I picked up this Monark Rocket for my girlfriend at an antique shop about four months ago. I did research and based on catalog pictures I've seen online, the design of Monark's head tube badges, and this bike's long list of extras I feel it may be an early 40s Rocket Deluxe. It looks almost 100% complete (missing fender reflectors)? I don't know that the Bendix rear hub is period-correct and the seat is newer, but everything else on the bike seems to be right. I've found the chain guard on other bikes of the period but I guess it could still be original? The headlight capsule may be rusted beyond repair and its lens is missing, but everything else is straight and I see no major damage.
The serial number appears to be 145511. It's on the left rear dropout and it's the only marking I can find. I read another active thread here that suggests some Monarks from the 1940s had plates on the bottom of the crank case with a model number. There isn't one there and I can't find any holes where one would have been attached. But I do know it was easy to lose these. The bike in this thread has serial 0349468 and was determined to be from 1947 which tells me this one could be older still, since I doubt Monark made bikes at the rate Schwinn did.
Any help in trying to determine what parts are original and what aren't, and above all all the age of the bike and its rarity in this condition is definitely welcome. My girlfriend and I would love to restore it, but I'm not an expert at restorations yet and I don't want to risk botching something if it's rare and should be done more professionally.
The white you see in the close-up pictures is turtle wax, not paint.. not sure why it was left on the bike for so long :roll:
It looks like the ROCKET letters and the shooting star logo were red at one time, I'm afraid to try and remove the wax since it's so caked on. The badge itself is not rectangular.
Here is a shot of the serial number.
And one of the Bendix logo. Out of curiosity, what is the long screw here for?
I can take more pictures if need be. Thanks in advance for any info!
The serial number appears to be 145511. It's on the left rear dropout and it's the only marking I can find. I read another active thread here that suggests some Monarks from the 1940s had plates on the bottom of the crank case with a model number. There isn't one there and I can't find any holes where one would have been attached. But I do know it was easy to lose these. The bike in this thread has serial 0349468 and was determined to be from 1947 which tells me this one could be older still, since I doubt Monark made bikes at the rate Schwinn did.
Any help in trying to determine what parts are original and what aren't, and above all all the age of the bike and its rarity in this condition is definitely welcome. My girlfriend and I would love to restore it, but I'm not an expert at restorations yet and I don't want to risk botching something if it's rare and should be done more professionally.
The white you see in the close-up pictures is turtle wax, not paint.. not sure why it was left on the bike for so long :roll:
It looks like the ROCKET letters and the shooting star logo were red at one time, I'm afraid to try and remove the wax since it's so caked on. The badge itself is not rectangular.
Here is a shot of the serial number.
And one of the Bendix logo. Out of curiosity, what is the long screw here for?
I can take more pictures if need be. Thanks in advance for any info!
