What did I just buy? Hiawatha.......

[Party marty]

I am new to the cabe. I am have a hard time navigating the content here, but I'll keep trying. I am beating my head against the wall trying to find out what I just bought for $120.
The badge says Hiawatha,
numbers on the badge are: 15WG8 24 1037A
Numbers under crank are: 8670
Numbers on seat post collar: OH190927

It looks to be repainted. It is missing front fork truss rods.
Based on serial numbers, what is the model? What is the proper paint scheme and what is the shape of truss rods.

I am not going to go through this bike and perform an authentic restoration. However, I would like to know the year, model and color. I can fabricate the truss rods, I just don't know the shape of the rods. Any photos, examples, info would be greatly appreciated. As I said, I'm having trouble navigating this forum.
I'm into it for $120.

 

[rusty.kirkpatrick]

The frame looks Huffman, cool aftermarket chainguard. That's all I got, I dont think you did too bad.

 

[Foxclassics]

It's a Huffman by looking at the frame and fork.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Freqman1]

I believe serial indicates '51 Huffman. Personally I would just ride this as-is. Spending any money to correctly restore this would be money wasted in my opinion. Even if this bike were perfectly restored it would be a $150-200 bike. You would have well over $1k in it by the time you got all correct parts, paint, chrome, and cad plating. V/r Shawn

 

[Party marty]

Thanks for the feed for thought, like I said, I'm gonna have fun with it. Strip it, lube it. Ride it. Might be a candidate for a rat-rod. Thanks again for the info.
Martin

 

[Freqman1]

Thanks for the feed for thought, like I said, I'm gonna have fun with it. Strip it, lube it. Ride it. Might be a candidate for a rat-rod. Thanks again for the info.
Martin

Sounds like the right plan to me. Good luck with your project and keep us posted on progress. V/r Shawn

 

[TJ Hobbs]

I am new to the cabe. I am have a hard time navigating the content here, but I'll keep trying. I am beating my head against the wall trying to find out what I just bought for $120.
The badge says Hiawatha,
numbers on the badge are: 15WG8 24 1037A
Numbers under crank are: 8670
Numbers on seat post collar: OH190927

It looks to be repainted. It is missing front fork truss rods.
Based on serial numbers, what is the model? What is the proper paint scheme and what is the shape of truss rods.

I am not going to go through this bike and perform an authentic restoration. However, I would like to know the year, model and color. I can fabricate the truss rods, I just don't know the shape of the rods. Any photos, examples, info would be greatly appreciated. As I said, I'm having trouble navigating this forum.
I'm into it for $120.

View attachment 472230

I also have a bike with a Hiawatha badge with similar number 05 WG6 24 1035. The bike belonged to father-in-law. It was a gift from parents when be was a boy b.1940. It is a Hiawatha. Not sure why you are told huffy. Unless there is something I'm missing its a Hiawatha.

 

[tripple3]

Hiawatha is the badge and indeed what it is.
Huffy made it and put that badge there.

 

[Archie Sturmer]

This is a resurrected post. The Huffman-built Gambles Hiawatha bike looks like my 55 Western Auto Western Flyer bike. I believe the fits-sooner safety-frame was used from about 1948 to 1959 or so, until superseded by a cantilever style. Also, notice the ~1" gap between the two top tubes; that may mean the Hiawatha did not have a tank. The terms economy or promotional may have been used for such models. These models, if equipped, had fairly straight and close truss rods, about 4" offset from the line of the fork/steering tube, with a round turn at the top.

The 1st picture shows a 55 tank-less 26" model, with incorrect almost everything. The 2nd picture shows a 58 tank 26" model, with OEM tighter truss rods.
So, recapping, Hiawatha was a private-label for a store's bikes; Gambles was a store that sold bikes; Huffman was a man and a name of a company that built bikes, which later would change their name to be the same as one of their products. Not sure who may have built 1940 Hiawatha bikes for Gambles - Shelby (?).