# 1959 Western Flyer, Golden Flyer... looking for parts...



## Geauxflying (May 23, 2010)

Good afternoon y'all... this is my first post here, I bought a 1959 Western Flyer, Golden Flyer at a garage sale in Houston just this afternoon... seemed too cool to pass up, no idea what it's worth... anyone have an idea? Paid $150, I figured if it was a bad deal it's not too much money to blow, it wouldn't be the first time I blew $150...

I'd like to restore it, and use for a neighborhood cruiser to the local bar and so on... no idea where to find parts for it... Looks like it needs a new carrier rack, the one on the rear wheel is broken. The tank is pretty much intact except for a small rust hole (rusted all the way through  ) on the top, and one of the lights is missing a cover. Any advice on where to find parts?

I got some new pedals, and rear wheel, the bike shop is rebuilding the bottom bracket, so it should be ridable in short order, but would be cool to start collecting the old original parts to fix it up.


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## partsguy (May 23, 2010)

Hi there, your bike was built for Western Auto by Murray, so that could be a good starting point. Any parts that you need, could be found on Murrays, other Murray built Western Flyers, and Murray built Sears bikes. There a bunch of other little divisions of Murray too, but those are the most common.

Those tanks are pretty rare, so you are probably better off to just leave it alone, or patch it up.


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## Geauxflying (May 24, 2010)

That tells me what to google for sure! The guy at the bike shop suggested just leaving it as is, with all the broken/rusty parts as they are... that sure doesn't seem like much fun though! Thanks!


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## partsguy (May 24, 2010)

Your quite welcome-keep us updated!


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## spook1s (Sep 4, 2010)

Does anybody know how rare this bike is? I read somewhere? that they are pretty hard to come by in decent condition. Anybody know where to get replacement decal set?
$150 might not be too bad of a price to pay IF they are rare like the article said. I have no idea of production figures for the 50th Anniversary bike.


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## Adamtinkerer (Sep 4, 2010)

That's not a bad price, since it has the rat trap springer and the tank lights. Ebay will be your most likely place of finding parts, though a light lens may be near impossible to find for that. I've seen tanks like that, but not chromed. If it were mine, I'd coat the inside of the tank with POR-15 or other rust converter so it doesn't get any worse.There has been a seller on ebay reproducing some WF decals from this era. I'd recommend keeping pics of your bike next to your computer, because most of these parts look the same, but aren't! It's good to have that reference handy, as someone might list a part as being for a '59 WF, but it's really for a '68, and it's different. But it's a cool bike, good to see it getting back on the road!


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## rustyspoke66 (Sep 5, 2010)

Try this guy for a lens. He might have what you need. http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?10532-FS-quot-New-Light-Lenses-For-Your-Vintage-Lights


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## spook1s (Sep 8, 2010)

Here is mine. I wonder what the difference in seats is? Mine is black w/ gold piping. I see others w/ an all gold seat?


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## spook1s (Sep 12, 2011)

Finally getting around to cleaning this one up a little and I did a little more research online... I found an ad from LIFE magazine showing an illustration of the bike with Gold, fenders, tank, and chainguard!!!  The ad stated the bike came in Black w/ Gold... 

My question is,  Does anyone have an original Golden Flyer that still has it's "gold" fenders, tank, or chainguard?  I've noticed while cleaning mine that it seems the "gold" might have been some sort of transparent stick-on film? Can anyone verify this? Or know what the stuff is called or where to locate it? 

I would also like to know if anyone knows any production numbers of these 50th Anniversary "Golden Flyer" bikes? Mine is a Murray built bike. 

I'm also curious about the double light tanks used on these bikes... Are they rare? Why are they so expensive when one comes up for sale?... Didn't they come on all Murray built "deluxe" models from this era? I've seen a few different bikes that they were available on. I could see the price... IF it had it's original "gold"!


Let's see everybody's Golden Flyers!!!


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## Linda (May 11, 2016)

View attachment 316051. I have this bike and was thinking on selling it ,would there be anyone that would be looking for one like this? The tag says Western golden flyer. This picture is before I get it cleaned up a little.


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## Freqman1 (May 11, 2016)

Linda said:


> View attachment 316051. I have this bike and was thinking on selling it ,would there be anyone that would be looking for one like this? The tag says Western golden flyer. This picture is before I get it cleaned up a little.



If you want to sell you need to post in the Sell thread and list a price. V/r Shawn


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