Pure guess - but Gloria was founded by Alfredo Focesi in Milan.
The gloria AMF logo goes back way before the "AMF" associated with cheap bikes or better produced ventures with Raleigh. Just a guess...

I don't get this fascination with low end clunkers. In Italy, these bikes are readily available and can be found without too much difficulty, without a hole in the frame, for next to nothing. The crank is not a valid option for an older bike as the spacing between the crank arm and the spider is likely increased to permit the fitting of the chainguard. The headset looks to be a Way Assauto.

So $100 plus 2 hours driving time, plus gasoline and wear and tear on your car + clunker Gloria with hole in the seat tube = a cool $200 clunker Gloria with a hole in the seat tube.

I hope that it rocks your boat, which I guess is all that is important in the end.

That hole almost looks like a bottom bracket or chain oiler would have fit in there.

But, seeing as how it has a chain guard, I don't think that is the case

Alot of it has to do with the fact that bikes like this didnt make it to the States. We rarely saw a geared bike with fenders and chainguard. And I've only seen one Gloria in my lifetime. About the only bike brands that was available from europe when I was a kid was Raleigh and Peugeot, and they were exotic in the 60's. The 70's brought a wider range of brands but most were sans fenders, lites, chainguards. Heck if it wasnt for us C&V dinosaurs fenders would be extinct in the states. So its eye opening to see that Gloria in all her refinery still intact after all these years.

Well, these Italian low end clunkers are a bit more thought out than the British bikes and way better than was typical in the USA at the time this was built. The big advantage is its in the USA, the fact that they are easy to find in Italy is great if you are in Italy, but the shipping expense changes the bottom line cost quite a bit.

It appears in close up images much better than the sellers overall shot, the buyer did reasonably well, and who is to say the drive was not fun itself?

True, its not a Gana or a Maasi.

Well, that's why I asked about this bike in the first place , I wasn't sure what it was. Of course, now that I have picked it up and posted detailed shots its easy to say it wasn't worth the drive, but pretty useless.

I also did ask for pictures of similar bikes because I couln't find any.Seeing as nobody posted one , they might not be THAT common. Because I couldn't find any other bikes like it I had to make the drive to find out. I have found 3 Legnano Roma in the past year or two that way and that is only the tip of the iceberg. I've almost never regretted buying a bike , I only have regrets when I miss out on a great opportunity (that one wasn't one but at least now I know). Finally, the drive was great , the view was beautiful , you meet nice people and I almost got a penny farthing .

Ps; I'm pretty sure I'll be able to recup my purchase price (and ''cost'') with this one, if I don't then ... too bad.

It really is a hole and a good one at that the seller showed me another bike he had ''drew''lled in a similar way.

This is a Gloria from the 30's. With Vittoria Margherita derailleur. 3 cog freewheel on one side and fix on the other. Wood rims. Gloria branded components throughout. Apart from the wing nuts, all appears original, even the saddle. I won't mention the price.

Here are some more photos of the same Gloria.

So these are readily available in italy? I need to move to Italy...

Well, people pay $200 for varsinentals around here, and regularly ask for $200-300 for 70s Raleigh 3 speeds.

I'd much rather have that Gloria.

nice find, i think it was totally worth it. I wanna see pics once it's cleaned up!

I've brought in 5 "real" pre-60's Gloria bikes over the last few years.

That is a fascinating head tube. I've never seen that shield-shaped logo on a Gloria.