# Before & After pics of our Belknap bicycle (Dayton-Huffman)



## shutterbugKELLY (Aug 13, 2006)

Here's where we started...






Here's where we are now...





We're really pleased with how it turned out.  We repainted it in its original black-and-white paint scheme, and had everything rechromed.  We wanted it to have a heavy motorycle influence, and to look as different from our twin-flex as it could.  Now, we just have to find a place in our house for it. lol!


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## 37fleetwood (Aug 13, 2006)

I approve! very nice.


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## MartyW (Aug 13, 2006)

*Very Nice!*

That really came out great, and you should not have a hard time finding a place in the house for that piece of "Art"


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## shutterbugKELLY (Aug 15, 2006)

Thanks for the nice comments.  The Belknap will probably end up in our living room, but we already have our 1939 Twin-Flex, a 1936 Sky King tricycle (replica), and a Mobo Bronco in there.  We also have at least 1 bicycle and/or tricycle in every room.  I think we need a bigger house :o


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## Miguello (Aug 19, 2006)

Whoa, that is VERY sharp!!! Two thumbs up! Find another handlebar, chop it in half, and take off the left pedal. And hang it on the wall! My reasoning is, that it's definitely ART!


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## 35cycleplane (Aug 20, 2006)

*bikes versus furniture?*

sweeeeeeeet! much to my missus' chagrin,we have a restored '35 cycleplane,a restored '36 shelby airflow,a '38 super deluxe cantiliever autocycle,and 2 20" pre war schwinn's,all in the living room! will have a '37 autocycle,a '37 firestone fleetwood(yes scott,it's my super streamliner!!!!!!) and a early '36 elgin robin,all restored,and added into my my living room. guess some of the furniture will have to go!
 why don't you pop a new departure front brake on the belknap? they stop better,and would be more correct for you bike? keith 
p.s. some of my furniture is vintage/antique,too,.............


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## shutterbugKELLY (Aug 20, 2006)

I tend to gravitate to bicycles, motorcycles, and cars of the 1930s and early 1940s.  There was such a design explosion.  They were really creating works of art.

We took the Belknap out on a test-ride last week, but forgot to try out the front brake , we just used the coaster brake instead.  We had originally thought about putting a New Departure Front Brake on the Belknap, knowing that was an option for Huffmans of the time, but chose to keep the Fore-Wheel brake since it has a nicer design.  Plus, it's been on the bicycle for  65+ years; though we could have sold our Fore-Wheel brake on eBay and paid for the restoration...and then some.  The last Fore-Wheel brake we saw sold for $800+ on eBay :eek: , we paid $50 for the entire bicycle!


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## 35cycleplane (Aug 20, 2006)

*$800 forewheel brake?*

yikes,a fool and their money are soon parted/partying? that's scary. never sold one for more than 250,myself! take the $800,and get you a nos n.d. brake. have one to put on my firestone fleetwood. keith


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## shutterbugKELLY (Aug 20, 2006)

I have yet to see an early Schwinn Fore-Wheel brake (1938-1939?) sell for less than $600, even for one in pretty bad shape, though I've seen the 1940? and later Schwinn Fore-Wheel brakes sell anywhere from $100-$350.


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## 37fleetwood (Aug 21, 2006)

are you going to put a chain guard on it? I can't see the rack clearly from the photos is it a 6 or 9 hole or no holes? looking at the catalogs it looks like a 1940 "Special Line" model 51, considering the options and parts on it. unless stuff has been changed but It doesn't look like it from the before photos. the "Special Line is basically a left over 1939 bike with some minor changes like the rack and chain guard. the 1939 with the curved down tube had a rack with a built in light. the other with the rack like yours has a straight down tube in '39. that light is 1939 and 1940 proper, my 1939 Firestone Twin Flex has one exactly like it. if you go with the 1940 look you need to go back to the kick stand and find a 1940 chain guard which is much cheaper and easier than finding a 1939 "Crows Beak" guard. the '40 guard is different from the 41 and newer ones so you need to get the right one. the '40 guard has a ridge on the top of it and the newer ones don't seem to though there might be a little overlap late in the year I suppose. I have a few of the 1941 and newer types but no 1940s.
here is a photo of a 1940:




here is a photo of the 1941 through 1946 or so the later ones don't have the "grille" on the front:




this one is another possible and was used during that general time period usually on the non Huffman/Dayton name badge bikes. this one is for my Firestone Pilot and actually there are photos of it on and painted posted.:




let me know if you would like me to post more photos or some of the literature I have. 
thanx.
Scott


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## shutterbugKELLY (Aug 22, 2006)

The rack doesn't have any holes, just 3 ridges.

We put the rear stand on it, because it had 2 factory holes for the rear stand clip and a homemade kick-stand.   They bent a piece of metal into a kickstand, which was too long and even scraped against the chainring.  Since it didn't have a spring or anything to keep it in place, they welded a small loop onto the kickstand as well as on the frame, and used a piece of string to tie it up.

