Huffman serial number project

[37fleetwood]

Slightly Updated!
​

First, if this is to be helpful, please post a serial number and a photo of your bike only, ask all other questions in the appropriate section of the forum.

Second, This is a thread for identifying the year of manufacture of Huffman made bicycles through the gathering of serial numbers. If you know the year of your bike, but have other questions, this is not the place for you to be posting. Please post a thread in the appropriate section of the forum. if you don't hear from me you can send a pm and I will try to get you an answer. Do not only send a pm, post a new thread so I can answer where everyone can benefit from the discussion.
If you would like to simply ad your serial number, and a photo, with a description of your bike to add it to the database, please feel free.

Hopefully this will make this thread more manageable.

Huffman's serial numbering system is very difficult to figure out. Many numbering systems overlap, while some were used only on certain brands or certain models. The serial chart provided by ABC Services is useful only to a certain degree. Many number patterns are not covered, and it gives a huge spread of numbers that cover several years leaving us with no real discernible way to pin anything to a certain year.
When I started this project several years ago, I made the mistake of letting people tell me what they thought their bike was. I should have simply grouped them by general number pattern, and alpha numerical order and only pinned a date on the ones we had definite dating for. during the years that have passed, I have forgotten the discussions and circumstances of many of the numbers in the chart, and have almost no record as to how the owner came up with the date given. in future, bikes will only be added if a serial and photo are posted.
Please, if you have a serial that has not been posted, post it, and a photo of your bike, ask questions in the forum that most fits your bike.

I used an 8 to represent any number, and an H to represent any letter, except in the case of 1939 Firestones which all appear to have FAH following the serial number. In the same manner 1940 Firestones seem to be marked with FBH, and the few 1941 Firestones I have recently seen have FCH. I don't know if this carried on any further than that as the 1942 and later war time bikes are rather scarce.

As with most bicycle manufacturers, you should view year model in the same way you would view automobile year models. Bicycles were then, and still are, mainly a Christmas driven market. new models generally came out just early enough to be featured as "New" in the Christmas catalogs.
as an example, the Firestone catalogs came out as Fall/Winter and Summer/Spring. The Fall/Winter started somewhere in August September, and went to February or March sometime. so the new 1937 Models were actually available in late 1936 and so on.

Here are the rudimentary findings so far:


8888 - 88888
(4-5 numbers) appears to have been used from 1934 to 1936. (there may be various curious letters or numbers around the serial which I have no idea of the meaning)

88888
8
(5 numbers with 1 number below the other numbers) appears to be used from 1937 to 1938.

H8888
8
(a letter followed by 4 numbers with 1 number below the other numbers) appears to have been used from 1937 to 1941.

8888FAH
(4 numbers followed by FAH was used in 1939 by Firestone only)
8888FBH
(4 numbers followed by FBH was used in 1940 by Firestone only)
8888FCH
(4 numbers followed by FCH was used in 1941 by Firestone only)

H888888
(1 letter followed by 6 numbers) appears to be used from 1939 to 1944.

88888
H
(5 numbers followed by 1 or more letter, or with 1 or more letters under, or around the numbers) appears to be used from 1941 to around 1944.

888888H
(6 numbers followed by 1 letter) appears to be used during and right after WWII, maybe 1944 to 1947.

8H888888
(1number followed by 1 letter, followed by 6 numbers) will be a bike made between 1947 and somewhere in the early to mid '60's

 

[Real Steel]

Real Steel
I saw your bike on ebay as the auction was going. I even considered bidding but opted not to. the Cadet badge is very cool, however I'm thinking it was a generic badge offered by Huffman to small retailers. there are many such badges that have been found on Huffman bikes. probably the coolest ones I have seen have been the Gotham badge, the Shooting Star, and the Thunderbolt badges all featuring various airplanes with very nice looking graphics. Sorry I can't get you more info, Cadet wasn't one of the big retailers' badges.

Thanks for the info Scott. The airplane badges sound really cool!

What do think about the chain guard on the Cadet? Does it look like one Huffman would have used for some contract bikes, or should my bike use the more commonly seen Huffman airfoil shaped chain guard?

Thanks again

 

[Justfound]

Confirm date for SN H 141557

So this looks like it should be a 39-44, correct? It is a womens model but the handlebars and stem are chrome and I thought that was not allowed then. It's clear they have not been replaced.

Edit- Added pic of the bike- Boston Lic plate!

