# The 1937 Hawthorne Fastback Bicycle....



## PAValentine (Mar 13, 2017)

....I bought here from 'Krakatoa' in February.
It cleaned up pretty nice. 


 (This picture actually makes it look a little _Extra_ clean!).
I had to get new tires, so I went WW like the old MW catalog showed, cause the old Ward front tire that came on it didn't like the air pressure the tire called for!.....I never before had a bicycle tire Blow Out with a Bang like this one did....
I changed the pedals because the bearings in one old one were making bad sounds. 
I put some auto paint on the rims because there wasn't much chrome left under the rust layer, and felt they needed some type of protection. 
There were old battery corrosion blisters on the light, and I was able to file them off!!! I couldn't believe it! It was like the battery created lumpy new metal in the corrosion process??? Using what was left of the rusted, corroded battery tray, I mounted a very bright LED in the front of the old headlight. One that turns off and on by pushing the lens of the LED! ...Amazon...
(I was broadsided by a car a few years ago while riding my bicycle, and the driver claimed she didn't see me, even though she appeared to be looking right at me. So, I want bright lights front and back when I ride, to make myself more visible!)
'MyNameIsLegion' helped me with the dropstand, so now, this is what I have today.....


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## frankster41 (Mar 13, 2017)

Wow That is nice!!!


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## fordmike65 (Mar 13, 2017)




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## bikewhorder (Mar 13, 2017)

Here's the before pics. http://thecabe.com/forum/threads/19...port-model-blue-white-red.104563/#post-684811


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## fordmike65 (Mar 13, 2017)

Wait....was this cleaned up or the whole bike repainted??


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## PAValentine (Mar 13, 2017)

Cleaned up! NOT Repainted. Also the bike now has a coat of wax, which makes it slick and shiny looking in my picture. I spent quite a few hours cleaning off the crud accumulated during years of storage.
My picture is over saturated and the white balance is over blued due to the shaded area.
As I said, my picture makes it look 'Extra Clean'.
The old image is indoors, underexposed and under saturated, so there is a great deal of difference in the two photos!


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## BLWNMNY (Mar 13, 2017)

That turned out looking great, I remember this bike. You did a good job cleaning it up.


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## Robertriley (Mar 13, 2017)

Damn....great job!


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## fordmike65 (Mar 13, 2017)

Can we see another, less exposed pic?


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## bikewhorder (Mar 13, 2017)

PAValentine said:


> Cleaned up! NOT Repainted. Also the bike now has a coat of wax, which makes it slick and shiny looking in my picture. I spent quite a few hours cleaning off the crud accumulated during years of storage.
> My picture is over saturated and the white balance is over blued due to the shaded area.
> As I said, my picture makes it look 'Extra Clean'.
> The old image is indoors, underexposed and under saturated, so there is a great deal of difference in the two photos!




Really? and the chain guard mounting bracket just happened to be blue when you "cleaned it"?


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## fordmike65 (Mar 13, 2017)

What a shame. That was a GREAT survivor. Now I wish I had picked it up just to save it.


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## mike j (Mar 14, 2017)

Nice job, that's a great bike, love those frames.


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## rollfaster (Mar 14, 2017)

fordmike65 said:


> Wait....was this cleaned up or the whole bike repainted??



I love it this way.


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## Krakatoa (Mar 14, 2017)

Sorry about the tire Paul, glad you weren't injured!!

Looking good

Nate


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## CWCMAN (Mar 14, 2017)

Although I respect your decision to do what you want with your bike, I must say that all this bike needed was a good cleaning and servicing.

IMHO


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## PAValentine (Mar 22, 2017)

Disapproving Guys!!! So so very sorry you disapprove of my photo! 
I have NO desire to ruin the currant age patina of this bicycle!!!

A goods cleaning and servicing is basically all this bicycle really got! And it needed both IMHO. It had heavy 'crud', especially on one side, probably from exposure to something dirty for a lot of years past????? I spent a bunch of hours just trying to get that crud off , hopefully without screwing up anything else, and to the best of my knowledge, I didn't screw up anything!

I took the front axle, the bottom bracket, and the ND coaster brake apart and thoroughly removed all of the old blackened grease from all parts and put it all back together with all new marine grade grease. (I think the BB was apart when received??? Don't remember! now!
(I have now replaced the races and bearings in the BB because I plan to ride it, a lot, and they showed considerable wear! And pedaling didn't feel right! The old skiptooth chain may be responsible for some of that feeling. But I am saving all of the old parts, as I have always done with all of my old motorcycles) (I still have the useless original battery from my 30 year old Moto Guzzi)

Yes... as I said, I did put some similar blue paint on the rims, the chainguard and the headlight, because the cleaning and rust removal exposed entirely too much bare metal for my liking. The lumpy battery corrosion on the headlight was uglier than i wanted to look at, so I filed it off, surprisingly effectively, without creating any holes in the original shell contour???? And, I put new blue paint on the bright shiny metal that resulted from removing the corrosion metal lumps, because I liked it better that way! The battery holder inside the headlight was half eaten away from rust and the corrosion from a leaking battery back in the day. When I got what I could of the rust off of the rims, overnight, a new coat of rust started to appear, so I felt something was needed! Chainguard similar...

Believe me...Any blue paint I put on, will come right back off with almost no effort! However, I see absolutely no need to do that unless I would decide to restore it, which I do not plan to do! It IS MY bicycle, and I do plan to Keep It!

Regardless of what it looks like in the picture, rest assured, there is no new blue paint on anything except the three things mentioned. Not on the frame! Not on the front fender, Not on the rear fender!!! The white is basically untouched except for the cleaning. However, not much of the wear on the white shows in this side view image. I have no intention to take more pictures of the old age patina on the bike just to satisfy someone's curiosity. I am NOT trying to sell this bicycle, so I have no need to show off any of it's flaws. I bought this bike to keep! I bought it because I like it! I bought this bike because it is very similar to the pre WWII bike I had when I was 10 years old!!!.....And, I have old pictures that show it!

The whole bike got a heavy coat of auto wax. Remaining Bare Metal spots and all. That paste wax shine is why it looks so much more blue than it should. 
And, when I PP photos, I habitually boost the saturation automatically, because I like them that way. My TV is over saturated too!

I was surprised to note that the white on the fenders had no red pins like the frame did. Guess they didn't pinstripe the fenders back then?????

>Thanks krakatoa. When the old tire blew up, I was barely moving. So I didn't fall, I was just shocked by the loudness of the bang!!! The tire ripped apart just above the bead.  I guess the old cords of the sidewall were too weak to hold the pressure. The old rear tire is hanging on my garage wall. I'm afraid to use that one now!!!


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