# Another Spaceliner



## newgirl (Apr 21, 2013)

Last fall I got this old bike for $40 at a velo swap. I didn't know a lot about old bikes - still don't, but I know more now than I did then. I think this Spaceliner is from 1964. I spent all winter scraping rust off it. It has new rims and tires - the old ones were really shot. Also a new chain, as the old one was really rusty. It didn't have the original handlebars as you can see in the photo and the new ones are not true to type but I like them. I took apart the crank and regreased everything and it rides really well. Except for the seat - that thing is murder. I really like it but it is no fun to ride on, so I think I'll get a new cushy one, hopefully also in red leather. I have kept the old rims and tires and will keep the seat in case someone else wants to restore it to period accuracy later on. I'm actually considering taking the Bendix brake off the old rear wheel and seeing if I can restore it but that's a little outside my skills right now.

Anyway - several things. Can someone tell me what size battery the rear case takes? I think it might work if I clean it up a little inside. Also it has no reflectors on it at all right now, it didn't have any when I got it. So I'm looking for the teardrop reflector for the rear fender. Does anyone know where I might find such a thing? 

Thanks and it's nice to meet all of you. There's another velo swap coming up in a few weeks so I'll probably be getting another rusty old bike pretty soon.


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## newgirl (Apr 21, 2013)

Hmm. I tried to attach some pictures and apparently that didn't work. I'll try again.


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## newgirl (Apr 21, 2013)

OK I think I get it now.


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## jpromo (Apr 21, 2013)

Nice pick--and the bike appreciates your dedication to giving it a second life! If you've regreased other parts, I'd say you're ready to crack into the coaster brake. Bendix are a good introduction hub since they are among the most basic while still being effective. Just take note (or a picture) of how the parts go together when you pull it apart and put them back in the same order and you'll be good. Or there are many exploded diagrams of Bendix hubs to assist.

Either way, make it yours and enjoy! Oh, and neither of mine have the rear light but just about every old bicycle light/horn used D batteries so that'd be my guess.


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## wspeid (Apr 22, 2013)

Nice clean up and good find!


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## jd56 (Apr 22, 2013)

newgirl....ahhh a Spaceliner. The ape hangers give it a personal touch.
The rear tailight battery tray should may take "AA" batteries. because the tray is confining I don't think they take "D" batteries. Not having a Spaceliner with a rear tailight, I can't swear to it. Take a picture of the tray innerds and we can let you know for sure. Then there is the rear tailight lens needed to be acquired. These are hard to find. But, there are repops that show up occassoinaly. 

Here is a picture for reference. 






My AstroFlite (a close cousin to the Spaceliner) takes "AA" batteries but, the canister is smaller.

I may have a rear fender with the teardrop reflector (the plastic teardrop chrome is gone though, I think), I can look if you desire.

Once you secure the tanklight on the bike then he will really pop.

I too, spent months scraping the rust impregnated clearcoat off my AstroFlite. But, the end result was amazing.

Welcome to the Tanklight club, by the way.


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## newgirl (Apr 22, 2013)

Thanks guys.  It still has some rust on it, especially in the little crevices that are hard to reach. But I got tired of scraping and I just wanted to ride it. It's still somewhat of a work in progress. 

Here's a picture of the battery case. Now that I really look at it I think it might take Ds. It looks like there is a single fixture for a light, but all the pictures I've seen have two lights. Maybe they're just lenses and there's a single lightbulb that shines through them? What size lightbulb fits in there? Like a nightlight bulb or something?

Thanks so much for the offer of a rear reflector, jd56. I would love to have it. I wish I had something to trade you for it. I can kick you some money though. Your bike is beautiful.  I don't have a tanklight for mine, it didn't have one when I got it. Maybe someday one will turn up. 