 

[37fleetwood]

So this looks like it should be a 39-44, correct? It is a womens model but the handlebars and stem are chrome and I thought that was not allowed then. It's clear they have not been replaced.View attachment 103206
Edit- Added pic of the bike- Boston Lic plate!
View attachment 103211View attachment 103212

more like 1942-44. it's a war time model. the bars and stem should be black or silver.

 

[partsguy]

Oh Scott...

I know its been a very long time since I posted in this thread. I have more numbers and more pics for you. But first. I have had, since 2006 or 2007, a 1963 Huffy. It is not found in the 1963 Dealer Catalog. It once had a decal headbadge and is two-tone black and white. I will post pics shortly. But Scott, is it possible that Huffman did custom order bicycles either from the factory Or at the dealership? Is it possible they built only one or a few variants of one model for whatever reason?

The bike in question is what I think is a 1963 Huffy Impala (possibly a Bel-Air). It is black and white, which is not a listed color option for either model. It has a set of chrome truss rods on it which mount at the plate on the bottom of the steer tube and at the axle. Again, this was not an option in the catalog for this bike and when I bebuilt the bike these appeared to be original. The bike is 100% original minus a reflector I had to replace and the tires. I added a speedometer later on also. It also has a color-matched Mesinger saddle, when the catalog had solid white seats on every bike (possibly for photo shooting only but I'm not sure).

I have heard that the decal headbadges were first used in 1963 and that the Azusa, CA built bikes got them first. I got to thinking...could this bike possibly be from California? could it be a Califnoria-only model? Or did Huffman have leftover paint from the limited production of the Huffy Penguin to use up? I suggest the later simply because black was not a common color option in the Huffman catalog for that model year. I think only two models had it. One was the F-85 and the other was the Fury.

 

[37fleetwood]

I know its been a very long time since I posted in this thread. I have more numbers and more pics for you. But first. I have had, since 2006 or 2007, a 1963 Huffy. It is not found in the 1963 Dealer Catalog. It once had a decal headbadge and is two-tone black and white. I will post pics shortly. But Scott, is it possible that Huffman did custom order bicycles either from the factory Or at the dealership? Is it possible they built only one or a few variants of one model for whatever reason?

The bike in question is what I think is a 1963 Huffy Impala (possibly a Bel-Air). It is black and white, which is not a listed color option for either model. It has a set of chrome truss rods on it which mount at the plate on the bottom of the steer tube and at the axle. Again, this was not an option in the catalog for this bike and when I bebuilt the bike these appeared to be original. The bike is 100% original minus a reflector I had to replace and the tires. I added a speedometer later on also. It also has a color-matched Mesinger saddle, when the catalog had solid white seats on every bike (possibly for photo shooting only but I'm not sure).

I have heard that the decal headbadges were first used in 1963 and that the Azusa, CA built bikes got them first. I got to thinking...could this bike possibly be from California? could it be a Califnoria-only model? Or did Huffman have leftover paint from the limited production of the Huffy Penguin to use up? I suggest the later simply because black was not a common color option in the Huffman catalog for that model year. I think only two models had it. One was the F-85 and the other was the Fury.

Boy you are way out of my realm of knowledge! but that said, on the earlier Huffman stuff there were option sheets that were sent out with the sales people that had the prices for the bikes as they were cataloged and then a list of options and their prices. you could upgrade the lights, or subtract $x.xx without chain guards, that sort of thing. Colors are another of those things, if you wanted, they'd let you choose the color combos. later as they got huge, I imagine there was less and less of that sort of thing, but I have no knowledge of it.

I'm going to name you as the Huffy expert, being the resident Huffman expert has been a title I have never been comfortable with, but it's what I've been stuck with. So, from here on out, you're the Huffy Guy, you know way more than I on them and have a much more keen interest in them.

 

[partsguy]

LOL! I'm flattered, but I'll have turn down the invite. Scott, you are still the most knowledgeable person for the early Huffmand and Dayton bikkes up to the mid 50s. MY expertise is in the late 50s-early 70's middleweights, early lightweights (such as the Scout and Sante Fe), and later models up until the horrid end of Huffman.

 

[Temilitary]

Serial number for Huffy and photos

Our serial number is: 7 H 146533
Sorry upside Down....stupid iPad
Huffy Customliner

 

[Oldnut]

48 huffman

My first balloon bike 48 national huffman need the right guard

damn IPad

 

[sbusiello]

serial: 7H283636

here is my frenchy in all her glory
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?44878-1947-Huffman-La-France&highlight=france