The Shenandoah Speedster

[KurseD]

Been sitting for about 25 years since my grandfather gifted it to me. Best guess is it is a 1935-ish Hawthorne. Missing kickstand and a bunch of other parts. I'm not even exactly sure of the vision I have for this one, so we will figure it out as it progresses.

I dig the board track style and cream tires, so that's a basic direction for starters. Thinking of leaving the crusty original paint and maybe throwing on some fresh stripes. I do hand tooled leather as a side business/hobby so I'm sure it will get some fresh cow butt somewhere. You can check out some of my leatherwork and other artsy stuff at Appalachian Handcraft on Facebook or appalachianhandcraft.com (website is a slow work in progress).

So my daughter's and I finally started tearing this thing down yesterday. Having a heck of a time getting the pedals off. I'll throw out some before pics for now and get updated progress pics soon.

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[KurseD]

Finished the tear down with my girls today. Two small screws are still soaking in rust penatrant. Had to use the portaban to cut the pedals off, those guys weren't going anywhere at all, even after a good dose of heating torch.

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[Bike Bum]

Good luck. Those are good looking frames.

 

[KurseD]

Good luck. Those are good looking frames.

Thanks. I loved it years ago when my grandpa bought it at an auction, so he gave it to me.

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[KurseD]

Did some more scrubbing on the frame. Found the original colors were black with white scallops. Apparently someone felt the need to spray bomb the whole thing red at some point. Cool patina though. Sprayed a coat of matte clear over the frame for now. Stripes to come soon the she'll get a gloss clear.

Also found the original seat stashed in a box in the garage. Got the last two screws out of the frame, and scrubbed the rest of the parts with S.O.S. pads and a little brake clean. Picked up some cage bearings and misc. hardware from the local bike shop yesterday as well.

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[American Vintage Bicycle Supply]

Colson Long Wheel Base Frame.

Rare bike.


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[Kruez]

Black and white would be a good color for that bike!

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[KurseD]

Colson Long Wheel Base Frame.

Rare bike.


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That's what was suggested at first, but the snowflake sprocket suggests 1935-ish Hawthorne.

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[American Vintage Bicycle Supply]

That's what was suggested at first, but the snowflake sprocket suggests 1935-ish Hawthorne.

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Those sprockets are interchangeable but the frame is undeniably a Colson LWB! That's a good thing.


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[KurseD]

Those sprockets are interchangeable but the frame is undeniably a Colson LWB! That's a good thing.


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Any idea of year? Sprocket looks to original to the frame.

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[American Vintage Bicycle Supply]

That fork indicates it's a 37


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[KurseD]

That fork indicates it's a 37


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That would make sense then. After doing a bunch more looking around on the Google, found a bunch of Colson serial numbers that look very similar. Mine says 7872E which I would assume the first numeral 7 to be the year and the letter E to mean the month of May.

Apparently Colson changed their serial style from one line to two lines sometime in 1937, so this could be an early 37 (May) before they went to two line serials.

So that snowflake Hawthorne sprocket must have been slapped on at some point in her life. Looking close at the head/bar stem, it appears to be the common Colson art deco style as well.

What does the "LWB" mean? I'm a hot rod guy, and LWB always meant "Long Wheelbase" to me, but it doesn't appear any longer than the other vintage bikes of the era that I've seen, so I'm guessing it means something else?


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[KurseD]

Forgot to attach the shot of the serial.

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[KurseD]

Good grief, I just noticed how huge of a difference the scrub down made today. I knew it was quite a bit, but wasn't aware of exactly how drastic it was until I just compared the before and after.

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[ifitsfreeitsforme]

Even just clear-coated like that would be great.


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[KurseD]

Even just clear-coated like that would be great.


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I'm thinking about it. At first I planned on outlining the scallops with a bright red, but the more I look at it the way it is, the more I'm digging it.

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[American Vintage Bicycle Supply]

Yes Long wheelbase. The distance from the bottom bracket to the rears dropouts are a little longer than the standard Colson frame. It's a big boys bike.


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[KurseD]

Yes Long wheelbase. The distance from the bottom bracket to the rears dropouts are a little longer than the standard Colson frame. It's a big boys bike.


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Thanks for all the help. Got any pics of the proper head badge for a 1937 Colson LWB? I'd like to find one for her eventually.

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