partsguy
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
So,
I have acquired this from one of our own. It was parked, missing several parts, in a chicken coop for over 20 years. I am glad to have this bike in my collection and to have brought it HOME to Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton brand is widely believed to have been phased out in the mid 1950s, ironically soon before Huffman bought the Monark Corporation in 1958. The Dayton name did continue though, in few bike shops. They were marketed as "Custom Built Dayton" bicycles. Not much is known about this. The only ad I have found for such a thing was in a collection of bike ads, apparently from a large shop, dated 1966. It was a collection on eBay that sold for way more than what I could afford at the time. Hundreds of dollars for a bunch of old catalogs. It was nuts!
Since then, I always wanted to find one of those rare, late-model Dayton bikes. They were not heavily advertised or pushed, but from what I gather, you could pretty much order these later Dayton's "a la carte" style. I also believe that very, very few bikes to have ever been built at this time adorning the Dayton badge.
This bike was painted a deep, dark candy apple red. I never saw a Huffman of this era painted in this color. I've researched the options and styles offered, carefully studied the wear and marks on the paint, and I can confidently say that I have conjured up in my mind what this bike had on it when it was new.
I'm starting this thread, even though I have not yet found the missing parts, for the heck of it. As I find the missing bits and pieces, I'll update the thread. A full resto is in order.
Here is a break down of how this bike was equipped at the factory, to the best of my ability:
- Sturmey-Archer 3-speed w/ grip shifters (original grips appear to have been swapped out)
- Deluxe chaingaurd (50's style, similar to the ones on the Radio Bike. This was discontinued in 1962)
- Deluxe Slim-Line Tank, no light, horn option unlikely. I see no signs of battery erosion around the tank mounting holes, which would be typical. No tank light due to headbadge. 1959 was the first year for this tank.
- Deluxe "'57 Chevy" style finned rack. This rack debuted in 1959, and was modified in 1962 to include an additional raise on the back of the chrome wire "fins". This bike quite possibly had a Delta tail light, or reflectors. Jury is out on that still. I have a spare tail light lens for early Huffman-Delta tail lights, so I may put one in.
- Non-peaked full chrome fenders. Huffman offered peaked fenders through 1960, but not every bike had them. This bike does not have the proper rear bracket for the peaked fenders.
- Stem-mounted Delta headlight.
- Factory whitewalls
- Deluxe touring saddle w/ crash rail. Either in white, or two-tone to match the bike (that'll be fun to find or fabricate)
Thanks for reading, I hope your enjoy the updates!
I have acquired this from one of our own. It was parked, missing several parts, in a chicken coop for over 20 years. I am glad to have this bike in my collection and to have brought it HOME to Dayton, Ohio. The Dayton brand is widely believed to have been phased out in the mid 1950s, ironically soon before Huffman bought the Monark Corporation in 1958. The Dayton name did continue though, in few bike shops. They were marketed as "Custom Built Dayton" bicycles. Not much is known about this. The only ad I have found for such a thing was in a collection of bike ads, apparently from a large shop, dated 1966. It was a collection on eBay that sold for way more than what I could afford at the time. Hundreds of dollars for a bunch of old catalogs. It was nuts!
Since then, I always wanted to find one of those rare, late-model Dayton bikes. They were not heavily advertised or pushed, but from what I gather, you could pretty much order these later Dayton's "a la carte" style. I also believe that very, very few bikes to have ever been built at this time adorning the Dayton badge.
This bike was painted a deep, dark candy apple red. I never saw a Huffman of this era painted in this color. I've researched the options and styles offered, carefully studied the wear and marks on the paint, and I can confidently say that I have conjured up in my mind what this bike had on it when it was new.
I'm starting this thread, even though I have not yet found the missing parts, for the heck of it. As I find the missing bits and pieces, I'll update the thread. A full resto is in order.
Here is a break down of how this bike was equipped at the factory, to the best of my ability:
- Sturmey-Archer 3-speed w/ grip shifters (original grips appear to have been swapped out)
- Deluxe chaingaurd (50's style, similar to the ones on the Radio Bike. This was discontinued in 1962)
- Deluxe Slim-Line Tank, no light, horn option unlikely. I see no signs of battery erosion around the tank mounting holes, which would be typical. No tank light due to headbadge. 1959 was the first year for this tank.
- Deluxe "'57 Chevy" style finned rack. This rack debuted in 1959, and was modified in 1962 to include an additional raise on the back of the chrome wire "fins". This bike quite possibly had a Delta tail light, or reflectors. Jury is out on that still. I have a spare tail light lens for early Huffman-Delta tail lights, so I may put one in.
- Non-peaked full chrome fenders. Huffman offered peaked fenders through 1960, but not every bike had them. This bike does not have the proper rear bracket for the peaked fenders.
- Stem-mounted Delta headlight.
- Factory whitewalls
- Deluxe touring saddle w/ crash rail. Either in white, or two-tone to match the bike (that'll be fun to find or fabricate)
Thanks for reading, I hope your enjoy the updates!
