# Prewar War Time Columbia 26" mens balloon bike



## stingrayjoe (Sep 24, 2020)

Another collector showed me an original paint, red bike over the weekend with a Columbia decal for head badge. "De Luxe" decal on down tube and the serial # on bottom of hanger 1M2355. 

The bike has black out hubs (ND front, Morrow rear) and a blacked out crank. Chainring appears to have been replaced with a Hawthorne. The bike has a black leather Mesinger sliding rail saddle. No photos sorry.

Any ideas on a date?


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## Mercian (Sep 25, 2020)

Hi, @stingrayjoe 

Sorry, it's not possible to date it from the information given. 1M2355 is not a prewar or wartime Westfield format number (LXXXXX to LXXXXXX where L is a letter from A to N and X is a number starting at 5000). 

Either it's badly stamped/misread/covered in paint, or it's not a Westfield.

Best Regards,

Adrian


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## stingrayjoe (Sep 25, 2020)

He sent me this


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## Mercian (Sep 25, 2020)

Hi @stingrayjoe 

Thanks for the picture.

It's a nice clear stamping, so we can rule out my first three options, which leaves us with 'it's not a Westfield Columbia'.

Aside from the format being wrong, the letter font and size are also wrong for a pre or wartime Westfield. The 1 normall has a flat top to it, for example. Here's more examples:









						Westfield Frame Numbers 1933 - 1945 | Classic Balloon Tire Bicycles 1933-1965
					

Dear All,  I have posted a Westfield frame number/date list from 1939 to 1945 in the Military Bicycles section:  http://thecabe.com/forum/threads/westfield-frame-numbers-1939-1945.100742/  This is just a first draft, so I would welcome any further Westfield frame types/codes/numbers that expand...




					thecabe.com
				




Having had a quick look here, it doesn't appear to be a Schwinn, Huffman, Hawthorn or CWC either.









						Serial Number And Date Code Information | Bicycle Restoration Tips
					

Non-discussion thread for information and links for serial number and date code information for bicycles and parts. If you like a post please give a "thumbs up". Send suggestions, questions, comments, or corrections to OP (original poster) or a moderator.  Would be great if anyone would like to...




					thecabe.com
				




Sorry,

Best Regards,

Adrian


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## stingrayjoe (Oct 10, 2020)

He sent me more photos today.


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## tryder (Oct 10, 2020)

My guess based on the frame, chain ring, headset,  and general configuration of the bike (assuming that no parts have been changed) is that its a '42 Huffman.  Someone must have put the Columbia decals on later. 

Perhaps the wheels were added later as well.

Can you get the date code on the rear morrow hub?

Safe to assume that the bike is a Huffman made between 1941 and 1946.

I have a very similar bike.  I would venture to say that this is an earlier photo of my bike but my bike has no serial numbers on it whatsoever.

Perhaps they are from the same bike shop.





I am interested in the bike.  Please let me know if it becomes available.
Thanks.


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## Mercian (Oct 11, 2020)

Hi @Stingray Joe 

I agree with @tryder .

There ar many features of the bike that look like a 1940's Huffman. The frame, headset, chainwheel are all Huffman style, the wheels have WW2 blackout hubs. The font of the serial number looks like Huffman, but it is the only one I've seen with 1M at the start. Huffman numbers can be a little ideosyncratic though.

If there ar no holes for a badge, then it is most likely 1943 since they werent being fitted at this point (and also wouldn't have had a tank/chainguard when built). That shade of red is also typically WW2 civilian.

tryder has sugged looking at the Morrow hub for a date. It is also possible that there is a date on the rear of the fork. Look at post 14 here for an example.









						A Newbie here with an Oldie (Shapleigh) | Classic Balloon Tire Bicycles 1933-1965
					

Hello... I'm new... here's how I got here... was given this bike years ago.. a friend was help cleaning up some family farm property.. They had thrown this into a rented dumpster over the weekend... He, knowing I love old stuff, told me about a bike with a tank and I told him I would take it if...




					thecabe.com
				




I think we'd be interested to know what you find.

