# Louisville Elgin blu...



## SKPC

https://louisville.craigslist.org/bik/d/elgin-sears-bicycle/6717444049.html


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## cyclingday

This guys phone probably self destructed.

Badbob was probably camped out on his front lawn when he woke up this morning.


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## Kato

cyclingday said:


> This guys phone probably self destructed.
> 
> Badbob was probably camped out on his front lawn when he woke up this morning.




I've been trying to get in touch via text / call.....no luck.
Info was shared over on RatRodBikes site also..........one of their members has been in contact with the owner.
It'll be interesting to see how this one will shake out. Hopefully who ever gets it will share info afterwards.


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## stoney

Here we go again. That bike looks familiar. Has it been tossed around on here before?


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## fordmike65

Seems like it might be legit. Looks like @TRM has a good chance of getting it. Be sure to post pics!

"I have been talking with him since yesterday after you posted it. He's pretty stunned by the overwhelming response that it has created! I gave him a little bit of history about the bike and its value as a sought after rare collectible, he didn't have any idea. "


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## saladshooter

I talked with him at length (I like the way he talks). Super nice guy. Told me someone from California was trying to call while he was talking to me. Said people were driving over to the cross streets listed on Craigslist and trying to figure out where he was.

Said he traded an old Chevy pickup for it a couple years ago with a fella he trades back and forth with.  Sometimes he gets the better end of the deal, sometimes the other fella does. His wife said he needed to clean up around the place. Good times. Well worth the call.


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## catfish

Nice.


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## TRM

Yep, very genuine humble guy. He was taking it to show it to an older man that wasn't wanting to buy it, but just wanted to see it in person. He had no idea what he was starting when he posted it, his phone is blowing up!


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## fordmike65

saladshooter said:


> I talked with him at length (I like the way he talks). Super nice guy. Told me someone from California was trying to call while he was talking to me. Said people were driving over to the cross streets listed on Craigslist and trying to figure out where he was.
> 
> Said he traded an old Chevy pickup for it a couple years ago with a fella he trades back and forth with.  Sometimes he gets the better end of the deal, sometimes the other fella does. His wife said he needed to clean up around the place. Good times. Well worth the call.



That was probably me


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## Oldbikes

Hopefully someone here ends up with it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Iverider

That's about 10 minutes from my parents house. I left a message, but have no hope that it'll still be available.


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## Miyata FL.




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## catfish

Great bike.


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## cyclingday

He says, it's been a crazy day.
People calling from all over the United States.
He's been offered as much as $6,500 for it so far.
So, it sounds like it's still available.
If any of you guys are anywhere near Louisville, I'd show up with a wad of cash, and I'll bet you'll go home with a genuine Elgin Bluebird.
Money in hand is always a good motivating influence.


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## slick

Hopefully it gets parted out. I need those pedals. Which aren't correct anyways. Lol


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## fordmike65

cyclingday said:


> He says, it's been a crazy day.
> People calling from all over the United States.
> He's been offered as much as $6,500 for it so far.
> So, it sounds like it's still available.
> If any of you guys are anywhere near Louisville, I'd show up with a wad of cash, and I'll bet you'll go home with a genuine Elgin Bluebird.
> Money in hand is always a good motivating influence.



Looks like the offers have gone up. Last I heard from him was $5500. Super nice older gentleman that's more interested in it going to the right home than squeezing every last dollar out of it. Said after trading it for a beat pick-up, it's been lying around the backyard and front porch for over 2 years. He only listed it because his wife insisted he get rid of that junky bike. Bet she's singing another tune now! Best of luck to him.


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## SKPC

These bikes don't flip my switch really, but to each his/her own.   Poor guy has to get all stressed out now but might get some money in his pocket!...
Wonder what is under the housepaint...


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## Kato

Post deleted..........hopefully worked out well for seller and buyer !!


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## cyclingday

Yeah, 
When the first guy to respond to the ad, told the seller to add another zero to the price.
The $500 dollar Craigslist Bluebird wasn't happening.


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## catfish

cyclingday said:


> Yeah,
> When the first guy to respond to the ad, told the seller to add another zero to the price.
> The $500 dollar Craigslist Bluebird wasn't happening.




Ha!


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## OldSkipTooth

So, there is a new pattern in listing good stuff on CL, put a stupid low price, with no intention of selling said item for that price, and let the bidding war begin. It harkens back to when Ebay was new and exciting, circa 1997-2000. That was a time when some serious stuff was bought and sold, stuff not available today.


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## Kato

*Below* is copied and pasted from another site
*I went over the bike for the owner and also let him know what is was and its real value.
The bike is suppose to sell to a man from Baltimore today.
This bike is nice. The spedo was still intact and only had 1 spot on it and it wasnt bad. The glass was good as was the original headlight lens The on off bottoms were still there also
All the wires were in the tank with the org. door. Even had the org reflector on the rack.
The owner took the bike as a trade for a old truck about 3 yrs ago. He said he even had it sitting outside for a little bit. It had a repaint but what chrome was there it saved. Wheels tires and seat wernt original and missing the spedo wheel.unit amd cable *​


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## scrubbinrims

OldSkipTooth said:


> So, there is a new pattern in listing good stuff on CL, put a stupid low price, with no intention of selling said item for that price, and let the bidding war begin. It harkens back to when Ebay was new and exciting, circa 1997-2000. That was a time when some serious stuff was bought and sold, stuff not available today.



