# Elgin Skylark info!



## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 9, 2015)

So I came across a Blue elgin skylark that I picked up and was wondering if they ever made them in blue? Its a complete bicycle all is there. The reason I'm asking is because underneath the head babe appears to be blue. When I get some time I'm going to remove the front fork and see what color it was originally. Plus bicycle shows they made them from 1936-38. Is this true on these bicycles. Well if you Elgin guys got pics to share or knowledge would be great on it!


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## Freqman1 (Jan 9, 2015)

The owner of this site has, or had an original blue Skylark. I believe I have seen one other as well. V/r Shawn


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## fordmike65 (Jan 9, 2015)

I have seen one unbelievely beautiful blue Skylark owned by Scott M.


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 9, 2015)

OK I thought might have been house paint. Do you have a pic of it shawn?


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## Nickinator (Jan 9, 2015)

There have been a few blue ones that have popped up, two were in very bad shape and were parted out, fenders from one just recently sold on ebay that found there way onto a robin project which in the end was parted out and the fenders sold again the third and final bike is owned by our cabe owner scott and is in extremely nice original condition , yours would make the forth bike i have seen in the dark blue. Would be an extremely cool restoration if it was a true blue skylark and documented.

Nick.


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## Joe Buffardi (Jan 9, 2015)

Very cool! Congrats on a great find!


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 9, 2015)

Thanks nick on that information. I got to take the fork apart first and see the original color. This bike is is complete  but needs a total restoration. I would love to see and take a record on how many of these bicycles exist out . Cabers please post some pics of you Elgin skylarks!!!


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## fordmike65 (Jan 9, 2015)

Thought I had pics of Scott's bike saved, but can't seem to find them or the thread they were posted in. It is gorgeous!


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## Nickinator (Jan 9, 2015)

the only pictures i could find, the fenders that were on ebay have a slight green tint to them so im actually not sure if there ever was a 3 bikes in my count but here is some evidence of blue skylarks.

Nick.

scott's original



the parted out bike



fenders that were found on ebay can't be from the parted bike as it had no front fender


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## scrubbinrims (Jan 9, 2015)

The hits just keep coming for you George, and they are always unmolested...way to start off 2015!
That's the last straw, I am moving to PA/NJ!!!
Chris


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 9, 2015)

Thanks nick for the pics and yes Chris this was found in my back yard 2 towns away from me!


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## 41rollfast (Jan 9, 2015)

Here's another.


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## jd56 (Jan 9, 2015)

George! !! How many more surprises are you going to find in Jersey?  With you and Adam scouring the beaches and mountains there.wont be anything left on the eastcoast. 
Looks rusty red to me. Still a great find dude.

Wish I could justify roaming in your backyard for some of these relics. You do find some rare bikes my friend. Maybe you'll let me look at your rolodex sometime.

It's all about the Tanklights!!

How did I run out of room so fast?


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 10, 2015)

I stopped looking long time ago bro. They find me. But how long of a run did they make these skylarks for anyone out there know?


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## Nickinator (Jan 10, 2015)

spring of 1936 to the fall of 1938 but, during those years different parts were added and taken away in different years, the early spring of 1936 had the speedo neck.

Nick.


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## frankster41 (Jan 11, 2015)

Looks like a keeper to me! Great find George!


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## chitown (Jan 11, 2015)

*Only 2,000 Skylarks made*



THEGOLDENGREEK said:


> But how long of a run did they make these skylarks for anyone out there know?




Looks like a Skylark is more rare than a Bluebird according to the book "Peddling Bicycles to America: The Rise of an Industry" By Bruce D. Epperson. 2,000 were made vs 4,000 of the Bluebird

https://books.google.com/books?id=2...rk&pg=PA222#v=onepage&q=elgin skylark&f=false


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## fordmike65 (Jan 11, 2015)

I bet a lot more Skylarks were stripped to complete a Bluebird than the other way around, making them even more rare.


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## slick (Jan 11, 2015)

fordmike65 said:


> I bet a lot more Skylarks were stripped to complete a Bluebird than the other way around, making them even more rare.