Best Regards,

Adrian


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## newstreeter (Oct 21, 2020)

Thanks to all for your interest in this bike and to StingrayJoe for starting the thread for me.  Here is some additional information that I can offer in response to your questions.

The stamping on the rear hub is as follows;
*01    36    13*
Eclipse Machine Division
Made in Elmira, NY

There *does* appear to be holes for the head badge which are pictured above.  There also is a stamp on the rear of the fork which I attempted to photograph that appears to be a single character "5".



The rest of the bike came to me about 15 years ago as you see it rolling on these same wheels and tires that are pictured.  I did replace the hand grips with the closest thing I had to something that was correct because one of the originals was altogether missing.  Other than that, I tried not to mess with it.

Thanks again for your interest


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## Krakatoa (Oct 21, 2020)

Fork is Huffman. Wartime Civilian model? 1945?


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## tryder (Oct 21, 2020)

Your Morrow hub date is 1945.

I wonder where the Columbia stickers came from.


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## tryder (Oct 21, 2020)




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## Mercian (Oct 22, 2020)

newstreeter said:


> Thanks to all for your interest in this bike and to StingrayJoe for starting the thread for me.  Here is some additional information that I can offer in response to your questions.
> 
> The stamping on the rear hub is as follows;
> *01    36    13*
> ...



Hi again.

The O1 on the morrow hub dates it to the first quarter of 1945, which fits with it being a blackout hub. Normally you could guess that a Huffman bike straight from the factory with an O1 hub would have been built between Jan and June 1945, and likely in the middle of that period.

The 'S' on the fork could be a 5. It is possible there are other numbers but they are obscured. If it is a 5, then it is either indicating 1945, or May.

The serial number does look like Huffman factory applied font, but 1M2355 doesnt even start to fit the Huffman numbering system from that period, such as this November 44 H210563 https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1945-dayton-huffman.98787/

The Columbia transfers on both bikes are surprising. They look like they are meant to be there. Perhaps some sort of deal with Westfield distributors because of a bicycle shortage? I really don't know, but it's fascinating to see.

@HUFFMANBILL may know more?

Best Regards,

Adrian


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## HUFFMANBILL (Oct 22, 2020)

Hello,

Guess I will throw my hat into the ring, as it were, and offer my opinion for what it is worth.  First , if this bike came to me minus the decals it would scream post Sept., 1944 wartime civilian model Huffman.  At this time the War Production Board ( WPB ) revised Limitation Order L-52, which governed wartime bicycle production, to allow for increased use of chrome parts on bicycles, which explains some of the chrome plated components along with blackout parts on this bike.  The O1 dated Morrow Hub would narrow the production date down to the 1st or possibly early 2nd quarter of 1945.  The two head badge attachment holes appear to be exactly in the correct position for a wartime Dayton headbadge.  Several years ago, I was told by a knowledgeable WWII US bicycle and militaria collector that late in the war the Westfield Manufacturing Co. purchased a quantity of wartime bicycle components from Huffman.  As of this time I have not seen any printed documentation to prove or disprove his information.  However, I personally accept this as true, until documentation is found which shows otherwise.  If Westfield did purchase bicycle parts from Huffman, as I believe is the case, then is it not possible that this bike, which appears to be Huffman manufactured could have been assembled from parts purchased from Huffman by Westfield and the Columbia decal, which does look like it could be period, applied by Westfield?  I do agree with Mercian that the Serial number does appear similiar to Huffman style stamping, but the 1 M prefix is unusual for a Huffman or in fact a Westfield bike at this time.  This is just a guess, but if this bike was a purchase from Huffman by Westfield, then is it possible that these particular bikes were provided with a special stamping used by Westfield to keep track at that time of the bikes that were assembled with Huffman parts?  I cannot say that this is all correct, however it is my best quess given the information provided in this thread and my own knowledge of WWII US Military and civilian bicycles.

Regards,
Bill


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