# 1943 Dayton Huffman USMC bicycle information wanted



## 42 Columbia MG (Feb 1, 2015)

Greetings, everyone. 

I'm looking for any and all information about my 1943 Dayton Huffman USMC bicycle. 

I would describe it as a diamond frame lightweight men's bike with front fork truss rods and a rear axle drop-down stand. This bicycle may be described in U.S. Government Federal Specification KKK-B-286 of 1944 as “Bicycle, Light Duty, Type III Military, Class A”.

The serial number is H102177_1_1943 with the 1 and the 1943 stamped under the H102177. The tires are 26x2 hooked rim and marked “WAR TIRE". 

It appears to be new, never ridden, with unmarked wooden pedal blocks and fresh tires. When I got it, it was complete down to the rear fender reflector except for handgrips which were missing; I believe they were wood like the pedal blocks and that they dried, cracked, and fell off in storage. 

The saddle leather has very minor cracking but is otherwise new appearing. The chain and axles still have the original grease. 

I purchased the bicycle from Mike Lyonais in 1994 and have researched it periodically since then but have never unearthed any information or images of USMC bicycles other than heavyweight Columbia bikes. Any information and/or photos would be appreciated.

If you are going, look for my USMC bicycle at the 2015 MVPA Convention in Topeka, Kansas. Let’s talk.

Thanks, and “Keep ‘em Rolling!”


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## johan willaert (Feb 2, 2015)

Is it Marine Corps Green or OD? Is the color of the rims the same as the rest of the bike?


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## 42 Columbia MG (Feb 2, 2015)

Completely Marine Corps green; Frame, fenders, wheels, etc. I'll post some photos soon.


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## 42 Columbia MG (May 21, 2021)

I promised photos of my 1943 USMC bicycle several years ago but life got in the way; I was reminded of my pledge by a recent call from a forum member of The CABE who is also a Huffman G519 Army bicycle owner.

Making up for lost time, here is some information and a few photos:


*1943 Huffman (Dayton) United States Marine Corps Bicycle   SN H102177 - General Information*

Serial Number markings:

    H102177
      1
      1943

26x2 United States Rubber tires marked “V” and “WAR TIRE”.

No other markings.

Hooked-bead rims.

Eclipse front hub.

Eclipse rear hub marked M1 (produced first quarter 1943?).

(Both front and rear possibly heavy-duty Eclipse Model K service hubs).

(Hubs are painted early WWII U.S. Army 33070 Lusterless Olive Drab; the rest of the bicycle is painted WWII USMC 34052 Lusterless Forest Green).

Huffman (Dayton) “whirlwind” chain wheel, 1-inch pitch “skip tooth” or “skip link” chain.

Chain = Diamond Bicycle Chain by Diamond Chain Company.

Non-offset 6.75-inch one-piece “Ashtabula” crank set.

Morrow coaster brake (Morrow brake arm painted early WWII U.S. Army 33070 Lusterless Olive Drab).

Mesinger saddle, possibly Deluxe B1.

Men’s diamond frame with 20-inch seat tube.

Torrington Model R stem and Torrington No. 12 box handlebar.

    0.875 inch diameter = 7/8 inch.

Handlebar grip = 7/8 inch internal diameter x 5 1/8 long (5 inches concealed by grip) x 1 3/8 external diameter; 130mm long x 35mm at largest external diameter.

Unmarked pedals with wood pedal blocks, painted WWII USMC 34052 Lusterless Forest Green.

Complete down to the rear fender reflector except for handgrips (the original handgrips may have been wood which dried out, split and fell off).

Has rear axle stand.

Appears to be painted flat World War II U.S. Marine Corps 34052 Lusterless Forest Green.

No chain guard, tire pump, front fender lamp, or bell.

It was complete down to the rear fender reflector except for handgrips (I believe the original grips were wood which dried out, cracked, and fell off); now I have both NOS wood grips and NOS black rubber "Coke bottle" grips.

Appears to be new, never ridden, with unmarked wooden pedal blocks and fresh tires.

Saddle leather dried with very minor cracking but otherwise new appearing; wear tabs on the saddle.

Chain and axles still have original grease.

==========

Displayed at 7/95 MVPA Convention in Arlington, TX.

    Won First Place in Motor Pool Ready Class

Displayed at 6/2015 MVPA Convention in Topeka, KS.

    Won Gold Medal in Motor Pool Ready Class
__________


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## Mercian (May 21, 2021)

Hi Jerry,

That's a coincidence, I've just written the reply to Rodger about this bike, and so no doubt you'll be getting that shortly.

I'll let you get a chance to read it, then I'll post it up here, probably tomorrow.

But nice bike, I appreciated being able to see it at last.

Thanks for that.

Best Regards,

Adrian


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## 42 Columbia MG (May 21, 2021)

Hi, Adrian;

Indeed, it was Rodger who prompted me to upload the photos and information.

Thanks for the comments!

--jerry


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## Mercian (May 22, 2021)

Hi jerry, and Rodger.

Again, I would like to say 'Thanks' for letting us see this bicycle in detail.

Here are some random thoughts in a haphazard order about this bike. They are my own opinion, and I'm happy to discuss them to try to get a correct idea of the history of this bicycle.

