Victory Flyer

[G-Matt]

That's one nice pile of junk say what . One man junk is another's treasure. I see a bee hive fork in there. You should have a good start there . Also thanks for your service hope your enjoying you retirement [emoji1303]


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[Wildcat]

The cones were all adjusted too tight, the bearings and all seem okay after loosening. I was thinking of putting a 3 speed w coaster and my big Ross sprocket, then on CL, there are 2 Sun Cruz bikes with that same setup, both for $100. I could strip one for the wheels and tires and sell the other to get my 100 back, but the bike budget is zero so it'll stay skip tooth for awhile.
There's a welded up hole in the BB, I wonder if that's normal. The rest of the frame and forks look excellent, except there's no original paint, must've been sandblasted. The rear hub has an oil port that has a screw to hold it in and it's got a chrome seat post.

 

[OddJob]

Looks like it'll do right by you. Maybe 'Island Hopper' would be appropriate for a namesake...

 

[Wildcat]

I'm going to dismantle it completely and hope to find a place to clean and rebuild the bendix hub. I went for a ride yesterday, but the slight uphill the last mile back was a bear, this bike is more than 50 lbs and the drive train wasn't fine tuned to my weight and age.
I tried the good seat and I put it above the post bracket to get it level. I like how it shows off the undercarriage of the seat. The truss rods are the right size, maybe just needs some adjustment to get them aligned just right. I pulled the old grips, I think they were for a kid's bike and tried the good ones. The handlebars look like they were never chrome, just gray metal. Was that the way they made some of them back then?
"Island Hopper" would work as it's going to be an aviation themed bike, but I'm going with the WW2 theme along with aviation. It's between Army Air corp or Naval Aviation right now, leaning toward Navy, because I like the deep blue color and emblem of the F4U fighter.

 

[Wildcat]

I looked in the head tube and bb to see if an original color appeared. It looked nice and clean, someone prepped the frame well, and theres just a hint of green, looks like metallic green which wasn't used back then. The only green 42 Hawthorne was on Dave's vintage page:
"Model V70. V is for victory!. Only available in 1942 this bike features a Delta headlight, stoplight/taillight, Zep speedometer, New Departure 2 speed. Options included a springer fork, and New Departure fore brake. This bicycle is in excellent original condition. The color is “Lakeland Green”."

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looks much better already with just the truss rods, new seat and grips!

 

[Missing Link]

It would still look cool with that Ross chain ring

 

[Wildcat]

If the Bendix hub isn't in good shape, It'll be a SA kickback with that Ross sprocket.

Is that a Ross bike?

 

[Wildcat]

Torn apart and will check to find a place with a mineral bath and an area to work on it.

 

[Missing Link]

If the Bendix hub isn't in good shape, It'll be a SA kickback with that Ross sprocket.

Is that a Ross bike?

'47 Snyder built Hawthorne.

 

[Wildcat]

I've settled on a theme and a plan. Now it has a name, "Victory Flyer". I can't figure how to add to the title of this thread.
The plan:
1. Rebuild everything.
2. Try to get the rims good enough to paint. If they are too rough, get new rims and lace them up to the existing hubs.
3. Make an insert for the frame with V70 for the tail number in white letters followed by the Navy flying star symbol and the word NAVY.
4. Prep the frame and forks for paint.
5. Paint the frame forks rims and insert deep blue enamel.
6. Get black wall tires and steel pedals.

 

[Fv2]

At the top of your thread there's an edit button, click on it then click edit title.


Edit: it says thread tools at top, next to watch/unwatch thread. Edit title is in the drop down menu of thread tools.

 

[Wildcat]

I looked up the diagram on the Bendix hub. It says made from 1946, so it didn't come with the bike. So the rims are also younger and can be replaced. I won't go to great lengths to use them on this bike. The patina on the rims is excellent so they will probably see use on a rattier bike than this. So 2 or 3 speeds may happen.

 

[SSG]

Think somebody at the factory stamped one too many holes in that bottom bracket and they just welded the hole up since steel was in high demand?

 

[Wildcat]

Think somebody at the factory stamped one too many holes in that bottom bracket and they just welded the hole up since steel was in high demand?

It's a smaller hole and in a wrong place, but welded up pretty well. I need to see another 40's Snyder to see if they are all that way.

 

[Wildcat]

The Bendix hub rolls very well and the brakes have come back to life, so I'll leave it alone for now.
I've changed to a different theme already. I swapped out the tires while I inspected the wheels. The rear needs a spoke and the front needs a bearing cover. I put the Duro red bricks on my daily cruiser and tried the black tires from the walmart bike

on the rims. I like the patina, and the rims aren't very rusty, just crusted with a few layers of gray and silver paint.

So my new idea is to make it look like an unrestored flight line bike used at a military airfield in WW2. It'll still be a Victory bike, put into service because bike production had stopped and they used any bike they could find. Fenders and accessories wrecked and removed as it was used as a utility bike back and forth across the airfield and used for deliveries and transportation to save gas. I'm leaning toward Army Air Force and doing it in olive drab with artificial patina. During the war, Columbia (Westfield) and Huffman produced bikes for the military during WW2, so my Snyder must have been one the last civilian bikes before they stopped producing. Something like this only well used and missing fenders and chain guard:

 

[Wildcat]

These colors:

 

[Missing Link]

Awesome! One of my wife's grandfathers flew B-17s in the Pacific during WWII. At the time He was USAAF, then USAF when it came into being in 1947, he retired a Lieutenan Colonel. Her other grandfather was a USAAF fighter pilot, also in the Pacific and then flew F-84s and was a member of the first flight formation team (what later became the Thunderbirds) and subsequently lost his life in the first flight formation accident.

That's him in the closest plane.
My brother-in-law is a Master Sergeant and my wife a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force, I 'll definitely be following this build.

 

[Fv2]

Awesome! One of my wife's grandfathers flew B-17s in the Pacific during WWII. At the time He was USAAF, then USAF when it came into being in 1947, he retired a Lieutenan Colonel. Her other grandfather was a USAAF fighter pilot, also in the Pacific and then flew F-84s and was a member of the first flight formation team (what later became the Thunderbirds) and subsequently lost his life in the first flight formation accident.View attachment 44458That's him in the closest plane.
My brother-in-law is a Staff Sergeant and my wife a 1st Lieutenant in the Air Force, I 'll definitely be following this build.

Some great and honorable history there.

 

[Wildcat]

Right on! Here's a B-17 and flight line personnel with their bikes. One of those might be my bike!