Also - seriously the seat is killing my butt. It's too bad because I like it, it's a Mesinger but it has zero padding left. Did it originally come with a Mesinger saddle? I looked online for a red leather cruiser style bike seat and I found nothing. Does anyone have a link to a good site for finding retro bike parts? I'll save the old seat so it can still go on the bike for when (if) I pass it along someday, but I really want something I can ride on without pain.


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## newgirl (Apr 22, 2013)

Not a nightlight bulb - a flashlight bulb is more like it.


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## jd56 (Apr 23, 2013)

Here is a picture of the rear lens for a Spaceliner (I believe). 











And yes, it takes a flashlight style screw in bulb. I usually go to Radio Shack to get the replacement bulbs.
You tray looks in good shape. Provided the switch is functional.

These lenses are hard to find as is the tanks in good shape.

I'll look around in my shop for the fender and see if I still have it.

Seats for these bikes were designed for young kids that can take the beating. Replacement seats are just that....for comfort. Find a nice cushioned seat and replace it with the original one when you let go of the bike.

Oh and the bike I posted is not mine, wish it was....it's a great example of the mens Spaceliner.


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## jd56 (Apr 23, 2013)

Stopped at a local bike shop this morning and saw this Sunlite red seat that looks good and may work on yours. Wide seat pan and lots of cushion.

About $35 but, Ive seen the larger shops charge over $50 for the same seat. Sometime there is an"C-9" logo imprinted on the seat which I dont care for.
This one does not have that logo.





Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## newgirl (Apr 23, 2013)

> Here is a picture of the rear lens for a Spaceliner (I believe).




No kidding! Wow - all this time I thought it had two little cone shaped lights that kind of look like rocket boosters. Huh. Thanks for the info! 

I saw that seat online, it was pretty much the only one that kind of met the criteria I'm looking for but I dunno, I can't explain it but I just don't really like it. However, when I googled Sunlite red seats I found this:

http://www.beachbikes.net/products/SunLite-Cruiser-Classic-Seat-w-Handle-Red-1525.html

Which is beautiful and just what I'm looking for, but alas it's $55.  Maybe I'll find it on sale somewhere.


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## jd56 (Apr 24, 2013)

Here is a Spaceliner lens that recently sold on ebay for $68

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Bic...IbYGSkK%2B03PADY5RQvM%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Here is what lens are used on some Flightliners ( a JC Higgins cousin to the Sears Spaceliner). These "rocket" tip reflectors have a stud that mounts through the rear of the Higgins similar rear rack. Not a lit up reflector I might point out. No battery tray for this set.












That seat you are considering should be a comfy one. The added chrome springs and crash rail give it the retro vintage look too. I have a black one for one of my bikes. It's a heavy seat though.

I still haven't had time to check for the fender yet. I will later this week. But, I'm thinking I used it on one of my projects already.


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## MaxGlide (Apr 24, 2013)

*D batteries for sure and the single lens*

i have that light and it takes D batteries for sure and that lens that looks like a flame shooting out of a jet engine.

The BEST  way to clean the tray is to find a product called Evaporust. You simply submerge the whole unit in it overnight and in the morning, use a toothbrush so scrub a bit them rinse off with water, let dry in the sun and VOILA!!  Perfectly clean unit.


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## newgirl (Apr 24, 2013)

Thanks for the tip MaxGlide. 

jd56 - when I first read your post I thought it said a Spaceliner went for $68 on ebay. I was like, wow that's cheap - then I realized you were talking about just the lens and I was like, wow that's expensive! Ha ha! Well - there's a velo swap in a few weeks, maybe I'll find something there. Maybe. Thanks for checking on that reflector - of course, no worries if you don't find it.

I'm OK with the seat being heavy. I have an old bike that I got a long time ago that has been my main ride for many years and that bike is seriously heavy so I'm used to heaving it around. It's funny - when I got it I didn't think it was anything special, I just kind of liked the lines of it. Since I've been researching old bikes now I think it might be an old Schwinn. Someone stripped all the cool stuff off it and repainted it though so it isn't worth anything I don't think. 

