Firestone Cruiser

[friendofthedevil]

I'm not sure what I bought last weekend. My first guess was early '50s Murray built, but there's no 'M' in the S/N. Has a Mussleman 'M' rear hub. Spokes are mushy. Could these be original chrome rims? Came with a set of past-their-prime peaked fenders and a set of way past-their-prime Torrington pedals.

 

[RustySprockets]

I think you made a good call on both the manufacturer and time frame. I'm told that the collar present at the top of seat tube is a Murray fingerprint. Post war...but probably not by much.

If the spokes have lost their tension, there's a good chance they can be quickly snugged-up in a truing stand--those wheels do not look bad at all. Torrington pedals can be repacked with a little effort. Loose bearings are readily available and inexpensive.

 

[Scribble]

I think you made a good call on both the manufacturer and time frame. I'm told that the collar present at the top of seat tube is a Murray fingerprint. Post war...but probably not by much.

If the spokes have lost their tension, there's a good chance they can be quickly snugged-up in a truing stand--those wheels do not look bad at all. Torrington pedals can be repacked with a little effort. Loose bearings are readily available and inexpensive.

Ditto

I also think @A.S.BOLTNUT was selling one of these a little bit ago.

J.C Higgins frames with the FireStone head badge, are few and far between.

 

[Wildcat]

I found a couple pics of Murray made Firestones with that chain guard, pics say "made in the 50's". Looks like your wheels might be original. Wish I had bigger pics.

 

[Jarod24]

Murray built 1950s for sure.

 

[Rustinkerer]

Firestone had their own proprietary coding system. There's a post on the Cabe that explains it somewhat. I do know the Murray built Firestones show up in the catalogs in the late '40s. ~Adam