# 1939? Original nickel plated ivers Johnson special racer pics



## redline1968 (Feb 12, 2015)

Couple of years ago I picked this up and found out its completely nickel plated under the blue paint.  Weird things appeared on it and raised questions that finally turned me off and I pulled it off subject. I pick up up the correct rims for it from wheeled relics thanks Dave ... So now I thought to liven up the community and show the update photos on its progress along with the # on the bottom of the crank hangar. So let's get puzzled....  I dated to 1939 but the numbers are on the lower hangar?


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## Handyman (Feb 13, 2015)

Very interesting racer redline1968.  The serial number, although not in the conventional place, makes sense as far as the Iver run is concerned.  I could believe that for some reason not understood yet, that the factory decided to put it there, or the customer requested that it be placed there, and not on the seat tube. What is the frame size?  Model 90 should be 20" 22" or 24"............model 90A or 90B should be 21" or 23".  Looks like a 20" or 21".  Great looking wheels, what kind of hubs are you using?  Pete in Fitchburg


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## scrubbinrims (Feb 13, 2015)

The sn to my 1935 all chrome super mobicycle is also under the crank hanger with nothing on the seat tube.
Coincidence?
Chris


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## Handyman (Feb 13, 2015)

Now that is interesting scrubbinrims……………..is it possible this was a decision by the factory, done only on “chrome” bikes, so that the serial # would be hidden from sight and not "disturb" the smooth and very reflective surface of chrome??  Done strictly to improve the overall appearance?  Pete in Fitchburg


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## theyankeedoodler (Feb 13, 2015)

Yes, interesting location.  Pete, you probably are correct.  

Didn't a CABEr  find an all chrome or all nickel dropbar Iver last year? I think it was being used as yard art.  The stays were rusted thru pretty good. Anywho-wondering where the SN on that is located....?

Chris: your SMB is THE Supreme Mobike!


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## ivrjhnsn (Feb 13, 2015)

theyankeedoodler said:


> Yes, interesting location.  Pete, you probably are correct.
> 
> Didn't a CABEr  find an all chrome or all nickel dropbar Iver last year? I think it was being used as yard art.  The stays were rusted thru pretty good. Anywho-wondering where the SN on that is located....?
> 
> Chris: your SMB is THE Supreme Mobike!




  Found the post,,,he says serial no. on seat-tube .  Just search "chrome Iver" and the post is there


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## redline1968 (Feb 13, 2015)

Handyman said:


> Very interesting racer redline1968.  The serial number, although not in the conventional place, makes sense as far as the Iver run is concerned.  I could believe that for some reason not understood yet, that the factory decided to put it there, or the customer requested that it be placed there, and not on the seat tube. What is the frame size?  Model 90 should be 20" 22" or 24"............model 90A or 90B should be 21" or 23".  Looks like a 20" or 21".  Great looking wheels, what kind of hubs are you using?  Pete in Fitchburg



Thanks it's 20in. I have a iver fixed rear 36 hole hub and looking for a iver front so I'm using a substitute I. The front for now. Wonder if they were special ordered for shows. The prob I'm having is there is not a listing for the special in the later catalogs.


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## theyankeedoodler (Feb 13, 2015)

The later catalogs are pretty in color, but lacking in info.


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## catfish (Feb 13, 2015)

Very Cool Iver!


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## redline1968 (Feb 13, 2015)

Thanks it really stands out with those wood rims, I'm slowly piecing it together.


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## Lux Low (Feb 13, 2015)

Serial Numbers underneath denote a early iver bike and iver rims of that era are pointed similar to early pope rims.
t


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## Handyman (Feb 13, 2015)

Adding to Lux Low's comment above, from what I can gather, Iver Johnson used regular "Crescent" or "Half-Moon" shaped natural finish wood wheels on the Model 90 Road Racers, and on the Special Racers, Model's 90A and 90B, used the slightly lighter and thinner "High V" profile wheels as often seen with the Fairbanks Boston brand.


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## redline1968 (Feb 13, 2015)

Yes underneath is earlier but the numbers date to 39 which doesn't
 Make sense.


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## Handyman (Feb 13, 2015)

I think it's beginning to make some sense redline1968.  You have a special Iver there.  Scrubbinrims just posted that his chrome Iver also has the serial # under the BB.  I think that's very good news for you as it confirms the fact that this is something the Iver Johnson factory did in the past on an "out of the ordinary bike".  To add a little to the confusion, a previous Cabe post by Jesse McCauley describes a chrome Iver drop frame bike with the serial # on the seat tube.  The bigger question for me is why were these chrome Ivers made and why is there no literature describing them. Pete in Fitchburg


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## redline1968 (Feb 13, 2015)

Well I'd like to think its something special. But I'm gonna get hit with a lot of questions. What really is interesting that there is no info on them. Scrubbing rims iver fits the unusual also. What was the date on the camel back iver? Here are a few other pics on this bike. I never seen this on other bikes. The hangar is thiner on the outside then inside for some reason. Not a charter lea set up I know. Was it possibly done for light weight purposes I don't know. You be the judge.


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## Handyman (Feb 13, 2015)

That's OK redline 1968, questions are a good thing, the more bikes like yours that surface, the more we can add another piece to the puzzle, eventually leading to some answers. The serial # on that drop bar frame is 519354, about a 1932ish bike.  You can read the thread by following the link below. 
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...on-the-side-of-the-road&highlight=chrome+iver
Pete in Fitchburg


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## Handyman (Feb 14, 2015)

Hi redline1968, although I have absolutely no idea what the circular rings are that are cut on the inside the edges of the bottom bracket, I did have one thought on those recessed rings that appear around the outside edges of the BB.  Some Iver Johnson racers (I have one) have dust caps mounted to the outside edges of the BB. I’m not sure if they are pressed on, threaded on, etc.. as I’ve never had mine off.  They are just about the thickness of the outside rings in your pics. I haven’t seen these dust caps on any other Ivers except for some, and not all, of the racers.  Check out the two pics.  Pete in Fitchburg


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## Joe Buffardi (Feb 14, 2015)

Great lookin Ivers! Maybe you can use a Morrow hub dust cover and cut the id bigger.


