# My Dad's 1941 Roadmaster



## gsivley (Apr 25, 2016)

My Dad (who is now 95 but still hanging in there) bought a 1941 Roadmaster bike new from stock in 1943. He was working at the Dravo Corporation in the Pittsburgh area (they made LSTs) at the time and he got a ration card that enabled him to buy the bike since he used it to ride to work at the defense plant. I understand that there were no 1943 model year Roadmaster bikes for consumers (CWC may possibly have made some bikes for military use). I checked the serial number with a local CWC expert and he's pretty sure the bike was manufactured in 1941 or possibly early '42.


It originally had chrome hubs (the rear New Departure hub still has good chrome under all the old oil and dirt). However, my Dad got in a bad wreck with it (collided with a car that turned left in front of him) in 1944 and, as a result, the bike ended up with a mis-matched front wheel that had a black-out New Departure hub and didn’t have a drop center rim as the rear does. I think the wreck also took out the head light lens and it definitely bent the steering tube, fork and one of the truss rods (stuff I'm going to have to sort out).


My project is to bring that bike back  as near as I can get it to the condition it was in when my Dad bought it.  Unfortunately, due to the strong sulphuric acid rain from the steel mills, it got a lot of rust early in its life.  Therefore, it was housepainted while my Dad lived in Pennsylvania. Worst of all, the bike lost its tank over 50 years ago.  Other than the tank, the bike is essentially complete


From Pennsylvania, my Dad was drafted to active duty toward the end of the War and served in Germany during the Occupation (arriving in Feb 1946). When he returned, he lived in Baltimore and eventually settled in Eastern Washington in 1950. Somehow, he kept this bike all this time. As far back as I can remember, it was always in our garage and Dad rode it along with my sister, brother and I when we got our first bikes as kids. In fact, he rode this bike up into his 80's, even riding my own kids (his grandkids) on the rear rack when we'd visit.

Here's a picture of the bike when I started my project about 5 years ago.






It has taken quite a while but  I have made some progress on my project.  I've found a good replacement rim for the front along with a NOS chrome New Departure hub to replace the blackout hub.

I've found a replacement chrome bezel and lens for the ball light and, importantly, this spring I finally found a replacement tank on an Ebay auction (needs work as you can see)










Most recently, I've finally found NOS Torrington spokes and nipples so I can rebuild the wheels properly.

Currently, I'm concentrating on removing rust and getting everything ready for paint.


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## gsivley (Apr 25, 2016)

Yeah!! Today I got my seat back from Rustjunkie who did a fantastic job of recovering it (this after I disassembled it and removed the rust electrolyticly from all the parts - there are at least 33 separate parts to a Troxel saddle!! - and repainted the seat frame and hardware).  Here are before and after pics.


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## Intense One (Apr 25, 2016)

Whoa! Coming along nicely.....Dad will not believe his eyes......keep us posted


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## gsivley (Apr 25, 2016)

Thanks.  I'm going to visit my Dad tomorrow and I think I'll bring along the seat to show him.


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## tech549 (Apr 25, 2016)

great story,cant wait to see it finished,your dad will love it!!!


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## pedal_junky (Apr 25, 2016)

Awesome write up, great story.


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## bikeyard (Apr 26, 2016)

LST, I spent 6 weeks on the USS Tuscaloosa.  Rough ride in a storm.


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## gsivley (May 15, 2016)

Sadly, my Dad passed away on May 3rd.  He died peacefully and had enjoyed a long and happy life.  I will miss him greatly but I will complete my restoration project to honor his memory. I was able to share with him the progress I was making and tell him about my quest to find parts, make repairs, etc.  I know he enjoyed hearing about it and seeing all the bits and pieces.

 Here's a photo of my Dad with my sister and me as he delivered the bike to me to begin the project.


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## Robertriley (May 15, 2016)

gsivley said:


> Sadly, my Dad passed away on May 3rd.  He died peacefully and had enjoyed a long and happy life.  I will miss him greatly but I will complete my restoration project to honor his memory. I was able to share with him the progress I was making and tell him about my quest to find parts, make repairs, etc.  I know he enjoyed hearing about it and seeing all the bits and pieces.
> 
> Here's a photo of my Dad with my sister and me as he delivered the bike to me to begin the project.
> 
> View attachment 317302


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## pedal_junky (May 15, 2016)

Sorry to hear about your dad. Glad you could share time with him with the bike. Good luck with the project.


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## gsivley (May 15, 2016)

Here's the earliest picture I could find of my Dad and his bike.  Sorry, not much of the bike was visible.  The picture was of him and a girl friend on a ride near Sewickley, PA where he lived in 1945.  Even though only a couple of years old, the bike had already been housepainted.


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## ratina (May 16, 2016)

Sorry for your loss. The bike will be a great tribute.


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## Awhipple (May 16, 2016)

What a great thing to have from your dad.


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## syclesavage (May 18, 2016)

Good luck in your ventures, my condolences on the loss of your dad.


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## Floyd (May 19, 2016)

Love this bike story!


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## bicycle larry (May 19, 2016)

looks like your dad was a fun guy. and enjoyed live . nice to see you have some thing of his to keep in his memory .sorry for your loss from bicycle larry


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## OhioJones (May 20, 2016)

Sorry about your pops. Sounds like both he and his bicycle lived a very full life. Awesome that you're going to be able to one day pass the bicycle down to the next generation of your family. Look forward to watching your progress.


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## gsivley (May 24, 2016)

Going through some old photos, I found this one of my dad on his bike when he was in his 70's.


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## rocketman (May 27, 2016)

Moving love story...............................


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## Intense One (May 28, 2016)

Sorry to hear about the loss of your dad....he's probably riding a bike in Heaven.....that bike will be a great tribute to a great Dad!


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## TieDye (Jan 26, 2017)

I think this is an awesome story.  Please keep us up to date on what progress you are making.


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## JAF/CO (Jan 26, 2017)

[emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## spoker (Jan 27, 2017)

"ya cant beat my seat" great idea havin rustjunkie do up one of his awesome seats,it will give you incentive to do the bike at the same high level!!


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## Scribble (Jan 28, 2017)

This is an awesome tribute to your father. Can't wait to see more. I have a bike like yours to, my 1951 Columbia has been in the family since 1983.


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## Bikermaniac (Feb 6, 2017)

Sorry for your loss. Hope to see this tribute bike finished.


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## Phattiremike (Mar 1, 2017)

You're doing your dad proud, great job and story!


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## then8j (Mar 5, 2017)

Any progress?


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## eeapo (Mar 24, 2017)

Great pictures of your Dad and his bike, what great memories you have of him.
Sorry to hear of his passing.


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