seatcluster by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr


shifterstem by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr


fronthub by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr


headbadge by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr


RRhubleft by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr\


bottombracket by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr


johnbull2 by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr


side by barnstormerbikes, on Flickr

As you can tell the bike was in rough shape. It had been outside in the severe New England winters for more than ten years. Between what I had learned from forum members, personal experience and a couple of my clients advice (I recently helped in the restoration of a $300K Brough superior) I felt confident I could do this bike justice. After getting it safely to my shop I applied penetrating oil and was a bit surprised the next day when the oil had saturated the surface of about half the frame. I touched the transfers in a couple of places. I was relieved to find they had held fast.

I had purchased a scanned catalog on ebay dated 1938. I figured the original color was the optional "Lustre Blue". You couldn't really tell by looking at the bike in person, it looked completely rusted. It was only when I viewed photographs of the machine that some color was visable. The chrome was rusted through in many places and the most severe being the rims. Layers of the hard plating had peeled up and yayed close to the surface, sharp as razor blades. The bars, stem and chainring looked pretty smoked also.
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