcon pop up on Craigslist at least a few weeks ago, put up for sale by my contact/friend in Oklahoma City. Dude was cool enough to pull the ad and hold it for me for a week as I sold enough to buy it when I inquired about it. I bought it for $100, didn't even bother haggling for it. I even learned that despite the dry-rotted tires, this bike is a roller as-is! It really just needs new tubes, tires, and a coaster brake service, and it's fully ready to ride!

I ended up trading the Columbia springer fork for the Schwinn, which is kind of funny since I had just planned to buy the fenders off it. The only draw was that the chain guard stayed with my contact. If I sell the rest of my my stuff, I might just buy it off of him later. I doubt I'll keep everything from this bike, but it should come in handy for building my custom Schwinn DX bike, Schwinn Dixie.

Since I didn't spend the rest of my budget on the Schwinn fenders, I also bought 4 chainrings/sprockets/crankarms that caught my eye while I was there. All in all, I think I did alright this time around.

Hang tight, I've got several more detailed pictures coming in just a moment. Since there's now a limit to how many pictures you can post at a time, I've got to break this down a bit.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

First batch of detailed pics: chainrings, sprockets, whatever you call them.

I only have one other sprocket like this, and it's on my RRBBO15 bike. But this one looks almost new! It's just got a little dust and dirt on it. Definitely using this one on one of my custom bikes.

This looks to be the latest of the parts I got. I hadn't seen this exact sprocket before, but I really can't remember the last time I saw this faceted crank arm. It has some word on it, but I can't make out what it says. Still, it looks cool.

I've got at least one or two of this type of sprocket, but I don't think any of them are this big! This might go on Schwinn Dixie soon, as it won't look too small for the original chain guard like every other chainring I've mocked up so far.

Slightly smaller, but it looks like the "ring" is thicker than the other one's I've got.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Next up, the Schwinn parts-donor. I've never seen one with this sort of paint scheme before. Is it custom, or just an uncommon option?

I don't know why, but almost every S-2 wheel I've acquired has the original white and black paint covered up with grey primer/paint. Was that just poor man's chrome, or what?

Just looked up the serial Number. Built on August 1st, 1951. Not sure what's up with the dots above the serial number though. They look suspiciously factory...

 

[Bike from the Dead]

And now for the main event! This bike right here is the main reason I sold off more bikes and parts. Ever since I saw it pop up on Craigslist, I just couldn't take my mind off it. I just hadn't seen any bike like it, save for some smaller 20 inch muscle bikes. Even crazier, I can't find hardly any pictures of bikes like this. There were maybe 30 pictures total of similar bikes I could find, so hopefully that number will increase drastically after I'm done! I'm amazed how intact this bike is. Sure, there's the odd spot of rust poking through the paint here and there, and the red's just a little faded on the chain guard, but overall, this bike is nice. The graphics are sharp and clear, the seat's still supple, the chrome is near mint, and the red POPS in the sunlight!

It looks great as is, but as usual, I see room for improvement. My plan for this bike down the road is to turn it into a 26 inch muscle bike. I won't go overboard with crazy modifications like my last muscle bike build, though. I plan to keep this build mild and clean. I just want to swap out the handlebars for some high risers, add a banana seat (preferably a smooth sparkle white seat) and chrome sissy bar, remove the fenders, squeeze a balloon tire in the back, keep a middleweight tire up front, maybe use my Bendix 2 speed kickback hub, and that's really about it. I want to leave the paint as is, and make the rest of my modifications completely reversible. This bike's too nice to hack up, but it can still look nicer, I think, with a few small changes. For now though, I think I'll just focus on getting it fixed up to ride in its current configuration. I need to finish my other projects first.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Found the serial number, but I can't really read it without removing the rear wheel. I'll get a better photo of it when I replace the tubes/tires.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the rear tire is original to the bike. It certainly looks the part.

That's all the photos I have for now. I won't enter the AMFLITE Falcon in this year's Rat Rod Bikes Build Off, as I've got too many other projects I'm already working on right now, but I may enter it into either the next Winter/Muscle Bike Build Off or next year's main Build Off. We'll see.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That AMF frame is gold. I love the swooping top tubes with seatpost extension. My first thought was BMX conversion, but a sparkling nanner and apes will be AWESOME!

 

[blackdiamond]

Love them Arkansan bikes

 

[Bike from the Dead]

That AMF frame is gold. I love the swooping top tubes with seatpost extension. My first thought was BMX conversion, but a sparkling nanner and apes will be AWESOME!

