sibaudio

So I stumbled across an old bicycle and I was looking for possibly some info on it.. It has stamped dropouts. Frame is full chrome.. with a little surface rust here and there.. doing some searching I was wondering if a fine steel wool might do the trick. As far as the frame goes the one chainstay and dropout appear to be SLIGHTLY bent.. however I did manage to still get a wheel onto it just to see if it worked. This is my first REAL fix-up project and any tips would be awesome as well as information on possibly when this was built, is it anything special beyond just looking ridiculous? etc etc.

Oh, and both of the wheels are just thrown on there.. not even attached.. Front wheel was on the bike and rear was just something that was lying around that i put in there for a general idea. It looks like a mixture of a spaceship and a drag race car. From the looks of it I need to find a rear wheel with a coaster brake hub, tire for the rear, and a new chain and if the build goes well new front wheel and tire. Front tire isn't in the BEST shape but it still works and holds air.. as for the front wheel it's missing a spoke..

I'm not looking to drop a ton of money on it but I don't mind spending the time to get it back on the road.. as I know it'll be in good hands because I promised a friend if I get it working it's all theirs.. Don't need it to be 100% perfect just really want it to run well while still being safe. I'm just in it to learn and get to work on what i love.. BIKES!

HERE IT IS:

javal

Cool cruiser! But isnt there any stamped numbers or names on any part? It looks US to me why I´m not inclined to guess...but cool indeed!

mkeller234

Let me start this by saying i'm totally guessing, I could be totally wrong. My guess is that this bike is not anything special since the dropouts are crimped on. I would also guess that the screws were added later because the dropouts were not secure, and maybe that is why they are crooked. That being said, the fact that there probably is something wrong with the frame probably renders it unusable...but I am not the proper judge for that. The chrome is looking kinda rough, do a search on oxalic acid or chrome polish to get good cheap tips.

Just to regrease everything, tires, tubes, etc in Ohio would be about $50.00. Add a rear wheel and possibly damaged frame and you may be looking at sculpture. That said, I think it looks cool and I hope I am wrong. For all I know one of the experts will say ... Oh yeah.. thats a 19blahblah crocked rear spitfire and it was the only one made for Theodore Roosevelts favorite nephew.

matt

soonerbills

I love them drop outs!!! Fin's forever!!!!!!!!!!!

YoKev

Looks like a early/mid 60's JC Higgins Flightliner (or something similar). IIRC, the S/N should be on the left rear dropout.

Nice catch, I hope you can fix it up

wrk101

Forget about the steel wool, that will do serious damage to the chrome. Do a search on oxalic acid. Thats your solution.

sibaudio

i dont know why i didn't post that before.. i was tired ha. But if anyone knows how to figure out what year that's from from those numbers that would be amazing. I'm just dying to know.

That's the only part on the ENTIRE bike that has any sort of branding/stamping. I know (well, hope) it's nothing TOO special considering it was an old abandoned bike from my school - and abandoned bikes make me very sad (except for when i get them and get them back on the road again )

Thank you for all the help and any additional info whatever it might be is greatly appreciated!

soderbiker

yes , they are quite unusual & COOL !
Cheers
T

sibaudio

Oh, and awesome call on the JC Higgins Freightliner... That has to be it just somewhere along the line that bubbly piece with the branding was removed/fell off/stolen. The backside of the headtube has what appears to be a metal tab... possibly what once held that piece on in some way i'm guessing.

Glennfordx4

By looking at the frame #'s it might be a murry built for sears,as the first 3 numbers is a code sears used to ID who made what for them. If you got to sears.com and go to the parts dept punch in the numbers starting like this 502.0000xxx and see if it dosn't bring up a break down.

sibaudio

and where's my best bet on picking up oxalic acid locally - I'm in NYC.. hardware store?

bigwoo

It's got a lot of character and I like it! I was thinking that it was a cool Murray that was built for sears; looks a lot like a Spaceliner offshoot.
Those "blade" looking rear dropouts are painfully cool and were used on the Spaceliner's....

EraserGirl

Bar Keeper's Friend is Oxalic Acid (MSD SHEETS) should work great!

sibaudio

it's definitely not the murray unless that's a women's style frame you posted and this one is a men's.. It looks VERY similar to the flightliner

p.s. just threw the rear wheel (coaster brake) with busted 3spd internal hub off my girl's schwinn cruiser onto the rear... took a little work but it slid in and spins smooth!! Crank spins smooth on its own too.. Need to get a chain though.




looks SO similar to that.. If it's not that it's gotta be a CLOSE copy of it.. Geometry looks a little less relaxed on mine but i'm not sure.. maybe that's just the year. It's just missing that tank looking thing but the frame seems dead on.. and looking at small details like the paint.. has that weird seemingly hand painted red right over the chrome, both racks are dead on, crank is a match, etc.. That's a picture of a 1960 Flightliner.

And just since I'm totally new to vintage bikes... wtffff is that bottom bracket it is HUGE.

Any idea how much a working one of these would go for on say NYC craigslist?

sonatageek

Wood bleach is oxalic acid.

steppinthefunk 

I have recently grown a love for the Spaceliner/Flightliner frames. I had just won an auction for a Spaceliner frame which is very similar to what you have except the center pair of tubes runs a different/longer route.

These are not really worth mch but they do have a cult following and are gaining in popularity. Attached is a pic that I have been pimping out alot lately ("cruiser-specific needs" https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/491741-cruiser-specific-needs.html) . It's my favourite cruiser build ever. Owned by JoeyMac of Ratrodbikes.



And here is a photoshop mock-up of my ambitious plans for my incomming spaceliner frame

YoKev

I had a Spaceliner for a short while. That metal tab you speak of was for the tank.

I just wasn't really feeling like doing a build on it, so I sold it (frame with springer fork) for $35 to someone in NYC. I hope it's happy I kept the pictured wheels and fenders, neither of which belonged on it.

mkeller234

I buy oxalic acid in concentrated crystal form at Sherwin Williams for about 8 dollars. Mix a pinch of it in water and your good to go. Make sure to read some of the old threads about it, there are alot of good tips that help. A few quick tips: neutralize the acid with something like baking soda, don't put aluminum in oxalic acid, and of course, wear gloves to be safe.

I cleaned these with oxalic acid:

wrk101

If you are interested in oxalic, just search the forum. It has been discussed dozens of times and there is a lot of good info on the past postings.

cs1

Man that thing is just waiting to be klunkerized. Check MTBreview. https://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.ph...ght=clunker%2A

Panthers007

Looks like a copy of a Schwinn Typhoon - at least regards the geometry and the Buck-Roger's stylings. Nice! I'd love to find one of those.

sailorbenjamin

Bronze Wool. Takes the rust, doesn't harm the chrome. Lubricate it with WD 40 or PB blaster.
That bike has big potential.
If yer worried about the drop out have a good welder spot weld it. It'll bugger the chrome a little there but if he's good, it'll be a small blemish.

luker

Its gonna be a really nice bike. Put the stem in a little further though, please.

sibaudio

I got it up and running until I get a chance to get all the chrome fixed up.. SUCH A FUN BIKE!! I love it.