Ya, there has been 2 on here in the last 2 months that that happened to.


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 11, 2015)

So they only made 2000 of these skylarks very intresting plus all the other skylarks that have been thrown away in the garbage and stripped down to complete a Robin or a Bluebird makes sense they must be getting harder and harder to find. I wonder if anyone can post up a pic of the inside of the headlight so i can see what i am missing or if mine is complete thank you much!


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 16, 2015)

So after tinkering with the skylark....I used some zepalumn on a rag took the rust right out and yes this Elgin is blue. Does anyone know the proper color code that they used on this bike?


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## Nickinator (Jan 16, 2015)

what a rare bird!!  make sure to take uber loads of pictures during the restoration as well as a serial number shot and the original color in the same picture. (basically scrub the bb and take a picture while it still has original blue on it to verify it was blue after restoration)

Nick.


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 16, 2015)

I will nick take pics for sure. But I will like what the color was called anyone have any older brochures on what THE original color was called?? it would be great help!!


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## Nickinator (Jan 16, 2015)

Depends, there is a deep blue and a light robins egg blue, should do some more scrubbing before you take a guess

Nick.


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## Balloonatic (Jan 16, 2015)

*My Ginny Skylark*

Here's my ginny Skylark. 1350 miles on the clock... a helluva lot of miles for a bicycle.. especially a girls' bike. (Not commenting on girl's ability, but girls bikes often don't get ridden nearly as much as the boys models... ;o) Headlight and orig. horn both work with orig. bakelite buttons.

And of course Simon, the moo-kitty when he first showed up. Now, he runs the house and sleeps on my head at night.


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## Freqman1 (Jan 17, 2015)

THEGOLDENGREEK said:


> I will nick take pics for sure. But I will like what the color was called anyone have any older brochures on what THE original color was called?? it would be great help!!




I've never seen any Skylark ads listing the bike in blue. The '37 spring/summer list the Blue Bird in the new opalescent colors and lists these simply as '"blue" and "gunmetal" (gray). For fall/winter they call the color "bright blue". The thing to me is the Skylarks I have seen seem to have a different blue than the blue on the Blue Birds. To me it actually seems brighter than the opalescent, or bright, blue used on the Blue Birds. I have never seen the ''french blue" on a Skylark. Another thing that puzzles me is that it seems this color was used on the Skylark _before_ the Bluebird went to opalescent/bright blue. I say this because both Scott's bike and the other one shown are '36 models. After '36 the Skylark lost the speedo/button stem, weighted pedals and 'pencil' stand. I would be curious to know what the serial number is on your bike.  Regardless of all this knowing what the color was called will not help you get a paint match if that is your goal. You need to get with Scott or the owner of the other bike and see if they can get a paint match for you in order to be accurate. Just my thoughts. It would be interesting to hear from anyone with literature listing this color for the Skylark. V/r Shawn


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 17, 2015)

Hi shawn I'm in the same boat I've never seen a blue until I've seen scotts pics of his blue skylark. After messing with my skylark last night it is the deeper blue color not an egg shell color. Like I said I still haven't taken the front fork or crank out yet. So I guess I'll go off the color I find. I'll have my friend match it at his bobyshop. I will get the serial number for sure and post. But I agree I would love to see anything or a brochure of this color as it was offered back then. Do you have a pic of the inside of the headlight shawn?


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## fordmike65 (Jan 17, 2015)

Hey George. Is there no way to somehow save that paint if it is indeed the uber rare blue??? Even if it's rough, might be worth leaving it in whatever OG paint is left. After it's painted, it'll always be a repaint no matter what it was originally...Just a thought. Whatever you do, ENJOY!!!


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## Freqman1 (Jan 17, 2015)

Here is a pic of the inside of my Robin which is the same as the Skylark. My horn is missing--this seems to be common with these. The horn is a small coil-like looking horn and not the standard delta or EA internal unit. V/r Shawn


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## Lawrence Ruskin (Jan 17, 2015)

That's one of the most beautiful bikes ever designed, sadly, it is rusting into scale and needs a total resto I don't see anything wrong with a blast, prime, repaint, you won't loose a cent in value and you will be preserving a work of art...


