Toefuzz

Greetings all! My parents bought some land back when I was a kid and laying amidst a pile of garbage we found this bike. My parents were going to haul it away with everything else but I badgered them into saving it so I could someday fix it up. Fast forward 15 years and I had completely forgotten about the bike until I went to my dad's pole barn to round up some bike accessories I had laying around (just getting back into the sport). Well, to my surprise she was still sitting there, just waiting to be fixed up. As best I can tell it's a Murray Aero Line (duh!) from the mid 50's... but I really know nothing about vintage bikes so any and all input would be appreciated. I'd like to fix her up, but don't know how to even begin going about it. Can I replace some parts with new or should I rummage around trying to find original parts? Is a bike like this worth anything or is it simply a labor of love?

LittleCabbage

Well, first of all, you need to figure out what parts the bike needs. Looks like you need some pedals (duh), maybe a new seat, but that's all it looks like you need. Search around the net and see if you can find a pic of this model bike to see if you're missing anything. Was the bike supposed to have fenders? reflectors? etc.
Murrays have never been very popular bcs. they're so sturdy (translation: they weigh a ton), so i don't know how much yours is worth. Maybe bcs. it's from the 50's it could be worth more than one from the 60's or 70's (like mine is!). If you're concerned with preserving the value bcs. you're looking to sell this bike once it's fixed up, you should replace any missing parts with originals. There are lots of bicycle "Classifieds" online you can check. Just do an online search. Put a post up saying what you need and wait for people to respond. Some classifieds might also have the same model bike being sold somewhere and you can see what they go for.
If you just want a working bike for your own use and you aren't looking at preserving its value, just go to a local bike shop and get the parts you need.
As for cleaning off the rust- brillo & elbow grease works pretty well. I have an aerosol stainless steel cleaner that also works on chrome & aluminum that, with steel wool and wire brushes, works miracles, but i don't know where to get it- it's commercial grade and it kinda just turned up in my garage. Call around to hardware stores, specialty cleaning stores, etc.
Make sure your tires aren't dry-rotted. If they are, you can either find cheap used ones online or just go buy new ones. I don't think they'd effect the value (that's just my opinion. I could be totally wrong from a preservationist's point of view!)
Once there's pedals on the bike and air in the tires, take it for a test ride, see how it works, and make adjustments from there. Good luck!!

Toefuzz

Thanks for the response! I'm not overly concerned about the value of the bike... it's more of a hobby. I just don't want to be one of those people on the Antiques road show who's told their item is worth $50... if they hadn't fixed it up it would have been worth $5000

USAZorro

One thing you could do is search e-bay for completed auctions of bicycles of this model. I seriously doubt you'd be losing a fortune by fixing it up, but that's a quick and easy way to check.