# Paging Dr. CWC



## dougfisk (Jan 23, 2011)

Riddle me this Batman...












More at:  http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?13328-More-for-DR-CWC.


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## militarymonark (Jan 23, 2011)

early postwar


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## Adamtinkerer (Jan 24, 2011)

I *think* dropstand ears, and a fender clip would make it prewar...


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## militarymonark (Jan 24, 2011)

you would think but with the curved down tube makes it a post war, I have both frames one is prewar actually 41 I have original paperwork to prove and the curved down tube from my understanding is post war.


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## dougfisk (Jan 24, 2011)

I'll dig it out again next weekend and recover the serial number.  I completely forgot this time.


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## dougfisk (Jan 29, 2011)

And the serial # is... K47175.    I think.


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## RMS37 (Jan 31, 2011)

Hi Doug, I wanted to get something up on this thread today so believe it or not, this is the abbreviated version of my reply!

*Prewar **Cleveland** Welding “K” serial numbers*

Your bike, K47175, is almost an exact match to the Model 326 C, Men’s Special Fully Equipped Tank Model shown in the 1941 Cleveland Welding Roadmaster Catalog. Your bike is sporting a different rack than the one on the catalog bike and it is built on the straight stay version rather than the curved stay version of the “Bent-Tank” frame.

The Cleveland Welding prewar “K” serial number series was produced in 1941, likely beginning in the summer of that year and ending before the end of the year. Early “K” bikes should be considered 1941 models while later bikes might be considered part of the 1942 line as it was typical to sell “New-for Next Year Models for the Christmas rush.

The “K” line was preceded by bikes with a “J” serial number and followed by bikes with an “A”. While it is not possible from what information is available to know the serial numbers that define the 1941/42 calendar break, it is reasonably clear that the “A” series bikes (Second “A” series, the letter A was also used in 1936) are the last CWC bicycles produced before production ended in February of 1942.

*Cleveland** Welding “Bent-Tank” models*

The bike itself is what I refer to as the “Bent-Tank” model; my generic name for this pattern CWC frame and tank. The “B-T” bikes are often confused with the 3-Gill model (which has a different frame and tank) because most B-T tanks also have three louvers on each side.

The B-T series was introduced by CWC in 1936 and the frame comes in three basic configurations; straight stays with a straight down tube, straight stays with a curved down tube, and curved stays with a curved down tube.

The B-T tanks also come in a number of variations. The early versions have a removable door on the drive side that lifts free with the battery holder. Some later tanks retain the groove that defines the door but do not open and other late versions are smooth like the one on this bike.

*All 26” B-T bikes are prewar*, the B-T frame was not resurrected after WW2 (though a similar looking 24” frame was produced for a while after the war.) The curved tube versions were introduced in 1940 after that years catalog had gone to press and well before 1941 and the issue of that catalog which depicts them. During at least parts of 1940 and 1941, all three variations of the B-T frame were in production at the same time.

*Notes on K47175*

1940-42 was a very productive period for CWC and I estimate they produced almost as many bikes in this 26-month period as they did between the beginning of bicycle production during 1935 and the end of 1939. CWC also had a lot of different frame patterns and parts in production at this time so the variations available between the frame patterns and the parts used to complete the bicycles gives us myriad original build specifications that were produced. 

Your bike is a typical high-end build on the intermediate B-T frame (it is unlikely that there was any significant difference in the cost associated with producing any one of the three B-T variants but the catalogs usually listed the frames with more curves higher on the model list than the straight tube versions.) 

The Special designation in the bicycle’s model title typically was used to describe bikes that offered extra accessories and fitments at a bargain price point. The “C” in the model title references the three-tier model system in place at that time. Boy’s “A” models were bases on the low production “Tall Tank” straight-bar frame, “B” models were built on the 3-Gill frame and “C” models typically used the B-T frame.

The reverse colors of Red over Gray are listed in the 1941 catalog as new for that year. The Roadmaster tank graphic on your bike is also an exclusive 1941-42 design for the 326 C model. 

It is possible that the rack on your bike is not the original unit, on the reverse paint bikes it was usually painted in the accent color (Red) rather than the body color. In the photos it looks like the rack may be Cream rather than Gray but that may just be the way it has aged or a screen illusion. It is also of a generally earlier pattern than the bike but as I said, there were so many build variants produced at that time if the color matches then it could very well be original.

Other than that question, the bike looks like an awesome original and a great reference for others trying to build to this spec.


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