The regular 3-in-1 oil is a problem, but the blue can is 20 wt petroleum oil, made for electric motors. It will not gum up.

3 in 1 oil.jpg

That said, I wouldn't pay $11 for a bottle, US or NZ. I had some left over from working on HVAC equipment, and the bottle is small and handy. Buy some motor oil or ATF and use that.

WD40 is fine to clean a hub, but I wouldn't leave it in a hub. It will leave a varnish behind.

Hi, I thought someone could help me date my Phillips bike. Also if it had a model name that would be nice to know. Also, does anyone know where i could find a reference list to reconcile the number on the frame to date of production? Thanks for your help.

Nice bike. I love these old style rod brake roadsters. The picture is too small to see the details to make an accurate assessment, but I do see a Raleigh style chainring that would, if original, date it to sometime after 1960 when Raleigh acquired the Phillips brand and moved production from Birmingham to Nottingham.

I agree, the photo is too small to allow any confident assessment. As for as the chainring, I believe that's a more or less generic style; Raleigh wasn't the only factory making cranks like that. Give us more photos, detail shots of lugs, fork crown, hubs, saddle, anything that looks distinctive, and maybe we can say more.

Phillips "We don't make bicycles , we make bicycles possible" that is till after WW2 when the company was split into parts production and the new bicycle production .

The saddle style, the fork crown, the mudguards suggest Birmingham built pre-60 to me. Might even be much older. As RHM pointed out that's a very generic crank design made by Raleigh, Nicklin and Williams just to name three. I've got a pre-war Herc with the same style.

Wow really great to here your thoughts. Much appreciated. Keep the ideas coming. Thanks so much.
On the frame is G and number if that helps at all.

The rear Hub says Villiers

And the tyres are Dunlop Champion Made in the Republic of Ireland

Ah, that's much better. Yup, pre Raleigh. That pushes it back to at least the 50s. Now it's a question of just how far back it goes.

Alas, I don't see any of the chronological indicators I know to look for. We were hoping for a three speed hub (they are pretty easy to date). The Wrights saddle company was merged with Brooks at some time before the end of the 50's, but I don't know when exactly. Your bike is certainly more than about 60 years old, but 80 wouldn't surprise me.

Is it the freewheel, that says "Villiers" on it; or the hub shell itself? Villiers was famous for making freewheels.

Hi rhm. Thanks for the help. That is the exact freewheel. I have to check for the "S" and little dash between MODEL and DELUXE. But it says either MODEL-DELUXE or MODELDELUXE and The VILLIERS just like the one you posted here.

Gotta be a Phillips hub I'd say, looks like one. Rub the crud off the barrel of the hub and see if you've got markings stamped there.

As to your other request to find exact date of manufacture, model name etc, that's typically very hard to do with most English roadsters. So many millions made in many different factories with so many lost or incomplete records. Check the VCC (England) for Phillips catalogues

Original Post:-
I originally posted most of this elsewhere in Bike Forums but noticed this Phillips thread and thought it worth adding here.
This bike was made in 1957 and the SA SW 3 Speed is stamped for 1957. Thus this bike is pre Raleigh takeover and the high quality shows in how the bike has survived in such good condition. Here is the original post referred to:- Phillips Step Through 1957 Frame No K651746.
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I have been restoring in the USA a 1957 Phillips Step Through working on and off this last 9 months or so. It was in apparent good condition when I obtained it but when I stripped it I found the toggle in the 3 Speed was missing or broken inside the hub. It has the notorious Sturmey Archer SW in which the pawls act by cam action with no springs to return them. When I went back to UK in February I managed to obtain two of these hubs which seem to appear rarely on eBay (from my experience). One was in apparent excellent condition and the other poor but useful to raid for parts. So I brought these back to USA a couple of weeks back and since have dismantled the wheels to have them rebuilt with the original cleaned up front hub and the better of the two SW hubs. The rims buffed up really nice and so I expect to receive a nice pair of wheels later this week to build back into the bike.

The rest of the bike has been treated as follows:-

Frame; The paintwork was pretty good but dulled with age so I compounded much of it taking care around transfers/decals (which were very fragile) and then once cleaned up I have clear lacquered it. Same for Fenders and Chain Guard.

Components; I soaked all chromed items in White Vinegar for around 48 hours to de rust and then cleaned them up and all the parts came up very good, the chrome overall was in very good shape considering the bikes age.

