# 1940's Rollfast...Quite Crusty!



## HARPO (Sep 18, 2020)

@Sven ...after what I told you yesterday, I'm at it again! !@#$%^&*()....... I can't pass up a bargain! ...and 47 miles from my house out on Long Island .

I got this girls Rollfast and a Raleigh Twenty ( from the same home, where they languished in a very damp, dark basement for decades). And oh boy did the "Gods Of Rust And Dampness" have a time with them! You'll see from the photos.
With the exception of the pedals, hand grips and tires, the Rollfast looks complete (I'll Post the Raleigh later). I'm going assume that the basket was added on as a grocery getter many years by the woman of the house. Both bikes were hanging from their front wheels from the ceiling where they had stayed all these years.

I purchased the two bikes from a young couple who were only there for three years, but the original owners family who sold it to them (_who built the house in the 1940's_) just left everything down there. (American Pickers would have gone crazy, with the pottery and other assorted items laying about). They told me that they were never even really down there (outside entrance with those large doors that lay at a 45 degree angle to get into the basement) because of access. Nice family, and they were glad I was getting the bike. They figured the woman who sold them the house kept the bike (and they assumed it had been her mothers) because of keeping everytrhing else. Boy, if you like old hand held Farm tools you'd love this place.

I am going to assume that the Rollfast is mid to late 40's...possibly right after the War ended. OR, is it possible just Prewar by a year or two? If anyone knows, please let me know.

And of course another deal, in my opinion, even given the condition...*$25*...   (The Raleigh was the same price also)


----------



## HARPO (Sep 18, 2020)

I took these shots when the bike came out of the damp basement for the first time in decades. BTW...this was the only way to get into the basement. No access from inside the house.


----------



## HARPO (Sep 18, 2020)

A few more close-ups...


----------



## fordmike65 (Sep 18, 2020)

Beauty! Love the paint scheme, patina, "new for '41" streamline fender light & those awesome reflectors


----------



## HARPO (Sep 18, 2020)

fordmike65 said:


> Beauty! Love the paint scheme, patina, "new for '41" streamline fender light & those awesome reflectors




Thanks Mike! I was hoping it was '41, so thanks for confirming!!! Now I have two from 1941...this one and the Schwinn girls I bought a couple of years ago.


----------



## srfndoc (Sep 18, 2020)

Nice score. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## HARPO (Sep 18, 2020)

I think I'm going to leave the bike as-is. 

The "patina" is flaking off on the chrome and the paint, so if I tried to do my usual job on it, there would be nothing left but bare metal.  :eek:


----------



## fboggs1986 (Sep 18, 2020)

Have the matching men’s! Crusty and all!






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## stezell (Sep 18, 2020)

HARPO said:


> @Sven ...after what I told you yesterday, I'm at it again! !@#$%^&*()....... I can't pass up a bargain! ...and 47 miles from my house out on Long Island .
> 
> I got this girls Rollfast and a Raleigh Twenty ( from the same home, where they languished in a very damp, dark basement for decades). And oh boy did the "Gods Of Rust And Dampness" have a time with them! You'll see from the photos.
> With the exception of the pedals, hand grips and tires, the Rollfast looks complete (I'll Post the Raleigh later). I'm going assume that the basket was added on as a grocery getter many years by the woman of the house. Both bikes were hanging from their front wheels from the ceiling where they had stayed all these years.
> ...



Looks like she aged pretty good to me.


----------



## HARPO (Sep 18, 2020)

fboggs1986 said:


> Have the matching men’s! Crusty and all!
> 
> View attachment 1269560
> 
> ...




NICE!! Yours is less crusty, lol! Do you have a full photo of the bike?


----------



## JLF (Sep 18, 2020)

Great story!  Thanks for sharing.  

This confirms the girls Rollsfast I found in a barn this summer is most likely 1930’s as the seat stay design is different.  All else looking much the same.


----------



## HARPO (Sep 18, 2020)

JLF said:


> Great story!  Thanks for sharing.
> 
> This confirms the girls Rollsfast I found in a barn this summer is most likely 1930’s as the seat stay design is different.  All else looking much the same.




Can you share a photo for the rest of us...please...


----------



## JLF (Sep 18, 2020)

Oh sure.  As found just pulled from the barn.  I guess there is more different than I first thought.


----------



## HARPO (Sep 19, 2020)

JLF said:


> Oh sure.  As found just pulled from the barn.  I guess there is more different than I first thought.  View attachment 1269581




Are those 28'' rims? It looks just like the 1930's Black Beauty/Hawthorne bike I purchased recently (as found condition photo). Not the fork, but everything else


----------



## JLF (Sep 19, 2020)

Wow!  It certainly does!  Not 28’s, these are 26” wheels.  Perhaps it was an option back in the day? 
Mine has a Rollfast badge, and is under a layer of house paint. Here’s another photo. Grips removed is only change.


