jklier said:Hey everyone, new forum member here. I'm about to start my first rat rod project but saw this thread and wanted to post here first.
1943 Huffman military issued bicycle. I possibly would have considered this one a basket case until I did some research on the serial number and found that it was indeed a military issued bike plus a fairly rare one at that. Lots of parts missing, bent frame, rust pitting, one wheel rotted out just to name a few things. You can see that it was painted Air Force blue at one time, probably when the Army Air Corp became the Air Force late in the forties. There's a hint of OD peaking out on the top tubes.
Original stenciling on the OD paint reads: top tube INSPECTION bottom tube PWR. GRD. EQIP.
1 year later with my jeep in the background.
A few items of interest. I also have a Huffman civilian frame from about the same period. The welds on the civilian frame are smooth and as you can see in the photos of the military frame those welds are as is, no finishing work whatsoever. Also, the spokes for the military bike are extra heave gauge when compared to the civilian bike, which required a different hub and wheels.
BTW, the civilian frame I mentioned above is the basis to my rat rod project. I'll post some photos of what I have so far in another thread.
hewey said:
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