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## Handyman (Feb 14, 2015)

Not mine Joe.......................just pics taken from the web.  However, I believe the top Iver now belongs to Dean.


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## redline1968 (Feb 14, 2015)

Nice iver...Thank you for your help.   Definitely Food for thought. If I could see a Iver bb without any parts installed could help maybe it's a normal thing.  The problem is this is not suppose to have threaded cups. So I'm in the dark on them.


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## theyankeedoodler (Feb 14, 2015)

Chater Lea BB? Do those have threaded cups?


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## Handyman (Feb 14, 2015)

Hi Wally,
The model 90B Chater Lea does have a threaded BB but the frame size on this racer is 20".  The Chater Lea would be 21" or 23" .  A 20" frame size points to a model 90 Road Racer.  But then again, who knows what the old Iver Johnson Company would do for customers.  It seems like all you had to do is contact them and they would build it "your way"!! It certainly keeps things interesting.  Pete in Fitchburg


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## Jeff54 (Feb 14, 2015)

redline1968 said:


> What really is interesting that there is no info on them.




Another field of collectibles I've been involved in nearing 30 years, all of the books and information that had been gathered was based on relics, advertisements and word of mouth. The factories had closed to many year ago and nothing to hardly nothing was the result.. Nobody thought into the future thinking a bunch of collector nuts would pay good  money for factory files and information, go figure? LOL..

However because it was glass,  people began digging up factory sites, and low and behold, stuff previous written to be made by another company, relics nobody every saw or heard of,, you name it, and let me tell ya, the fighting and bickering is still going on!!.  Some is settled in these days, but there's those who's 'bible's'  and guru's are shattered and continue a fight! LOL.. Stories by people who claimed to work for a certain factory or related connection fizzing, in some cases ignorant nonsense, most were unreliable or incomplete. , 

What's certain in collectibles is,, stuff happened! 

In 1998 another small hobby of mine I started as a kid but stopped collecting several years prior. , I found a mint, perfect 1983, uncirculated choice, not a scratch!   penny that was solid zinc. I asked inside of a few of the most popular coin collector boards on the net about them.. some said it was a fake, other's that I dipped it in a solution to remove the copper.. and their biggest, major international dealer/collector who's a huge reputation in books ads etc, confirmed it for them.. Which started the barrage of idiots attacking me. I made a perfect photo in high detail, yet their greatest gurus' shunned me.. 

Guess what?? those very same dopes want 300++ bucks for one now!! [wink]


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## redline1968 (Feb 14, 2015)

Thanks. I'm still confused. And gun shy on guessing.  Need more info but as said, not much out there. What is it?  maybe this will start a interesting research project.


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## olderthandirt (Feb 14, 2015)

i like the bike !!! wow its my size ,want to sell her ?


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## redline1968 (Feb 14, 2015)

I'm a hoarder...lol. It sure does exude some bling and muscle.  A keeper for now thanks


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## fordsnake (Feb 14, 2015)

I'll throw out a conjecture...nickel bikes were novelties made for trade exhibitions to showcase new models?


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## Handyman (Feb 15, 2015)

I tend to agree with Fordsnake’s comments above.  It seems to me, that although very rare, nickel/chrome Ivers exist.  Once we have established that fact, the logical explanation is that they were special bicycles built for trade shows, special orders from customers, or special orders from dealers.  Maybe a dealer wanted something different and unique to put in a display window to attract attention and create interest in the line?  This is a pic of another nickel/chrome racer, sold on eBay,  that was posted on this site by Brian (Krautwaggen) some time ago.  Are there any Cabe members that know of others? Pete in Fitchburg


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## Joe Buffardi (Feb 15, 2015)

That is a special bike.


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## Joe Buffardi (Feb 15, 2015)

*Iver*

Strange Iver. I have a strange one also. It has  decal  under the Iver Johnson headtube d cal that says ACE and the same decal is on the seat tube. I will get pics of the headtube as soon as I get some coffee. Your Nickel Iver is amazing ! Redline.


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## Handyman (Feb 15, 2015)

Hi Joe,
I have seen one other Iver with a decal headbadge.  It was a red girls bike that was posted some time back on Craigslist or eBay.  Ivrjhnsn also posted a pic of an Iver with a decal head badge somewhere on this site. Quite rare.  Pete in Fitchburg


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## fordmike65 (Feb 15, 2015)

Handyman said:


> Hi Joe,
> I have seen one other Iver with a decal headbadge.  It was a red girls bike that was posted some time back on Craigslist or eBay.  Ivrjhnsn also posted a pic of an Iver with a decal head badge somewhere on this site. Quite rare.  Pete in Fitchburg





http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?67842-Iver-Truss-Bridge-Frame&highlight=iver+Johnson


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## redline1968 (Feb 15, 2015)

Wow..neat decal badge! Unusual to say the least.  I agree they might be a trade show  bikes  showing all accessories or store display bikes.  Nickel plating is expensive at that time.


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## Joe Buffardi (Feb 15, 2015)

Thanks Mike for the pic. The funny thing about my Iver is that the Ace decal is under the Iver Badge decal. This is a mystery. Look really close The giant A is underneath and then c and e are at the bottom spelling ACE.


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