It is the first non-G519 I've seen with the date stamped on the bb. As far as I can tell so far, only Huffman bikes accepted into Military service had the date stamped on them, civilian ones didn't, so I'm inclined to think that it is more likely to be part of a small order than a prototype. Jerry has mentioned that he knows of one other. We also know that orders under $50,000 weren't published, and you could easily have bought 1000 bikes of this type for less than that. We also know the survival rate for known G519's at the moment is about 1 in a 1000, so just a handful of survivors wouldn't be a surprise.

Some pictures exist of the USMC using these Victory Lightweight style frames, and I always assumed they were the civilian pattern bought in, but I'll need to go back and look to see if there are truss rods visible on them. It's possible that the USMC ordered these as Military specification bikes, and then just bought the civilian ones 'off the shelf' so that there were no problems with waiting for them to be produced due to the variation in specification between these and the Victory Lightweights.

The serial numbers were applied after the frame was painted, which is why they've rusted. That's normal for Huffman bikes at this point, and tells us that it is the original paint for the frame.

I think (though I could be wrong) that the numbers on the rear of the fork are 13, indicating it was made in January 1943.  Below is a picture of a January 1944 fork with 14 stamped on it. Huffman used a strange stamp set on these, and you can see how much bigger the 1 is than the 4 (which are the only two conceivable first numbers on the USMC fork), so I think it's a 1, simply from style. It's not overly important (though I'd love to know for sure), since 43 would be April 1943, the M1 on the Morrow is Q1 1943,  the frame number, in comparison to other known ones, would be late 1942, early 1943, except that it is stamped 1943, so again, early 1943.




Picture credit : okozzy

The truss rods with the separate support at the mudguard comes from G519 production. This was probably the first Huffman production bike to use this style. Westfield always used this style of bracket on G519's, though the rods were slightly different, as were the bolts on the top holding them on. It can be seen in one of Jerry's photos that the recessed Huffman bolts have been used. Some further detail here: https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/inside-threaded-truss-rods.169945/page-2#post-1156450  Huffman used supports welded directly to the fork for most, if not all of their first G519 contract. This Westfield format was adopted for their second G519 contract, and the USMC bike sits between the two, so is an early Huffman example of this.

The front hub is marked Eclipse 36-10, which is the same heavy gauge hub as used on G519, so I've no doubt the rear is marked in the same way. Because they are Army green, they appear to have been drawn from G519 stock.

Westfield produced G519 stuck quite rigidly to specification for parts. Huffman, as a smaller supplier, seem to have had to substitute parts for their G519's more often, and known variations from the Westfield version which were not manufacturer specific include seats, wheel rims, pedals, grips.

Huffman used at least two wheel rim types on G519, but not this one. At the very end of G519 production (very late 1943 to early 1944) , Westfield used these rims when they produced a small batch, or possibly two, of bicycles that were similar to the Army G519, but marked MC rather than MG for the serial number,. It's generally accepted (though there is still no absolute proof) that these are USMC contract bikes. They have similarities to this one, such as the 'hooked' wheel rims, the drop stand, the colour.

The pedals are by Persons, and have been seen on production Huffman G519, though there has been controversy as to whether they were original (I personally think so), or substitute spares from stores. The link is to a unrestored Huffman with the same pedals, and a Mesinger saddle too. I don't know if the hex head bolts through the blocks on the pedals are replacements, or again, substitute standard, since they don't match the round headed bolts more commonly seen. This G519 dates to July/August 1943.

https://forums.g503.com/viewtopic.php?t=229295

Another slightly esoteric feature of this bike is that it has a Huffman headbadge. By this point of the war, civilian models didn't have them (indeed, that's why Huffman started stamping H in front of the serial number, Westfield did the same with civilian bikes receiving a W), G519 bikes always had headbadges, as does this bike, which implies military again. As an example, here is a similar dated (2 or 3 weeks earlier than the USMC bike), but civilian Huffman without a headbadge, or even screwholes for one. I've just noticed it has Persons pedals too, though I'm not sure if the blocks are wood or rubber.

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/blackout-huffman-bike-greasy-too.147805/

Paint, as Jerry observed, anything from the G519 parts bin is in an Army green, otherwise USMC. 

As I said, feel free to add comments, and I'm very happy to discuss any of the observations above, or respond to any particular questions (I can't guarantee I'll know the answer). (-:

Best Regards,

Adrian


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## blackcat (May 22, 2021)

Hello Adrian;
Its true that this survivor is a real surprise for us. 
To come back to the pedals,  i don't think they are PERSONS, i would go for TORRINGTON METEOR n°3 in Roman style.


In the photo, they are in Gothic style with the spikes on the front and rear bearings.
On the other hand, the screws which hold the wood wedges are different on those of Jerry.
( this is only my personnal opinion ).
 Regards;
Serge


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## Dave Stromberger (Jun 4, 2021)

blackcat said:


> Hello Adrian;
> Its true that this survivor is a real surprise for us.
> To come back to the pedals,  i don't think they are PERSONS, i would go for TORRINGTON METEOR n°3 in Roman style.
> 
> ...





@blackcat, I was thinking the same thing, but wasn't sure, so I started digging through my junk pile and came up with these Persons pedals. They match the ones seen on some G519's.  Very close to the Torrington though! Unfortunately for me, the nice pair I found are ladies size. I have a few others that are in various states of disrepair. I think I can piece together a restorable mens pair... shy of the wood blocks that is.


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## blackcat (Jun 5, 2021)

Hello;
@Dave Stromberger , oh yes, with a photo like that, i bow  😺
To be honest, i didn't know these!
Thanks!
Regards;
Serge


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