I appreciate the info, you all have been a great help. This site is so fun.


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## MBP (Apr 25, 2013)

MaxGlide said:


> The BEST  way to clean the tray is to find a product called Evaporust. You simply submerge the whole unit in it overnight and in the morning, use a toothbrush so scrub a bit them rinse off with water, let dry in the sun and VOILA!!  Perfectly clean unit.




I second that!   Evaporust works great.  I couldn't find it anywhere around my area, so bought a few gallons on-line.


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## newgirl (Apr 25, 2013)

I'll try it. Is it basically oxalic acid? I wanted to try that (in the form of wood bleach) on the Spaceliner but I have kids and dogs and no garage, so it wasn't feasible to leave a big tub of it lying around for several days. It would probably work really well on the tray though. I think everyone has their personal favorite rust removal method, don't they? I ended up using a paste of Bartender's Friend and two tubs of Chromex and a lot of elbow grease. My favorite method theoretically is the electrolysis method but I haven't been able to try that yet. It sounds fun and science project-ish.


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## BrentP (Apr 25, 2013)

Welcome to The CABE, newgirl.  I've been away for awhile and just noticed your thread.

Yes, the rear battery box takes D cells and uses a regular flashlight bulb.  





You will need to find the lens, shown above, that came on the Deluxe models (chrome frame with springer fork).  The two rocket style reflectors you referred to, that jd56 posted a pic of from his Flightliner, were available only on the standard chrome model Spaceliners (like the 46940) and not the Deluxe or Base models (see my Ultimate Spaceliner Reference for a description and pics of the various Spaceliner models).

Awhile ago I put together a guide for installing the lens and battery box.  It can be downloaded and viewed as a pdf HERE.  It has some good pics that I took from my own Spaceliner as I was in the process of restoring it, so you can see exactly what the pieces look like and how they fit together.

Evaporust is the best for restoring parts.  It is water based and non-toxic, but it does an incredible job of cleaning up metal parts.  There's nothing else as good or as safe to use.  You can order it directly from their website or find it at a lot of hardware or automotive stores.

Here are a couple of pics of the chain that was on my Spaceliner, before and after soaking in Evaporust.  The chain was solid rust and I was going to throw it out, but the Evaporust completely restored it.  The stuff works miracles.


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## jd56 (Apr 29, 2013)

Newgirl...just sent you a private message. Notification is on the top right of the webpage.

JD


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## newgirl (Apr 29, 2013)

Thanks so much, BrentP. I have read the USR and found it very useful. I appreciate the time you take to organize and share this information, it's especially helpful to people like me who are just learning about old bikes.  I haven't started working on the case yet (that makes me sound like a detective, ha ha) but I'll post pics when I do. I put the new seat on and it's pretty comfy - it's a lot bigger than the old one, which I didn't like at first. The bike lost some of its streamlined profile. But I want to ride it and be comfy, so what can you do. And it doesn't match the red handlegrips quite as well, but I think I'm the only one who's going to notice that. (But notice it, I do.)

Thanks for the heads up, jd56.


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## Rivnut (Apr 30, 2013)

newgirl said:


> I'll try it. Is it basically oxalic acid? I wanted to try that (in the form of wood bleach)




Not the same stuff.  I've used both.  Evaporust works better, and leaves no residue.   However, it's much more expensive.  I bought a five pound bag of oxalic acid on the internet, and mix it up in a laudry sink in my garage about a quarter cup for ten gallons of water.  It takes a while and requires a lot of elbow grease to go with it.  The Evaporust works much better and doesn't require the elbow grease, but it wold cost an arm and a leg to soak a large part in.  When I'm finished with the oxalic acid, I just pull the plug in the sink - it environmentally friendly.


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## Rivnut (Apr 30, 2013)

*Before and after oxalic acid bath*

Here are some before and after photos of the rims, fenders, crank, and handlebars on my '70 Typhoon and what a bath in oxalic acid and some elbow grease can do to rust.


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