Bottom Bracket, Headset, Pedals and Front Hub; Stripped, cleaned and rebuilt these replacing all the ball bearings. The bearing surfaces on these old bikes survive amazingly well.

Brake Cables; The brake cables on this bike were stuck in the outers which needed replacing. The cables are thicker than modern and the nipples are larger than modern. The brake levers do not take the modern size but I wanted to keep the levers as they are very nice. I took the cables back to the UK in the hope I might find some correct ones there but no success with this approach. I decided to have a more determined attempt at removing the old cable from the outers so I kept soaking them with WD 40 and Gasoline and eventually I managed to pull them out. I then found the old outers were the same size as modern outers though the thicker cables are a very close fit inside so I rebuilt the cables with modern outers. The amazing thing was that the cables never frayed at the ends so no problem re feeding them into the outers as they are in such good condition once cleaned up.
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Recent update:-
Just completed the refurbishment of my 1957 Phillips P2 step thru bike.

I don't know where it was kept but it survived in good cosmetic condition, all the chrome work polished up well after 48 hours in white vinegar.

The rims I polished up after dismantling the wheels, so much easier when no spokes are present. Had the wheels rebuilt with stainless spokes. The paintwork was all original with decals in 'fair' condition, some were flaking off so I compounded as much as I dare to clean up the paintwork and then clear lacquered the frame, fenders and chain guard.

All bearing stripped cleaned and reassembled with new balls except in side the Sturmey Archer SW 3 Speed (the original I thought had lost the change toggle so I obtained and couple more 1957 SW's and and used the best one as a replacement to rebuild the rear wheel. When I stripped the original I found it still intact but by that time the wheel was rebuilt with the replacement hub) which has been stripped, cleaned and re assembled. It works fine, changes gear OK and engages correctly, it runs silently as it should.

The bike is all original except for the following:-

Tires & tubes

Spokes

3 Speed (same vintage as original)

3 Speed change cable

3 Speed Trigger (identical to original)

Brake cable outers (original inners reused, they were in good condition)

Brake blocks, replaced with Koolstop 45mm.

Been riding it a fair bit and it rides beautifully, really pleased with how it turned out.

The Sturmey Archer SW 3 Speed has performed perfectly and it is strange experiencing silent freewheeling. I must have a really good one as it has never failed to engage.


Previous owners photo in sale advertisement.


Bike after completion of rebuild/restoration.


All Chromework was extremely well preserved. Did have to replace SA Trigger Shifter as original was badly bent.


Front wheel was rebuilt with Stainless spokes, using originals rims and hub.


I rebuilt the Sturmey Archer SW 3 Speed hub, this model was a commercial failure, it had springless pawls which relied on cam action to function, incorrect lubrication and manufacturing failures made it unreliable. A good one will work well provided thin transmission oil is used.


Cranks have no visible wear and chrome is excellent.


Original saddle labelled Phillips but probably made by Lycett, Wrights or other and badged for Phillips.


Brakes were overhauled with new outers and Kool-Stop 45mm Brake Blocks fitted.

Extract from 1957 Philips Catalogue.

The Philips Head Badge state 'Birmingham' pre Raleigh takeover and 'Nottingham' post Raleigh takeover.

oh man I'm so happy I found this post about the Phillips, I bought a pretty dirty old bicycle a couple of weeks ago, no brand, no badges, and ugly over painted with a brush...why? why? why?

So since I got it almost for free I decided to renew it (mind that I'm not saying "restore" it) and I found "Phillips" written on the handlebar (which was also painted in black). Now I'm working to take all that ugly paint off and see where I'm standing in terms of rust and other stuff. The bicycle had a redish anti rust paint under the black paint. No sign of the original paint on the frame, only on the fenders. Oh it has coaster brake (Torpedo Duomatic hub) )and -maybe- 3 speeds but I can't confirm it yet as I'm mostly working on the frame now.
Whenever I'm allowed to post photos, I will do it. I will need some help for sure.
happy weekend!



Phillips

Phillips

I came across one a few years ago. Currently its a bike table at my front door. Aside from the bent forks, I actually road it about 100 feet in its current condition

sprayed in clear to seal all the patina

Interesting Birmingham - pre-1960 bike. Flip-flop hub and inverted roadster bars, kind of a scorcher. Phillips wingnuts of course.

I paid $40 cdn for it locally.
One Day I will restore it