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## cyclingday (Jan 17, 2015)

I realize that the original finish is pretty far gone for preservation, so a total restore is inevitable, but!

 You've got nothing to lose by soaking it in an oxalic acid bath, just to see what turns up. You could just repaint only whats missing, and still preserve as much of the originality as possible.
 The only thing super cool and rare about the fact that it is blue, is the fact that its original and its blue. Once its been repainted, it could be any color you like, because the original color is gone once its been stripped.
 I guess this particular bike falls under the heading, "If they only knew, they would've taken better care of their bike."
 Ultra rare, and totally thrashed. What a bummer!
 I'm sure, it will be a thing of beauty, once its been, all re tangled up in blue.


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## fordmike65 (Jan 17, 2015)

Not a great pic, but all I have a pic of.


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## Freqman1 (Jan 17, 2015)

Looks like there is more than one type of tray in these as well. Difference between years? V/r Shawn


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 17, 2015)

I did try to clean the paint last night as best as i could on the skylark. I would love to keep it all original for sure cause they are only original just once but due to it condition of the bicycle there really is no paint left on it. So im going to have redo it for sure. But if i did leave it alone it would look like the rustiest skylark around lol! I am missing the horn and battery tray to the bicycle now that i did look at the pic that got posted up but other then that this bicycle is complete! Im going to get the serial number soon and i will post it! Still would love to a brochure with this color option!!!


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## Nickinator (Jan 17, 2015)

try naval jelly, you wont believe how well it works on taking off rust and keeping the original paint on it. take my colson for example

its worth the time.

Nick.


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 18, 2015)

Hi nick nice job using the naval jelly which i never used before. I used a product called ZEP on the skylark. The paint on it is gone in many places believe id would have let it alone. But it a good bike to get redone though in its original color in blue.  Here is the serial number of my Elgin skylark bicycle... C34356.. and above that i saw a D11. Any clue on its year guys?


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## Nickinator (Jan 18, 2015)

taking a guess but i would say D is 1937, most E's i see are all 1938 models. 11 is probably the month. so a very late 1937. could you provide a picture of it with its original paint?

Nick.



THEGOLDENGREEK said:


> Hi nick nice job using the naval jelly which i never used before. I used a product called ZEP on the skylark. The paint on it is gone in many places believe id would have let it alone. But it a good bike to get redone though in its original color in blue.  Here is the serial number of my Elgin skylark bicycle... C34356.. and above that i saw a D11. Any clue on its year guys?


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 22, 2015)

Sure I will once the snow clears I'll get to it, clean it up and snap a photo of the serial number!


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## fordmike65 (Jan 22, 2015)

I'd say your serial number should start with a B or C. My girl's '36 is A. I believe '35 Elgins are stamped N.


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## rustjunkie (Jan 22, 2015)

Being a Westfield-made frame, wouldn't the serial # fit into this chart?





http://www.vintagecolumbiabikes.com/id79.html


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 22, 2015)

Yes my serial starts with a C! Thanks for the chart.


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## rustjunkie (Jan 22, 2015)

THEGOLDENGREEK said:


> ...this Elgin is blue. Does anyone know the proper color code that they used on this bike?




I'll bet a refreshing beverage of your choice that the paint was originally "opalescent" blue like the bikes above. Looks "robin's egg" because the top layer has been worn away.
Gotta say tho, I'll be happy to be proved wrong: a Robin's Egg & white 'lark would be beautiful.


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 22, 2015)

Here are pics of the chain guard shows more deeper blue and a pic of the head tube.


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## Freqman1 (Jan 22, 2015)

I believe this is the same blue as on the known blue bikes which is a metallic blue. It still looks to me like the blue on the Skylark is different than the metallic (opalescent) on the BB is different. I would like to see Scott's bike next to a BB for comparison. V/r Shawn


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Jan 22, 2015)

The very first pic is inside the chain guard so no sun got to it shawn. But the head tube and out side of the chain guard are very weathered! Still have to tank the fork off one of these days!


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