----------



## HARPO (Sep 19, 2020)

JLF said:


> Wow!  It certainly does!  Not 28’s, these are 26” wheels.  Perhaps it was an option back in the day?
> Mine has a Rollfast badge, and is under a layer of house paint. Here’s another photo. Grips removed is only change.
> 
> View attachment 1269754




Mine was painted also. 
I started to strip it down and EVENTUALLY will finish. I keep starting new projects instead of finishing one, lol!  

Yours appears to have a lot of space under the fenders, so maybe the wheels were switched out at some point.


----------



## JLF (Sep 19, 2020)

They definitely were changed.  At least the front.  As the front wheel has a Schwinn Fore Brake.  Or whatever they are called.


----------



## Adamtinkerer (Sep 19, 2020)

OA bath candidate! Should have the reverse year/factory code on the BB.


----------



## HARPO (Sep 19, 2020)

Adamtinkerer said:


> OA bath candidate! Should have the reverse year/factory code on the BB.




To much paint flaking off to do anything with it, no less a bath. I'm afraid to dust it off in certain spots!


----------



## Mountain Trail Andy (Sep 19, 2020)

HARPO said:


> I took these shots when the bike came out of the damp basement for the first time in decades. BTW...this was the only way to get into the basement. No access from inside the house.View attachment 1269485
> 
> View attachment 1269486




HARPO, I've got her younger sister!


----------



## HARPO (Sep 20, 2020)

Mountain Trail Andy said:


> HARPO, I've got her younger sister!
> 
> View attachment 1269981
> 
> ...




Wow, beautiful! Is that the original paint? It can't be...can it? What year do you think yours is? I'm going to assume late '40s, because I don't think they made that headlight much past that.


----------



## Mountain Trail Andy (Sep 20, 2020)

HARPO said:


> Wow, beautiful! Is that the original paint? It can't be...can it? What year do you think yours is? I'm going to assume late '40s, because I don't think they made that headlight much past that.





HARPO said:


> Wow, beautiful! Is that the original paint? It can't be...can it? What year do you think yours is? I'm going to assume late '40s, because I don't think they made that headlight much past that.




Yes, it is "all" original paint, as is everything except the current tires, and the rear tube.  I believe from my research that this bike is a 1950 Snyder built, D P Harris bike per the decals and the serial number.  

I have had this since 1992, and purchased it at the estate auction of the family's original owner.  I prefer the look with blackwall tires, but I put on the new whites to make it a rider for the next owner.  The original blackwall tires go with the bike.  I have refrained from transferring the parts on it to one of my men's Rollfasts for the last 28 years, because there is nothing like an "original".   Now its time to pass the torch.  I currently have it listed on CL, Albany NY


----------



## HARPO (Sep 20, 2020)

@Adamtinkerer  Here's the BB serial number you requested...and check out the paint flaking off!


----------



## Mountain Trail Andy (Sep 20, 2020)

HARPO said:


> @Adamtinkerer  Here's the BB serial number you requested...and check out the paint flaking off!
> 
> View attachment 1270375




In my unprofessional opinion, that serial number looks like 1942, H P Snyder built.....reverse the 24 for 1942, , and S for Snyder built...I may be wrong...


----------



## HARPO (Sep 20, 2020)

Mountain Trail Andy said:


> In my unprofessional opinion, that serial number looks like 1942, H P Snyder built.....reverse the 24 for 1942, , and S for Snyder built...I may be wrong...




So far I have 1941 from the new headlight...and now possibly 1942 from the serial number. I'm happy with either date!


----------



## HARPO (Sep 22, 2020)

Anyone know what the original color was? I'm afraid to try and wipe even a good section of paint for fear of destroying it. Was the yellow cream color originally white?? Was the rest a medium or teal blue??


----------



## Mountain Trail Andy (Sep 22, 2020)

HARPO said:


> Anyone know what the original color was? I'm afraid to try and wipe even a good section of paint for fear of destroying it. Was the yellow cream color originally white?? Was the rest a medium or teal blue??




Harpo, 
If you're afraid of destroying the paint, I have a "Crisp New $50.00 Dollar Bill" that I'll swap you for the bike.  This way you can double your money!  I'll even drive down to pick it up....lol


----------



## HARPO (Sep 23, 2020)

Aha! There's the color it was...blue. Actually, I like the color it turned into, with the golden yellow.


----------



## HARPO (Sep 24, 2020)

You can see the blue peeking out on the fender...


----------



## HARPO (Sep 26, 2020)

I took the rear shopping rack off to give the Old Girl a little dignity...and trhe fact I hated the way it looked. Much better!

