I bought some rust with a little bit of bike

[themotorcycleguy]

I went to an auction today. I was told they were going to have a bunch of vintage bikes. I found 6 piles of rust with a little bit of bike thrown in. Since I was there I told myself I had to come home with something. Believe it or not this old Hawthorne was the best bike there and now it's all mine! Lucky for me it was cheap and there are some useable parts under all that rust.

I've already started soaking everything with PB Blaster. The chain broke as soon as I started cleaning it. The frame has a nice deep maroon color under all that rust.

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Love that frame!

 

[tanksalot]

Id love to see this after a Oxclic acid bath ... :lol: If anything Its great yard / garden art ..

 

[1918 Ranger]

Love the frame and the seat for sure. Zep frame??


1918 Ranger

 

[BackWoodCycle]

Wow.. bring on the PB Blaster.. way cool bike

 

[Jaxon]

I would do nothing but clean and lube that bike. That kind of rust money can't buy.

 

[Spokeshave]

Wow.. bring on the PB Blaster.. way cool bike

Gallons of PB blaster. Talk about patina.

 

[BackWoodCycle]

I wouldn't use oxalic acid for this bike.. depending how thin the metal is due to the rust it might eat through the frame. I've had that happen to a schwinn tank that had bad pitting like that, it ate straight through. :shock:

 

[CRASH]

I've seen pictures of the cargo of old frieghters that were sunk in WWII, but I wasn't aware they actually salvaged some of it to sell at auction! :lol:

But seriously, that's actually very cool. I agree that it's worth a lot more to us who see the beauty of that patina and see the story through it. Great find!

 

[Black Crown Tattoo]

I'd ride it like that!

 

[tanksalot]

If it all still turns & with a tetnis shot With that being said I would have bought it .. :

I'd ride it like that!

D

 

[themotorcycleguy]

I hope to spend a little time on it in the next few days. My wife had other things for me to do tonight... I have to try to keep her happy so I can play with my toys.
The PB Blaster has already freed the wheel and crank bearings so they now move. Right after I took those pics this afternoon I broke the front tire off the rim. It was rock hard and brittle so it broke into little pieces. The front rim has a little missing metal around the edges from the rust. I'll use a brass brush on both wheels and then see if they'll be useable. The front fender is missing the back 5" to 6" of metal and most of whats left is paper thin so I really doubt there will be any color left to be found on it. The PB Blaster has already made quite a bit of color come back on the frame... the frame really isn't rusted bad at all. The rear fender and rack seem real solid but I also doubt that there will be any color left on either of those. It should be a fun little project. When I bought it I thought it would just be used for a few parts but now I'm looking forward to riding it.

 

[Frankthetank]

That should buff right out.

 

[Black Crown Tattoo]

Can't wait to see that zombie Rollin! BRING HER BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!!!!

 

[themotorcycleguy]

I got to spend a couple hours with it this morning.

It's not quite like it was 75 or so years ago but it's going to be on the road again one of these days.

 

[1918 Ranger]

Looking better. Keep it rolling.


1918 Ranger

 

[themotorcycleguy]

Now it's rollin' and on genuine Wards Riverside Mate tires front and rear.

I probably looked a little silly pushing the bike down the street since I don't have a chain on it yet but I just had to ride it down the street and back. Who knows how many years it's been since this bike did that.

 

[1918 Ranger]

Nice. Just noticed the rear rack. Bike has Turned into a beauty. Great clean up.


1918 Ranger

 

[dragnusa]

awesome job on the save. you took it from a bike no one wanted to something alot of people would love to have.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

This is fantastic. What you did with it is perfect.