kroozer 

Hi everyone,
I just bought this Automoto frame and am looking for some help to date it and learn whatever else I can about it.

Ray, my LBS man, had gotten it from a friend in Guadalajara, and it's anybody's guess how it got there. Automoto’s were raced in Mexico during the early 1950’s, so maybe this was one of them. They were also imported to the US during that period, and this one may have found its way south. Last year Ray was going to paint it black and turn it into a fixie, but I convinced him to preserve the old finish. He never got around to the project and knew I was interested in it, so he sold it to me for $50.

The paint looks like it was purple at one time, but now it is very faded. However, there is no rust, dents, or any signs of damage on the main frame. The fork is also structurally sound although it has a bit of rust and also some places where all the paint has been rubbed off. But overall the frame is in decent condition and could be ridden as is. It has very fancy cloverleaf lugs as well as the distinctive fork crown, and every tube has double box lining. I think it’s a high-end frame. The head badge is in nice shape, as are the Automoto logos on the fork crown. The serial number 337847 is stamped on the left rear dropout.

It also includes a headset, bottom bracket, cranks, chainwheel, shifter, and seatpin. The crank is a Durax 5-arm steel cottered with a 50.4mm bcd. The single 46-tooth steel chainring has a very cool Automoto cloverleaf design. Unfortunately this is rather rusted, but I’m going to see if I can restore it somewhat without resorting to rechroming. There is a single Simplex alloy shifter on a brazed-on mount, and down tube and chainstay cable guides, so it must have had a rear derailleur, most likely a pull-chain type.

My plan is to build it back up with period correct parts. My original investment was cheap but it probably won’t be by the time I’m finished. It would look fantastic repainted and restored to near-near condition, but for now I’m just going to clean up the frame and leave the old patina.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/4764636...n/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/4764636...n/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/4764636...n/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/4764636...n/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/4764636...n/photostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/4764636...n/photostream/




(By the way, if anyone can tell me how to upload the actual images here, I would appreciate it. Flickr seems to have altered their format and I can't figure it out.)

Chris W.

Very cool!!!
Looking forward to the "after" pics

Cheers,
Chris

devinfan

Awesome clover details on that frame. Now that's a crankset! I love the way the frame looks as-is. Just throw some wax on there and give it a polish to protect it.

unworthy1

what a find! I'd take it apart and try soaking everything in oxalic acid...well, maybe protect the headbadge first as I don't know how OA affects aluminum.
Norris Lockley would surely know about this frame, if you could reach him.
Already seen this page?
https://www.classicrendezvous.com/Fra...s/Automoto.htm

dbakl

Looks like a great find. There's one pictured well in Jan Heine's "Competition Bicycles" book.

jrecoi

OA eats Aluminium fast, don't do it. Vinegar will take a bit longer, but it is easier to get and safer to use.

kroozer 

Any ideas when this was made? I was thinking around 1950 but a guy from CR thinks the cloverleaf chainring puts it much earlier, like 1930's. So far I have been unable to place it in a specific decade, and I have no idea if it was a racer, city bike, utility bike, etc.

randyjawa 

I was planning on restoring an Automoto that I picked up a couple of years ago. Sadly, the project was passed on to another collector. I never was certain what model I had but feel free to look at the pictures. I believe mine was from the forties...