# Tricycle



## Trader Jack (Mar 14, 2019)

Need help on identifying this tricycle. Any help would be appreciated. If I can identify it then I can look for parts, mainly tires.


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## ridingtoy (Mar 15, 2019)

It appears to be a 1950s Murray Mercury model that was sold through Sears and badged for their Happi-Time (H/T on a clock face) store brand. It also has the MO in the hubcaps and on the front truss rod bracket for Murray Ohio. I'm thinking a Mercury model Murray because it has the Troxel higher grade sewn on vinyl top and compression/extension beehive springs on the underchassis of the seat. The standard Murray models of the time usually had the hard white vinyl or rubber top Troxel seat with single action springs. Mercury models seemed to be more deluxe or streamlined than the standard Murray models. Here's a similar tricycle which was sold on the CABE and badged as a Murray Mercury. This one sports a raingutter type front fender which was also common on them in the early 1950s - https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/mercury-tricycle-for-sale.66612/

Dave


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## Trader Jack (Mar 16, 2019)

Sure do thank you. The one I have has the HT on the rear step. I have looked on everything I can find and I have not seen another one with this emblem. I am looking for a color picture of exactly how it looked new so I can restore it to original. Any help would be appreciated


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## ridingtoy (Mar 16, 2019)

If you do a Google search by "Happi-Time Tricycle" you'll see various paint schemes applied to them, plus what the Happi-Time head badge decal would look like. Since yours has a lot of surface rust there's two things I can suggest you do to get an idea of the original paint colors. Check on the inside and underside of the front fender and under the rear step plate. Sometimes dampness that has settled and caused rust on the top and outer surfaces isn't as bad underneath and the paint is more visible. You might need to wash those areas to remove accumulated dirt and grime. If corrosion still obscures the paint color there, you could try soaking some of the metal parts in an acid solution using Oxalic Acid. Some CABE-ers have had success with other types of acid solutions, too. That will sometimes remove enough of the rust and rust stains that the original paint color will become evident. I did that with a tricycle wheel which had about the same amount of corrosion as your trike has...the true paint color was impossible to determine. After soaking it in the acid most of the blue paint color and white pinstripe hidden under the oxidation staining became very clear. I would have never guessed the wheel was painted blue originally! Hope this info helps a little. Wish you success in your restoration project!

Dave


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## Trader Jack (Mar 17, 2019)

Once again THANK YOU so much. I’m glad you told me of the acid. It belonged to my wife and she says it was red and white with chrome. I am restoring for our granddaughter, she’s  2. Wife wants it as original as possible. She doesn’t want to replace the handle bars or anything else except the tires, and grips. Even though there will be some pits, mostly on the handlebars she wants to leave it as is. So with all that being said I decided to use a sandblaster I borrowed from a friend. Don’t freak out I bought a bag of very fine and a bag of fine to use as blaster medium. This should remove all the rust but not damage the metal itself. After this will clear coat with high quality enamel clear coat this should seal the metal and then paint. There is an automotive paint place here where they can put whatever color you want in a spray can, automotive paint quality in a can. It should work. Also I found a Sears 1958 catalog with the trike listed! Bought it but haven’t got it yet, only thing is it’s not color. Excited to see the end result. I’ll post pictures of progress as I go along.


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## ridingtoy (Mar 18, 2019)

Please do post some photos of your progress. Best sources of tires I've found are ebay and CABE members. What size are the front and rear tires? I'll check my stash.

Dave


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## Trader Jack (Mar 18, 2019)

I found a fellow in Detroit who has them. I’ve talked to him several times. He has the front tire (12 X 1.75) replacement he tells me to put it in the microwave till it’s really hot and then quickly work it on the wheel. However, the back tires he has just the tire but says it is impossible to do the same with them. He has a replacement wheel with the tire on it. Which is fine I guess. I’m going to order them tomorrow unless you have a easier solution. The back ones are 8 X 1.75


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## ridingtoy (Mar 18, 2019)

Tires can also be heated up by soaking them in scalding to boiling hot water. I've even heated up a 16" tire successfully by leaving it out in the sun for a few hours on a Summer day when temps were in the upper 90s...the black rubber really absorbs the heat. I thought I had a couple 8x1.75 tires but all mine are 10x1.75.


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## Trader Jack (Mar 18, 2019)

Thanks I’ll keep you posted


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## Trader Jack (Mar 23, 2019)

Good morning I wanted to share some pictures of the trike. I borrowed a small sandblaster from a friend and bought 2 bags of “medium”, fine, coal slag. I would have never guessed that the rust would come off like it did. It’s now backdown to metal and smooth. I amTOTALLY amazed at how it turned out. 1 of the pictures shows the front fender with partially sandblasted and a portion remaining. I have tires ordered and found out about the bearings for the front tire. That’s a whole nother story. I’ll save that for later.


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## ridingtoy (Mar 23, 2019)

Enjoyed seeing your quick progress. Look forward to future installments.

Dave


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