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Surprise! It's a 1943 Huffman.

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Your welcome. I think all WW2 U.S bicycles came with straight posts. I have a wartime civilian bike with the same size post and I had it custom made by a local metal shop since they are an unusual size. You could go that route if you can not find an original.
 
Huffman....

Nice find.They made some cool looking bikes,I don't think they sold many in the Detroit area as I have NEVER seen one until the I-net.
 
The original seat post on my 1942 Military Huffman is the slightly bent model which I have also observed on a 1943 all original Huffy.
Both straight and net posts were used.

Columbias used straight steel rods for seat posts with Huffmans having tapered tubes...
 
I'm getting started on the Huffman. Removing six layers of paint has revealed the OD with what appears to be a red oxide primer beneath. The original paint is there, but not great. It is rusty in some spots and missing in others. I'd like to try to save the original paint on the fenders to see if I can reveal and markings. Does anyone have any tips on removing 6 layers of paint to unveil the original paint? Also, any thoughts on if I should start the build thread here or on the Projects page.
Thanks.
 
Fork number stamp 113

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Hello all,
While moving along on the prep and clean up, I uncovered a number stamp on the backside of the fork. So far, this is moving along quite smoothly. I'd like to have it completed for a show at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ the first week of March. I'll have to work quickly without sacrificing quality. Wish me luck.

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I had pretty good luck removing a couple layers of spray paint from my 42 Huffman using carb or brake cleaner.It seemed to soften the cheap paint and not touch the od paint.Good luck and nice find!
 
View attachment 194671Hello all,
While moving along on the prep and clean up, I uncovered a number stamp on the backside of the fork. So far, this is moving along quite smoothly. I'd like to have it completed for a show at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ the first week of March. I'll have to work quickly without sacrificing quality. Wish me luck.

the fork is 11 3 or November 1943, which is consistent with your frame stamping.
 

looked at your bike and would agree. Huffman serial numbers are not cut and dried. often you have to look the bike over and see what characteristics it has, and see if the numbers you get jibe with that. your frame is stamped 1942 and your fork has a 1 2 so I would say it's the original fork and is indeed stamped Jan 1942. you have to be careful with this, sometimes the fork has been changed, or what's stamped on it doesn't jibe with the rest of the bike then all you can do is scratch your head and wonder what it means.
Schwinn kept detailed serial number lists which have survived, what we have about Huffmans has been mostly derived from looking at bikes, and that's not exactly fool proof. I'd say it works 80% of the time, and you'll know when it does like these two, both are stamped unambiguously and the fork matches so I'd go with it.
 
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