mkeller234

You could look for a serial number, maybe it would be in the Raleigh format. I bet redneckwes is right though, it probably rolled out of the same factory as his. They are so close in components it's crazy. My value guess was a minimum by the way, I bet the right buyer would be willing to pony up a little more. Is there any kind of tubing sticker on the frame? I am guessing it could be 20/30 steel, but redneckwes's bike is 531 so it's worth a look.

redneckwes

My '63 is not 531, It's plain old Raleigh 20-30 as far as I can tell. Which is surprising as it replaced the Lenton GP's that were made from 531.

mkeller234

Oh, for some reason I was confused that it was.

redneckwes

Very easy to do, I think only the first generation of GS was 20-30, from then on they were all 531 until production moved to Japan.

vintage87

I hardly doubt it is 531. The thing is a tank. I am talking Varsity heavy. Here is a picture of the bottom bracket serial number.

dbakl

X is for experimental... at least with rocketships.

rhm

Is that the only number stamped on the frame?

It doesn't look like a serial number to me. The X has paint in it, but the other number have broken through the paint, indicating they were put on after the bike was painted. Police stations used to stamp numbers into bike BB's as part of the licensing / registration process.

Check this out, a similar bike posted on this forum a couple years ago.

By the way, Huffy also imported Moultons in the early 60's. I think they were still badged Moulton, but I'm not sure about that.

mastershake916

That bike is awesome.

vintage87

Thanks for the positive comments. Yeah, is there anywhere else to look on the frame to look for a serial number or date code?

On another note, for the time being, I plan on doing just a clean up. Brake pads, tires, tubes, tape, handelbar tape, cables, lines.

A couple of people were mentioning that I should look for a different rear derailer and possibly hoods and levers. Why? Are the ones I have not the original or matching ones? If I was to keep the levers, what hoods should I run? Tires? I basically want to have the bike look vintage. It looked to have some kind of ribbed white housing. Is there anything like that out there?

mkeller234

I think the Huret Alvit is just generally disliked around here. My only experience with one was on a Schwinn Continental, I wouldn't say is was the worst thing in the world. I would give the Huret a shot, maybe you won't hate it?

I am guessing you have 27in rims? There are some nice tires that have an older look in that size. Just decide how wide of a tire you want, the tires on it look somewhere around 1-1/4" wide. Panaracer paselas are nice, they have a tan skin wall unlike the ones that you have currently.

vintage87

I guess my questions are what color tires would YOU run and same with the bar tape, housing, and hoods? Is there a vintage looking hood I should go with or should the run of the mill cane creeks work just fine?

mkeller234

Oh, I get it now. I would go with 1 or 1-1/4 Panaracer Paselas. I think they look nice on old bikes and the price is very reasonable. Can the original hoods be glued? I would try that, I don't know if the cane creeks fit Mafac bodies. I like the look of the Mafac hoods that you have.

I tend to be on the dull side of bar tape colors... Whatever the color I think it should be cotton. I think white would look nice, but I would do something to make it less bright like stain it with tea. The stitch up leather bar tape would look nice too, I don't know how period correct that would be.

elcraft

Carlton Cycles of Worksop made a line of bikes for Huffy in the 60's. It was, of course, owned by Raleigh in this time frame. Gerald O'Donovan, who ran Carlton during these years was able to run the company as an independent operation; producing Both the Carlton marque independently and to create bicycles for export for Huffy- there were apparently no objections from Nottingham.
See: https://www.carltoncycles.me.uk/details/huffy.htm
The Pics on the sight show Alvit RD's and similar paint schemes, but different model names.

soonerbills

That number looks like a Texas zip code and the "ca" could be initials

rhm

+1 on the Huret Alvit. The original derailleur on this bike was most likely a Cyclo Benelux, which was an okay derailleur by the standards of 1948 when it was introduced, but by the mid 60's even a Huret Alvit was an upgrade. If you want to keep the bike period correct, leave the Huret. If you want it all original, track down a Benelux. If you want to actually ride the bike, try to find a Suntour Honor or something similar.

-1 on 27in rims. I'm going to guess he has 26 x 1 1/4 which, I'm sorry to say, is very hard to find. You can settle for the 26 x 1 3/8 tires made for Schwinn rims; a little fatter, but they'll get you riding. If the original tires aren't completely shot, treat them with care. You may even find a buyer for them on ebay!

vintage87

The wheels actually are 27's. As far as the derailers go, I would really like to track down a Benelux, but I think I will give the Huret a try. As far as the bar tape goes, I will probably just run for Bony cork, white or black. I think white would look nice, but I have an extra set of black lyring around. We will see! I will keep you all updated in the mean time. I will also try to glue the Mafac hoods.

rhm

Hey, I just noticed an ad for one of these on ebay. They're not selling the bike; just the 1967 ad for it. The cost, needless to say, is more than you spent on your bike... but hey, you can frame the ad!

vintage87

A guy pm'd me the add. Anyone know what year this thing is? I have yet to still get the cottered cranks off. I do not have the right tool and already tried hammering the pin out. I will have to take it to a shop sometime here soon. It is kind of on the back burner right now because I just picked up a Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2!

vintage87

Edit: Not super, just Le.

Grand Bois

Carlton built some frames for Huffy in the early '60s. The ones I've seen pictures of were way upscale from that one, though.

vintage87

OK thanks for the fun fact. I am so tempted to re-paint it dark metallic green and use a brown Bontrager saddle and brown tape to make it look like a very classic racer. Thoughts? I like the fact of how vintage it looks right now however. I am a perfectionist though and I will eventually sell it. What to do, what to do...

sailorbenjamin

That's almost the only Huffy that's on my wish list.
You might be able to find nos bar tape. Hunte-Wilde (or was it Hunt-Wild) made a lot of that transparent stuff. I got a roll of red for an old Schwinn at the LBS.

mkeller234

I would not even think of painting that bike. It's original color and decals are great, even if they do show some age. IMO you would lose a lot by painting that.

Just sell it in it's current scheme, you probably would not be able to recoup the painting costs anyway.

Just please don't paint it

vintage87

Haha, I do not think I will paint it. I actually buffed the paint with my Porter Cable and it looks nice. Extremely smooth now and the metallic really pops in the spots where it't not all chipped up. Like I said, The 12.2 comes first and then the Huffy. I still have some thinking to do on both bikes.

sailorbenjamin

If it's a Raleigh the serial number might be on the top tube near the seat or somewhere on the seat cluster. If it's a carlton, the serial number might be on one of the rear dropouts.