We did change the stem and front fork over to Huffman pieces.  The front rim is also slightly different from the rear, but you can't tell unless you run your finger along the slight dip, so we kept it.  The rear taillight had also been replaced at some time.  There were 2 factory drilled holes, but a third hole was drilled for the new light to fit.  We ended up replacing that taillight anyway since it was cracked.  The original owner really liked to drill, weld, modify, etc.

No.  We're not going to put a chainguard on it.  Now, if it had a Mesh-chainguard or Crow's Beak (though our Twin-Flex already has one of those), we would consider it, but we don't like the looks of the later chainguards.  Anyway, we really like the look of the 1940 Dayton-Huffman Western Flyers without chainguards http://www.nostalgic.net/index.asp?L=291

Since we've had the Belknap, we've been in search of a Belknap Hardware Store catalog showing our bicycle.  We've come across a number of 1940 catalogs (their 100th anniversary year), but several people have said that none of the bicycles in the catalog even resemble ours.  We sent them pics and pointed out the chainring design and zephyr tank that extends beyond the seatpost.  No luck so far.

Kelly


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## 37fleetwood (Aug 22, 2006)

Hi again, 
the 1940 "Special Line" would have been a 1939 frame it could have had the hole for the drop stand and not the stand.
the Western Auto ad you show is a 1939 with some 1940 parts. Huffman seemed to do this a lot. some of the Firestones I have are off a year also. as for the name Belknap, it is one of the ones Huffman inherited from the old Davis Sewing Machine Company, and I don't know if it has anything to do with the Hardware store though it could. that would be cool if you could find one.
I think we talked before about your original fork being a Huffman piece. I have 3 bikes with that fork. the tail light is aftermarket but very cool. it would have had a reflector like this for 1940 or so




or possibly this for 1939



also notice the rack in the last photo. that is the 1939 rack, 1940 would be different I think though it could be due to the mixed nature of Huffmans of these years. 
the crows beak is correct for 1938 or 1939. the mesh guard was last used in 1937. most of these bikes with the crows beak and earlier guards lost them because the rear mount was weak and broke easily and the guard flopped around until either the kid took it off or it fell the rest of the way off. you could be right and it may not have had a guard at all.
I'm sorry if I keep going on and on about this but I'm kind of a Huffman fanatic I guess. I have 14 of them now. anyway I love your bike and think it came out fantastic.


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## shutterbugKELLY (Aug 22, 2006)

I don't mind.  I could go on about Dayton-Huffmans, too.  They're great bicycles.

I could definitely see using left over fenders with the holes already drilled for the clip, but the homemade kickstand?  The kickstand on our Twin-Flex is really nice, this was not.  I should have taken a picture of it...it was quite a sight.  I think that the original owners had a lot tools at their disposal, but they weren't the most adept at using them  

We've seen a couple of bicycles in a 1930s Belknap Hardware catalog, though none were built by Dayton-Huffman, they had the same headbadge as ours.

I don't doubt that Huffman used those type of front forks, but that one wasn't correct for our bicycle.  The entire bicycle was black-and-white, but the front fork was solid red.  There was no stopper, even though there is stopper inside of the frame.  Also, the front fender didn't fit right.  It was kind of twisted to make it fit, because it was so tight.  Though when we put on the other Huffman fork, the fender fit just right.

I always figured that Dayton-Huffman built the latest and greatest bicycles for their own line, and made their other lines for Firestone, Western Flyer, Belknap, etc. a little cheaper looking and used left-over parts.  Just look at the differences between a Huffman twin-flex and a Firestone twin-flex.  Though all the variations makes it a lot more interesting.

Kelly


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## 37fleetwood (Aug 22, 2006)

I was looking through my photos and found these and thought you might like to see them it's a 1940, you can tell by the welded on kickstand and the front mount on the tank as well as the chain guard. if yours is a 1939 the tank should mount differently in the front. the rear mount is different also but you can't see it unless you pull it apart.


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## shutterbugKELLY (Aug 23, 2006)

Cool bike, with the '39 rack.  Though they obviously weren't sticklers for using specific parts for specific years.  Life would be so much easier.

Our tank is like that one.  We did wonder if the different tank mount was due to model year changes, or its lack of a horn (B2... versus an H4...).  Our Twin-Flex has the other tank mount, and also has a horn and taillight switch.  I guess it's easier to take-off half of the tank to replace batteries than to take-off the whole thing, though it's still not worth the hassle.

Our kickstand, where it attached to the frame, wasn't enclosed like that.  It was also mounted farther back, up against the rear fender attachment.

Kelly


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## 37fleetwood (Aug 23, 2006)

it isn't  the horn, it's the year. this one has the horn and is the same mount.



this is what your kickstand would look like.



or this is the '39 type.



look at it this way,with the bikes being mixed in years and parts it makes it easier because you have a bit more flexibility when looking for parts. they used the parts they had left over and only put on new what they had run out of from the year before. we haven't even started with the "Promotional Models" yet


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## ravedodger (Aug 25, 2006)

A little OT:

Scott, what years did Dayton/Huffman use that blue & white chain guard on the Pilot's?