Thanks! Yeah, the top tubes were one of the many things that attracted me to the bike. Thanks! If you want a better idea of what direction I'm thinking of taking this bike, check out @tjwilson's Sportmaster from the last MBBO. I want to achieve a similar flavor as his bike, where most of the bike is left original, but with a few mild cosmetic enhancements that go a long way in the final build.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Love them Arkansan bikes

Thanks! Arkansas is right next door to the state where I live, so maybe I'll take this bike back to its hometown for a little cruise!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I decided to change the tubes and tires on the AMFlite Falcon this past weekend, and that gave me a chance to see the underside of the bike and its overall condition. There is hardly ANY rust on the underside of either fender! I mean, I could stick them in Evaporust and it'd look like nothing ever happened here! This bike is arguably the nicest one I've ever bought!

Even the underside of the seat looks clean! This bike was really taken care of!

While there is some rust on the underside of the frame, just like with the rest of the bike, it's very minimal, and it just helps to show the bike's age.

Unfortunately, due to one of the original lock washers, I'm not sure what the serial number ultimately says. I don't know if that's a "K," an "H," or an "R" up front. That might be an "I" that comes after it, though. Does anyone here know how to I.D. AMF bikes?

Here's what the bike looks like with fresh tires and tubes. I used whitewall tires because I already had them. I was saving them for another project, but since progress has been slow on that one, and this one actually rolls, I figured I'd just use those tires on this bike. I've got to say, they really add to the look of the Falcon! So much so, in fact, that I'm not sure I want to turn it into a 26 inch muscle bike now. This bike is really unique as it is, and the whitewalls just make it look nicer than I could have ever anticipated. All this bike really needs to be fully ridable is a coaster brake service, and a more comfortable seat. I'd still like to explore some non-destructive customizations, but this is already an attractive bike as-is.

What's really funny is that that family, who usually don't care as much about old bikes as I do, really like this bike. I'll show my parents whatever bikes I'm working on, and they're supportive of my hobby, but I know they're just not into it like I am. But then I brought this home, and put some whitewalls on it, and everyone in my family, even my brother, opted to take it for a spin around the cul-de-sac without hesitation! They've all been quite vocal about how much they like this one bike of mine, and I really like that. So, I might just focus on making this bike into a reliable rider for now, and worry about the modifications later.

 

[RustyGold]

There was a 24"/20" muscle bike version of this frame...

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Wow that's super clean, don't think I've ever seen an old saddle that original! Love the story of how everyone wanted to ride, I think this bike just found it's purpose. You now are in possession of an ambassador, something for friends and family to try out, so they get addicted to bikes. Very special machine

 

[Bike from the Dead]

There was a 24"/20" muscle bike version of this frame...
View attachment 162141

View attachment 162142

I've seen a few examples of those while I was researching this bike! All the more reason why I think it'd be cool to turn this one into a muscle bike. Not going to lie though, I do not like those handlebars. They just don't look right. What's weird is the girl's bike has fenders, yet the boy's bike doesn't. What's up with that?

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Wow that's super clean, don't think I've ever seen an old saddle that original! Love the story of how everyone wanted to ride, I think this bike just found it's purpose. You now are in possession of an ambassador, something for friends and family to try out, so they get addicted to bikes. Very special machine

I know! I was genuinely surprised to see how nice it was myself! I like that idea! Thanks!

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Wow that's super clean, don't think I've ever seen an old saddle that original! Love the story of how everyone wanted to ride, I think this bike just found it's purpose. You now are in possession of an ambassador, something for friends and family to try out, so they get addicted to bikes. Very special machine

I had one of those in the form of a $10 score 70's Peugeot mixte that I converted to a singlespeed for my daughter. It stayed at my place and any time I needed a bike for a visitor, they rode it and loved it. I gave it to a neighbor before moving back to CO because I had finished the Hercules for her.

 

[RustyGold]

What's weird is the girl's bike has fenders, yet the boy's bike doesn't. What's up with that?

Well... obviously...fenders are for girls .

Could have something to do with the 24 rear on the boys (not obvious in the pic), and the 20 on the girls...maybe they had trouble sourcing a duckbill for a 24".

 

[clerkkent]

The faceted crank arm is a "redline", which is fairly new; I dunno if it came with that Columbi-ish chain ring.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

The faceted crank arm is a "redline", which is fairly new; I dunno if it came with that Columbi-ish chain ring.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm hoping to find out more about it. I know it has 7 inch crank arms, which I've heard makes it somewhat valuable, but I don't know much of anything about BMX bikes.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Oh boy! Looks like this September is a great time for grave-robbing digging up old bones necromancy gathering new projects! First up, I bought this bike from a friend at the start of the month. I've been told it's a 1962 Murray-built OTASCO (Oklahoma and Tire Supply Company) Flying-O bike. It's pretty much all there, save for the tank and seat. I'll admit, this bike wasn't anywhere on my "must own" list of bikes, but it's got a unique style, and the price was too nice to pass up. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it just yet. Part of me wants to find the original tank and restore it, another part of me wants to do a mild custom build, another part wants to go with a space-age vibe, and yet another part of me wants to completely freak this bike out. For now though, it's sitting in storage, waiting its turn to be built.