Columbia 3-Star Deluxe

[expjawa]

I found this on CL over the weekend. I thought that $75 was reasonable given its condition, even though it appears to have the incorrect (and bent) fork, a Schwinn saddle, and is missing the fenders and rear carrier. It does have the shell of a Delta headlight on it though. I figured that the saddle and tank would net me more than I paid if I was inclined to part it out (which I'm not).

I like the lines and detail on the tank. The horn appears intact, but I'll have to figure out if it can be made to work. Someone put stickers on the tank, though, which I might want to remove if I can do so without damaging the graphics. I think the 1961 City of Rochester registration sticker would stay though.

There's a partial serial number on the left drop out. Part of it has been ground down, and I'll have to see if it can still be read under close inspection. I don't think that foul play was involved here; for some reason, someone ground down the drop outs on both sides, like they had a clearance issue or something. I'll have to check it thoroughly to make sure that it doesn't appear compromised there.

Anyway, I might have just found my next build off bike here. Since it's missing parts and isn't all original anyway, I wouldn't feel too bad about modifying it. There's a lot of room between the stays, so I suspect that I can fit some very large tires on this frame...

 

[kingfish254]

Great score on that Columbia!!!

 

[ratina]

Nice score, I bet that paint will polish up nice

 

[Spokeshave]

Very cool at a decent price. If it was mine I'd leave the 1961 sticker on it.

 

[late for dinner]

You Lucky Bugger, I was trying to get it too.
Did the seller mention some out of town guy offering more dough 'til he get there?
If you want to flip it to me for a quick profit or trade, send me a PM.
The seller is a good guy and was just wary of out of towners who don't show.
Good find though, Dang.

 

[expjawa]

Thanks guys, I thought it was a neat one, one I couldn't pass up (despite having too many to work on already).

Ha, that's funny. He did mention someone from Toronto, but you never know if that's a ploy for more $$$ or what. But as it is, I work only a few miles from where he lives, and most of these folks are interested in the first cash that shows up. I've found that, generally, if you don't reply to the c-list ad within an hour or two of its posting, you'll probably miss out, even locally. I've also found that, generally, a lot of times sellers will hold the bike for the first person to contact them - assuming they come out fairly promptly. In this case, I emailed the dude within an hour of the listing (it was later Friday, and there was no phone number given anyway), but didn't hear back until Saturday morning, at which point, I was able to call him fairly soon thereafter. I was at his house within an hour and a half of that.

I don't think I'm inclined to flip it, but might change my mind in 6 months. On the other hand, I'd be happy to pass off one or two others that are in the classified section already... :mrgreen:

 

[BackWoodCycle]

Is that rust or dirt on the top bar? :?

 

[late for dinner]

That's all Cool, we're still friends. It looks like it'll serve you well for a build off bike.
I'd keep the legible stickers too, you just can't fake authenticity, and local authenticity at that.
The tank paint looks like it'll clean up nice too, Good Catch, Congratulations.

 

[expjawa]

Hey, no problems here!

I think the tank should clean up pretty well. The permit sticker I'll keep regardless, but the almost completely faded baseball stickers might come off if I can figure a way. The top tube has some surface rust on it, but I don't think it's as bad as the picture makes it look. I'll have to see what I can do with it. Either way, I have no plan to repaint anything, so if I use it for the RRBBO8, I'll have to think about what I would do with it that actually constitute a build. But there are worse problems to have...

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Great find! You can fit a 24x3 on the rear :wink: Check out the Hot Rod Deluxe in my sig...it started its life as a 3 Star Deluxe

 

[expjawa]

Based on some measurements, I think I might even be able to squeeze a 26x3 on the rear, if such a tire exists. Not on the front though, the fork that's on it appears to be a middleweight. It's bent anyway, so no love lost there. I'm thinking about what I could put on there in its stead.

Schwinnray, any chance that you still have the fenders and carrier that was removed from yours?

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

No, I threw them out :| Fenders were rusted through and the rack had broken/rusted through brackets :?

 

[expjawa]

Ah, no worries. This thing isn't going to be restored anyway. I figure out something else for it...

 

[1918 Ranger]

Nice original paint.


1918 Ranger

 

[B607]

That's a seat off a Panther and in nice shape. What do you want for it? Gary

 

[expjawa]

Gary, I'm not sure I want to sell it just yet. I'm not sure what I want to do with this bike, but for the moment I'm inclined to keep that saddle on it. If I decide otherwise, though, I'll let you know.

 

[lilyspepa]

Glad to see the bike I sold you on here so quickly. Sounds like you got a nice deal and I have no regrets . Late for dinner would have gotten it if it wasn't for the out of town / country thing and the fact I had already committed to selling it to you . If you fix it up and don't flip it can't wait to see the pics .