I'm reviving my old post. I STILL have this bike, and I rode the ever living hell out of it. It's still quite rideable. I pulled it apart after a rear hub failure, and I'm calling all my vintage friends to find the damn parts.
I've come into a summer place that sits along the Cape Cod Canal- 7 miles of flat asphalt to cruise and enjoy at all hours of the day (14 miles round trip).
I'm astonished to say that after I have no idea how many hundreds of miles, the original handlebar tape is STILL intact and just looks like it needs a bath.
I LOVE this bike, as it's the favorite in my arsenal, but after so many rides, I think it's going to the summer place permanently so I can stop toting other bikes back and forth. Both the Huffy and I are aging, and I just can't climb hills on her like I used to. I'll post repair photos as I'm working.