Columbia 1939 Superb old as grandma! Rear Fender Like Whoa!

[Bettleguise]

What's up, I bought this bike from a store on Canal st in New York City, way past where African guys sell fake Gucci handbags. It was painted in chrome spray paint which i stripped off a bit. The front fender is obviously wrong, and the cross brace handlebars were bent so I took em off for now. Do any of you guys know about this bike? It's a 1939 Columbia Superb. I'm curious is the chainguard is actually original, if it would have had truss rods and a rack? Can I get the coaster brake to actually stop this thing? Does anyone know a good match for the gray paint? These Goodyear tires can't be 70 years old, can they?
Gonna restore it to a nice shiny rat, maybe paint the rims olive green. This will be one of the old vehicles on the road in New York period! Lend some advice I promise not to .......ize the thing. Hollar!

 

[Bendix]

what a nice frame/fork! some of the experts will know all about it. to me it looks like a snyder mfg. frame but i don't know if they built for columbia or not (?). i like them 'cause they seem to have longish top tubes so the grips aren't at your hips

 

[meatwad1]

Yes the tires are that old. Ive got a set that are still supple. the paint on them can be SOSed off.

The chaingard I think is newer but is columbia not much different than what it came with.

The front fender I think is of the next generation columbia. (looks better imo)

Heres the cool part. A repo tank for it can be had for 25 bucks from Memory Lane Classics.

A catolog and pics of these in all sorts of dress can be found at Nostalgicnet.com. see speigal and westfield as well.

The coaster should be relubed and then acessed.

I wouldn't rat rod it but restore it or restore it ratty.

 

[Bettleguise]

Thanks! That tanks is cheap man, especially considering someone on Ebay is selling what looks like the same one for 135. I will be getting it for sure. This thing is geared for one strong rider, and the front chainring is huge for a cruiser bike. Noticed the chain was a little thicker than a current sing speed chain, will it be a problem getting a new chain and rear cog?
One thing cool about this bike is it handles way better than my Schwinn. I'd be really whipping it through traffic if it could actually stop, for now I'm in the bike lane getting passed by just about everyone.
When I opened the reflector the glass piece was broken and fell into a million pieces. I saved em, but maybe some one is selling a replacement? -Jimmy Fenders

 

[Bettleguise]

OOhh, sorry for all the questions lads.
Are the springs on the seat adjustable? It's like sitting on a pogo stick, but in an uncomfortable way, I'm afraid i might just bounce off, although it's fun when you are grooving to your walkman/ipod, brung brung brung boing boing.

 

[12bcruzin]

Might be older than a 39, maybe a 37. Chainguard is a replacement. The later Columbias all came with a curved downtube and judging by the rear dropouts, it is a Columbia and not a Westfield. The chain is a 3/16 x 1/2 pitch and they are tough to find, some even came equipped with a heavy duty 1/4 x 1/2 pitch. The rear hub is a New Departure and ask Memory Lane for parts...should be no problem to rebuild. There is a guy (Jerry) with repop pedals and reflectors on ebay. He has repopped the marble reflector but it has a different style housing. You might be able to take his apart to mount the reflector-only onto your base (email him). Memory Lane was getting 50 for the tank and horn unit, still a screaming deal...
Here is a pic of my 1939ish...may be for sale in the near future...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/david-quickpic/3108320121/in/set-72157602356066779/

 

[socal_jack]

If the chain is a 3/16 X 1/2 inch pitch those are readily available from BMX stores KMC model 415H, I've seen them on ebay as low as $3.

 

[bikesntrikes]

I have a chainguard and rear rack that might work and look right at home on that bike. The chainguard says Columbia on it.

LMK if you're interested.