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## 37fleetwood (Aug 25, 2006)

HI, they used it in the '40s basically, the catalogs show it in '41-'42 but I have seen several late '40s Western Flyers with it. it was used on more than just Pilots. I've even seen Pilots in original paint with the regular Huffman guard as well. the '46 catalog shows them this way. in 1940 the Pilot was a Colson bike, they were Huffmans from '41-'46 excluding the war years, and in '47 they were a Murray made bike. hope this helps ya out. if you need me to post any particular years let me know. I had them posted on the earlier board but that was lost in the change. 
Scott


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## ravedodger (Aug 25, 2006)

I guess I should start a new thread about the pilot, heh?


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## musclebikes (Sep 1, 2006)

wow:That bike is absolutlely buetiful! I have a few rare bikes but none like that. For what you payed for it I'de say you definately got a deal. I have a  Boys 1939 Hawthorne Comet and I payed $180- for it, so I'de say you Did good. Yo have a Mobo Bronco? Th e only other one ive seen is at mostlymusclebikes.com


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## shutterbugKELLY (Sep 9, 2006)

Thanks musclebikes.  The boys Hawthorne comet is a nice looking bicycle, too.

We have dumb-luck when it comes to bicycles.  The first bicycle in our collection was a 1939 Huffman Airflyte Twin-Flex.  It was all original, and only missing the torpedo light and grips.  My dad's cousin wanted us to have it, but we gave her $100 for it.  We didn't realize at the time what a find it was.  Our next bicycle was a 1953 Firestone Holiday (Monark) that guy said to take if we wanted it - it was a real basket case.  Though we gave him $25 for it, since he gave us a couple of old metal toy trucks and some bicycle parts as well.  My dad's co-worker brought in the Belknap, since he knew that we collected old bicycles.  My dad gave him $50 for his trouble.

I think we only have about $500 in restoration.  There wasn't a whole lot to chrome, plus my dad painted it.  I know we spent more than that on the just the paint job for our Twin-Flex.

We have a MOBO Bronco with magic steering; he's off-white with brown spots.  My dad had one as a kid, so we found bought a Bronco at a local antique shop.  We put him next to the fireplace.  A white-and-black one came up at a local auction a few weeks ago.  We bid on him, but he went for almost $300 - way overpriced.


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## shutterbugKELLY (Nov 18, 2006)

Just recently, I picked-up a 1940 Belknap Hardware Store catalog (their 100th anniversary year).  They're fabulous, and incredibly difficult to find.  They have everything...including the kitchen sink.  Out of 3226 pages, there were only 3 bicycles offered.

The one on the left is No. BD Belknap.  It came only in Black with White trim, and sold for $74.85 (equivalent to $1078.91 according to the U.S. Labor inflation calculator).  It's no wonder that Belknap bicycles are practically non-existant nowadays.

The one on the right is No. MB39 Belknap Streamline.  It came in Black / White or Red / White.  It retailed for $87.75, or $1,264.85 in today's money - batteries not included.

I didn't include the third bicycle, because it was basically the stripped down version of the No. BD Belknap.  No rack, tank, chainguard, or headlight.  Though it still retailed for $62.85, equivalent to $904.95.

I love these old catalogs, they're interesting to flip through.  Now, if I could only find a Belknap catalog with my bicycle in it.
- Kelly


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## eazywind (Nov 18, 2006)

*and the winner is........*

The bike on the left is a Rollfast made zep style bike and the one on the right is a Murray of Ohio made Mercury. Could be leftover from 1939 as both look like 1939 bikes. Marc


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## Oldbikes (Nov 21, 2006)

Murray of Ohio made that Mercury from '39-'41.  Killer bike! 

Alan


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## shutterbugKELLY (Nov 30, 2006)

^ Yeah, I wouldn't mind coming across one of those.  I know that Belknap built very little of the products offered in their catalogs, if at all.  Did they pay nearly full price for these bikes, put the Belknap headbadge on them, and jack up the price?  Most of the catalogs and ads that I've seen list, from that time period, offer fully outfitted bikes for around $25 - $45, much lower than Belknap's $75 - $85.

- Kelly


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## ballooman (Dec 30, 2006)

*furniture*

 I my self would keep it in the bedroom thats one sexy lookin ride  lol


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## musclebikes (Dec 31, 2006)

That Belnap on the right, Is it a mercury or is a Mercury a completely different bike?
http://www.thecabe.com/arc/prewarballoon/Ken Cooks Mercury.jpg


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## axsepul (Nov 20, 2011)

it would be nice if people updated the pictures that used to be here


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## 37fleetwood (Nov 20, 2011)

this thread is about a month away from being 5 years old!


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## axsepul (Nov 20, 2011)

Just came back to live


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