I am considering selling her if I can't make some room very soon. There have been more bikes coming in than going out, and it's starting to pose a large problem. (_I'll probably be listing that '69 Fair Lady very soon also_). VERY hard to stop buying...


----------



## cbustapeck (Sep 26, 2020)

I really love the way that light looks there.


----------



## HARPO (Oct 10, 2020)

Tires are still holding air!  Now I just have to decide whether to leave her as is and try to find room to keep her...or have her go to the Auction block. Decisions, decisions...


----------



## Superman1984 (Oct 10, 2020)

HARPO said:


> Tires are still holding air!  Now I just have to decide whether to leave her as is and try to find room to keep her...or have her go to the Auction block. Decisions, decisions...



That's Always tough; If I don't already own 1 I always want to keep it & it doesn't matter if it's valuable to anyone else. Girls bikes have started littering my "straight bar" collecting because some of them are jus' cool as found or potential riders


----------



## Ridin' my Schween (Oct 14, 2020)

Mountain Trail Andy said:


> HARPO, I've got her younger sister!
> 
> View attachment 1269981
> 
> ...



I have the other middle sister


----------



## HARPO (Oct 17, 2020)

Well...I listed it on Facebook Marketplace. 

Placed it kind of high in price, but I figured I'd be bargained down no matter what price I put on it. I didn't list it here, because I won't ship it. And eeery bike I have listed on here, no one wants to come and pick it up.


----------



## HARPO (Oct 27, 2020)

I'll hang onto her for a while. I made some room...


----------



## Oilit (Oct 27, 2020)

HARPO said:


> I'll hang onto her for a while. I made some room...



Amazing how you think there's no more room, but then you find a way when you have to...


----------



## HARPO (Dec 14, 2020)

Oilit said:


> Amazing how you think there's no more room, but then you find a way when you have to...




Lol...I'm doing that now with the two Raleigh Twenty's I bought on Saturday morning...


----------



## Mountain Trail Andy (Dec 14, 2020)

Ridin' my Schween said:


> I have the other middle sister
> 
> View attachment 1284370
> 
> View attachment 1284371



Sweet.....!!!


----------



## Mountain Trail Andy (Dec 14, 2020)

HARPO said:


> Lol...I'm doing that now with the two Raleigh Twenty's I bought on Saturday morning...




I still have a crisp $50.00 dollar bill for that crusty ladies Rollfast to help give you more room....lol


----------



## HARPO (Dec 15, 2020)

Mountain Trail Andy said:


> I still have a crisp $50.00 dollar bill for that crusty ladies Rollfast to help give you more room....lol




Thanks for the offer, but "'Ole Crispy" will have to wait out the winter till the Spring for a better offer, lol.


----------



## Mountain Trail Andy (Dec 15, 2020)

HARPO said:


> Thanks for the offer, but "'Ole Crispy" will have to wait out the winter till the Spring for a better offer, lol.



Yeah, that figures...lol


----------



## Nashman (Dec 15, 2020)

I've had this for eons. It could star in a movie with all it's been through. I thought mine was closer to a 1947/ catalog page is 1948 ? The rack is wrong on mine, but matched the color and Patina pretty good? I paid the BIG bucks to Jerry Peters Jr. back in the late 90's for the tank/nice match.


----------



## FlyingHigh (Dec 23, 2020)

Ridin' my Schween said:


> I have the other middle sister
> 
> View attachment 1284370
> 
> View attachment 1284371



Hi, what year is this one?  I have a boy's version with the same decals and headbadge. However, mine has the H skip tooth chain ring. I can't quite figure out the year. I think I narrowed it down to 48-52, but not sure. It also has the painted balloon wheels with the double pin stripes which I thought came a little later.


----------



## Freqman1 (Dec 23, 2020)

FlyingHigh said:


> Hi, what year is this one?  I have a boy's version with the same decals and headbadge. However, mine has the H skip tooth chain ring. I can't quite figure out the year. I think I narrowed it down to 48-52, but not sure. It also has the painted balloon wheels with the double pin stripes which I thought came a little later.
> 
> View attachment 1325765
> 
> ...



Might want to start our own thread and post serial number. V/r Shawn


----------



## Mountain Trail Andy (Dec 24, 2020)

FlyingHigh said:


> Hi, what year is this one?  I have a boy's version with the same decals and headbadge. However, mine has the H skip tooth chain ring. I can't quite figure out the year. I think I narrowed it down to 48-52, but not sure. It also has the painted balloon wheels with the double pin stripes which I thought came a little later.
> 
> View attachment 1325765
> 
> ...



Check the bottom bracket for a serial number, and let's see a picture of the top side of the bottom bracket where the downtube and seat tube attach to the BB.


----------