Nothing new...
Anything desirable and underpriced that hits the open market but involves a face to face transaction and the time to arrange it, multiple interests move the needle in the interim.
This is why I stopped looking at listings outside of where I could drop what I was doing and be there within a half day's travel.
I don't think the $500 was intentional bait on the hook and personally I wouldn't want to attract nibblers anyway, just the big fish.
Chris


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## jkent

I just don't know why anyone with any bicycle knowledge would pass on it and post it. Why not just keep it on the down-low and buy it for $500 and turn your own $7000 profit? Glad the guy with no knowledge (Original CL Owner) got what looks like a really good value out of the bike.
Just really curious why it wasn't snatched up by the first guy that found it before it was posted on RRbikes and Cabe.
JKent


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## jkent

You would also think that if the guy has internet and obviously he does, (He posted it on CL for sale) 5 minutes of searching Google anyone could find out what it was and a pretty good clue of value. If you just type in Elgin bicycle on Google 17 pictures down is a Bluebird, If you click on the link it carries you to an article about on being found (Barn Find) and how even Chip Foose has owned several. The article goes into pretty good depth about the value of the bike mentioned above and bidding had gone over $11,000.
Hhhhmmmm
JKent


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## Glenn Rhein

jkent said:


> You would also think that if the guy has internet and obviously he does, (He posted it on CL for sale) 5 minutes of searching Google anyone could find out what it was and a pretty good clue of value. If you just type in Elgin bicycle on Google 17 pictures down is a Bluebird, If you click on the link it carries you to an article about on being found (Barn Find) and how even Chip Foose has owned several. The article goes into pretty good depth about the value of the bike mentioned above and bidding had gone over $11,000.
> Hhhhmmmm
> JKent



Everyday someone here gets a good deal on something, not everyone does the research to get the top dollar for there stuff and what fun would it be if everything we bought was at top dollar and there were no good deals out there. That’s what makes the hunt exciting.


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## catfish

Two Bluebirds have shown up this week.


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## SKPC

Hey honey, did you see any other bluebirds around here?  I hear we are getting scarce...


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## Freqman1

Wonder if the guy from Baltimore was Larkin? V/r Shawn


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## cyclingday

The one at Hershey, apparently sold for 5K and seemed to be in much nicer original condition.
I guess there's no substitute for boots on the ground.
Great deal!


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## Sayitsimple

Never such luck for me


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## Sayitsimple

where was the second?


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## catfish




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## cyclingday

Looking good!
It looks like a nice straight & solid bike.


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## Sayitsimple

for sale?


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## Freqman1

Sayitsimple said:


> for sale?



Yep you just need to meet the seller with $7k!
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/vintage-prewar-1938-elgin-bluebird.140892/#post-940062


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## OldSkipTooth

Seems fair to me! A bit of work, but assuming the carcass is solid it will be a 10k bike.


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## Freqman1

I believe $7k was a fair price but unless you can do your own paint and already have the correct seat for this you will be in it for at least $10k by the time you do paint, chrome, cad, seat, speedo cable, speedo basket, pencil stand, and fender ornament. V/r Shawn


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## cyclingday

cyclingday said:


> This guys phone probably self destructed.
> 
> Badbob was probably camped out on his front lawn when he woke up this morning.




I must be clairvoyant. Lol!


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## Robertriley

What's going on with the frame towards the front of the bike, on the side of the frame under the buttons (drive side)?  It looks like something was added to cover a hole or something.


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## TRM

I got a text from John in Louisville yesterday and he told me that he has caught the fever and decided to keep the Blue Bird  for himself and wants to restore it. I advised him to be careful about "restoring" it and instead try to preserve what's under the house paint. I hope he knows what he's getting into!


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## saladshooter

Uhhh, didn't Bob buy it and already sell it to someone else??


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## fordmike65




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## TRM

saladshooter said:


> Uhhh, didn't Bob buy it and already sell it to someone else??







Well that explains a lot! I guess he didn't want to admit that he had promised it to me and then sold it to someone else.


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## fordmike65

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/vintage-prewar-1938-elgin-bluebird.140892/


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## Freqman1

Guess we need to hear from Bob?


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## TRM

fordmike65 said:


> https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/vintage-prewar-1938-elgin-bluebird.140892/



I guess I should check the classifieds here more often! lol

The funny thing is that he has continued to text me about the bike and that he would give me the first shot at it since I was the first to contact him about it. Oh well, win some and loose some.


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## fordmike65

It happens. Not sure why tho. I'd rather a seller be honest about their intentions. I had someone set to pick up a bike for me in the Detroit area. Deal done, waiting on address. We had spoken several times the day before and that morning, then dead silence. After several calls and left voicemails, I get a text that his brother now wanted to keep it. 2 months later it pops up on CL the next town over for 2x the price. I ended up getting it anyway and asked the seller if he had recently picked it ip off CL. Sure enough, he had offered a bit more and snagged it. Oh well....


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## TRM

Seems like an honest guy though. He probably was so overwhelmed that he lost track of who he said what to and when. Then after it was too late realized what had happened and didn't want to tell me in hopes that I wouldn't ever be the wiser. Probably would've worked if it weren't for the forum.

Not a big deal in the end. There are far more important things in life than what's in the material world!


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## detroitbike

It’s among kindred spirits


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## slick

Killer Bluebird but those shelbys.... DAMN!


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## detroitbike

I ride those in the 'Slo Roll' bike rides Monday nights in the summer.
  I intend to include the BBird as well next year.


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