skywriter

So I was working in a customers basement the other day , and spotted a pile of bikes in the corner and said anything interesting? he ended up giving me a firestone balloon tire bike, that he has had since he was a kid in the 40s. It is in pretty poor condition, he said he had a engine mounted on it at one time, hence the crimped lower top tube. It had a lot of sentimental value to him, and he offered it to me unsolicited , once that he found out I was a bike junkie. He knows he could have probly gotten a few dollars on ebay or somewhere else, but I think he just wanted someone to enjoy fixing it up. I need some info on it. He had bought it used off a schoolmate in the early 40s, and it was brush painted silver when he got it...I mean they painted everything...so its getting a total stripdown. if anyone has any pics of this particular bike, I would appreciate it.I cant find anything on this exact model. It says firestone cruiser on the headbadge. I dont even know if the bike had any chrome on it, or was just painted. there appears to be a little on the handlebars.it was 28 degrees and the wind was howling so i snapped a few quick pictures, ill get some better ones when its warm....anyway my name is Jeff and im a pedaholic

afilado

First, don't do anything.

This is a real document of the past. Gather as much information as you can to inform any change that you make to the bike. Don't go stripping paint, removing parts or even cleaning this bike until you can get some of the worthy guidance that is sure to come from the "greybeards" on this forum.

That's a great find and your enjoyment will be greatly enhanced by a patient approach to bringing it into the present.

skywriter

just to clarify......I am not going to make a fixie out of it or anything....or powdercoat it purple metallic... someone just sent me this from the 1939 goodyear catalog https://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/474.htm so I think that answers some of my questions..

squirtdad

I bet a kid in the 40's would have thought a purple metallic over the top

nice find and story

bmaxwell

WOW that is amazing to find such a great part of history in such good shape.Have fun cleaning it up and getting it all back to newish.

skywriter

I will definitely document the whole build....I need some good color pics of the original colors....and the pattern.I know i cant get exact, but close would be nice.

skywriter

would graffiti remover damage the original paint?

skywriter

whats the best way to strip the pain off? aircraft stripper?

YoKev

Can you post a full on side shot without any angle?

Cool bike, and you have the story behind it

PBR Streetgang

That works, but it is nasty stuff. Be careful. Brush painting with house paint appears to be pretty common with this era. Because the brushed paint is usually softer than the original paint underneath, it can often be polished off. Some find that the paint underneath is well preserved. Lots of work, though. The forums at thecabe.com can be helpful for bikes of this vintage.

nivekdodge

Question to raise from the older guys is will the value of this bike go down if I restore it? If you do then figure out what was chrome and what was painted and put them in two different piles. The chrome stuff you can clean with anything. the painted you need to be careful if you don't want to damage the original paint.

Did you ask the guy why the silver is on it? Was it in bad shape or was this a young man's fantasy to have a chrome bike?

What are the truss rods about? Purpose or bike equivalant to fins?

mickey85

The truss rods look kinda like a suspension-fork imitation...

skywriter

ill take some good sideshot pics later...it may have decent paint underneath,,,,I bought a can of graffiti remover at the hardware store and am going to try it on another balloon tire that has red primer all over it......yes this guy was second owner, and it was already kinda thrashed when he got it, 1 pedal is welded on..i opened the tank and it has silver in there too. The bike came with silver and red scheme or 2 tone blue. im going to hope that its salvageable underneath,,

skywriter

heres a ad for it I found at another bike site

skywriter

https://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/474.htm

cyclodan

The one in the ad shows a straight downtube and skiptooth drivetrain, I think yours is a later model.
Firestones were rebadged bikes from various manufacturers, some were made by Schwinn, yours doesn't look like a Schwinn made model.
As for the truss rods they were to reinforce and strengthen the front fork, yours seems to be bent back a bit. It is repairable tho'. Looks like cool project.

skywriter

https://www.nostalgic.net/pictures/1338.htm you have a good eye...this is why i like this forum...theres a ad from 1942 the flying ace and the pilot are closer to what I have......so now im getting somewhere..the chain guard is different though.

bmaxwell

not the pilot the tank by the seat stay is different. the flying ace however looks like it could be the one.

skywriter

im wondering if it had some parts switched around, the head tube badge says firestone cruiser .. but it has all the earmarks of the flying ace...

graywolf

If the bicycle was made during the war it most likely would not have hand much if any chrome. So that is something to check out. A WWII bike will be worth a lot more than a pre-war bike just because they are rather rare. Also the WWII enthusists kind of drive the prices up, if it is not modernized.

Wanderer

Here's something to try - commonly used by motorcyclists to remove "painted on" stuff like murals, etc.

Easy Off! Oven cleaner. Spray it on, let it sit for a LITTLE bit, and wipe it off. Repeat, as it comes off. The original paint is left intact. Just don't let it sit for a long time, and rinse with water when you finish.

skywriter

I bought some of the graffiti remover at Ace. I am going to try it on an old crappy department store bike frame . I even sprayed some graffiti on it today...without prepping the paint or anything.I will try the easy off too.

skywriter

full side shots as requested

nivekdodge

If anyone has seen the smuckers commercial, the bike in it is a firestone like the one in the ad here

skywriter

I haven't seen it yet