Hawthorne frankenbike. Frame ID?

[ruddigger]

Just picked up this. I'm wondering if I anyone can identify who made the frame, or what year it was.
There's a number under the BB;
24SN
24233

:?:

 

[ratina]

can you post a picture of the serial number?

 

[ruddigger]

Here ya go. I wasn't sure if this was the serial number or not, but there aren't any other numbers on the bike.

 

[ratina]

Weird, I'm not sure. Doesn't match CWC or Huffman numbers that I know of.

 

[ruddigger]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I saw another thread where someone guessed that the smaller number might have been the year reversed. (ie, 24SN would be built in 42, but I think this is only speculation.)

 

[roadmaster]

Hawthorne bicycles were mainly made by either CWC and H.P. Snyder (makers of Rollfast), and it doesn't look like a CWC frame, perhaps an H.P> Snyder. I'm guessing its early to mid 40's. Good luck.

 

[ruddigger]

I think you're right about it being a Snyder built bike. There's a pre war rollfast on eBay right now that looks to be the exact same frame.
http://bit.ly/y0EDBX

Thanks!

 

[roadmaster]

I was gonna guess an elgin or westfield/columbia, but I remember doing research about Hawthornes (I have a 64' also h.p. built girl's bike for my wife) when I got mine and the two biggest names were CWC, which has way different frame lines and of course H.P. Snyder. Glad I could help. Really is a cool looking bike and with the trusses and rear wheel tensioners (and skiptooth drivetrain) i'm guessing 40's. Any stampings on the coaster brake hub?

 

[ruddigger]

No, it's a frankenbike. The wheels are dropcenters pulled off of my '48 DX. The seat isn't original either, and neither are the handlebars, or maybe even the fork.

 

[Rustinkerer]

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I saw another thread where someone guessed that the smaller number might have been the year reversed. (ie, 24SN would be built in 42, but I think this is only speculation.)

Most likely is a 42 Snyder built. Phil found some complete bikes with features that dated them to specific years, I think 1940 and 41. And the frames were stamped 04 and 14. So it's pretty much a given on late prewar frames. I suggested that it seems to continue into the mid 50s. I've seen several early to mid 50s Hawthornes that appeared to be stamped the same way. But I don't have any absolute proof of that, so I leave it as my theory. -Adam

 

[ruddigger]

Thanks! I've come to the same conclusion myself.