 

[meatwad1]

<<Are the springs on the seat adjustable? >>

No. What I have done in the past is to put the seat pan on a repo Persons type seat chassis. You lose some of the cool factor but then it's at least rideable. It might be hit or miss if the bolts would line up with yours though. (or you could just go with a repo seat but they just don't look right to me, more like mid/late 50s)

 

[Bettleguise]

Iv'e done a little work on her. Perhaps I butchered it a bit, but the original rear hub got swaped out with a modern shimano coaster hub, truss rods fabricated and slighty questionable paint job. Not gonna used the original seat, sob sob, because it's the most uncomfortable thing you ever sat on. I'm putting a drum brake on the front and some lights horns, rack so I'll keep posting. Let me know how you think it's going, this is going to be a sort of custom daily rider restoration not a museum piece by any stretch

These are the parts i bought online tank front fender and non columbia but pre war guard

I used alkyd/oil paint rustolem smokey gray tinted to match the frame and some dark red that sorta matched the faded original. I touched up the frame and went over the red completely. It might sound crazy but I want to preserve some of the original paint on the frame and rear fender. Does anyone know how to antique a new oil based paint job? Anyone know about clearcoating over alkyd paint?

it hasn't really been wet sanded yet cuz the paint's still soft

and here's the assembled bike so far

it's looking like a soviet military bike so far, maybe I'll keep with the army theme.

 

[Markm]

Cooool!!!

 

[ratina]

Lookin good!

What are you doing with the original seat?

 

[Bettleguise]

I'm keeping the seat for now bro, it's just too cool to part with. Maybe some day my ass will get fat enough to ride on it.

 

[ratina]

I'm keeping the seat for now bro, it's just too cool to part with. Maybe some day my butt will get fat enough to ride on it.

I dont blame ya, its an awesome seat

 

[Bettleguise]

So, I keep putting more coats of paint on, with a brush. Wait, wet sand, burn through, paint, put in oven at 200 for one hour, wait wet sand, burn through, paint, oven ect. But it's getting there. The red paint on the frame just won't dry, I don't know what I did wrong.

Sturmley archer drum brake on the front. Temporary lever.

Nice rack. Although I want it to be horizontal not angled up. Should i drill new holes for the brace, or bend the curve at the seat post?

Oh and the Persons, jeweled reflector, which was broken in pieces. Put it together like a puzzle, took hours literally, and put some glue in there. I'm gonna put some LEDs behind it in the fender housing. But are these things replaceable? I saw some on ebay for a good chunk of change, like 50 or so, no thanks. I could just put some glass beads in there, or leave it as is.

For the seat, probably gonna suck it up and buy a Brooks.
Guess I'll have to repaint the rear fender now, but I don't want to, I'm on the fence about it. Hate to to lose the Pope westfield decal, plus my pinstripping isn't all that

 

[Bettleguise]

No cars on Mars, has a picture of a 1920's Columbia with the same Chaingurad as what i have. I cut off some of it btw

Whats the deal with this, is it a generic Chainguard? I've seen it on a couple different brands.

 

[karfer67]

this guard came off a womens liberty looks familiar huh

 

[Bettleguise]

It's kooky I keep seeing my guard on all these different brands. I had to drill out the rivets, move them over, then cut off the end and make another attachment. It still sorta doesn't fit, and the cranks kind scrape it, but it's getting there.

 

[Bettleguise]

"Couldn't leave it well enough alone"- my roomate

Well, I wanted some lights. Coulda done it for a fraction of the price if i went another route but I bought a 12v drill battery for 30 bucks from home depot, luckily i already have the charger, which would cost another 30. Picked up a flexible LED strip from Strauss auto store to put behind the fender reflector. Picked up some 3 dollar led bulbs from a lighting store in Chinatown for the front light.

I really hacked up the Person reflector and gorilla glued it back together.

I was kinda stocked to see the original unfaded paint behind the fender reflector. The red and gold pinstripping looks regal.

Gear sizing anyone? I'm running a 46 x 19 teeth on her, but considering raising the back to a 20 tooth. I wondering what gears you guys ride. The original cranks on this baby had 52 teeth, which is Herculean.

I'm having a slight issue with the front fender and the length of the braces. When I attach the braces to the axle, the fender sorta plops out of shape and gets all deformed and bulbs out. Maybe someone here knows a little trick to get the fender, nice and close to the tire, without it bulbing out shape?

 

[deorman]

Re: Columbia 1939 Superb fender braces

Gently bend the braces slightly. Where, varies w/individual application. :| If they attach w/the axle nuts, bend them just before the end, so they are flush w/the dropout (exactly perpendicular to the axle) If they are too long, bend the flat area right at the fender outward, then back in where the brace start becoming semi-tubular (usually about 1/2 to 3/4").