# Flightliner Questions



## Mongla (Apr 20, 2011)

Hello
I am restoring a Flightliner and had some questions about it. Many of you seem to have a lot of knowledge about them so I am hoping you could help me out. The serial number is:
MOD 502 46060
    702163
Could someone please give me a brief break down of what each part means? I think "502" is Sears of Ohio, and 46060 corresponds with the catalog number and the year it was made (1960). Is this correct?

Also, I was wondering if anyone could tell me how correct this bike is. I know the seat and pedals are not and possibly the chainring but beyond that I am not sure. Is the carrier, JC Higgins tank, and handlebars correct for the year? I can provide additional pictures if needed.

Any other information and/or tips would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!


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## Adamtinkerer (Apr 20, 2011)

Yes, it's a 60. The actual catalog # is 6 K 4606N, but bikes only have the number, plus an extra 0 or 1 at the end. That's a Schwinn Phantom chainring, it should have the Murray "3 ring" chainring, with three rows of slots with rounded ends. The original seats are usually black with a silver edging, or a pleated white sparkle cover.


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## Mongla (Apr 24, 2011)

Thank you for the info. I thought of some more specific questions that I have. Is the black seat with silver piping from a deluxe model? Is this a Mesinger seat? If I was able to get a white one from a women's flightliner would it be easy to just recover it? Also, would the pedals be deluxe ones which are white with three round red reflectors? Should the back fender have that spot for the reflector on it? Or is the back fender currently correct, but just from a non-deluxe model?


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## ZZ3Malibu (Apr 25, 2011)

Correct seat....http://cgi.ebay.com/Spaceliner-Sadd...aultDomain_0&hash=item3cb72b1ffa#ht_500wt_900


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## ZZ3Malibu (Apr 25, 2011)

Correct chain ring.....http://cgi.ebay.com/SPACELINER-CRAN...ultDomain_0&hash=item3cb73167b9#ht_500wt_1156


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## Mongla (Apr 27, 2011)

Thank you. Too bad I missed that seat. It went for five bucks. I have a chainring like that from a Spaceliner so I will use that. For a 1960 Flightliner does anyone know what the rear fender reflector would look like? Why are some seats covered with the plain black vinyl while others have the black vinyl with vertical ribbed stiching on them?


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## Adamtinkerer (Apr 27, 2011)

Mongla said:


> Thank you. Too bad I missed that seat. It went for five bucks. I have a chainring like that from a Spaceliner so I will use that. For a 1960 Flightliner does anyone know what the rear fender reflector would look like? Why are some seats covered with the plain black vinyl while others have the black vinyl with vertical ribbed stiching on them?



 The original seat would have had a chrome 'crash rail' across the back, so that one was probably from a lower model. They tended to change around seats for different models and years. The mid 60s models usually had the silver glitter ribbed seat, but the Flightliner was a second tier model by then, junior to the Spaceliner. I believe those seats were made by Troxel, but most companies would switch to a different company if they offered something cheaper! The two hardest things to pin down on old bikes is the tire brand and the seat maker, generally! I was looking at the 1960 Sears catalog page, and it does show the triple jeweled pedals. They also spec "American made tires", I suppose if they ran short of the typical Allstate tires they could substitute something else.


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## Mongla (Apr 28, 2011)

Adamtinkerer said:


> The original seat would have had a chrome 'crash rail' across the back, so that one was probably from a lower model. They tended to change around seats for different models and years. The mid 60s models usually had the silver glitter ribbed seat, but the Flightliner was a second tier model by then, junior to the Spaceliner. I believe those seats were made by Troxel, but most companies would switch to a different company if they offered something cheaper! The two hardest things to pin down on old bikes is the tire brand and the seat maker, generally! I was looking at the 1960 Sears catalog page, and it does show the triple jeweled pedals. They also spec "American made tires", I suppose if they ran short of the typical Allstate tires they could substitute something else.




Thank you for all the info! I didn't know they had so many different options. I'll have to keep looking for the seat, pedals, and back fender reflector. I noticed that a member here on the forum restored a Flightliner that turned out really nice. The bike has a red and white seat with a crash rail. It that another possible seat they could have? I'm planning on taking some parts (or at least the chain ring) from my Spaceliner. The chrome on it is pretty nice. Any other parts I could use?


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## Adamtinkerer (Apr 28, 2011)

Mongla said:


> Thank you for all the info! I didn't know they had so many different options. I'll have to keep looking for the seat, pedals, and back fender reflector. I noticed that a member here on the forum restored a Flightliner that turned out really nice. The bike has a red and white seat with a crash rail. It that another possible seat they could have? I'm planning on taking some parts (or at least the chain ring) from my Spaceliner. The chrome on it is pretty nice. Any other parts I could use?
> 
> View attachment 20381




That Spaceliner looks like it's in great shape, and has the usually missing "7" tank! I would leave it be, Spaceliners are generally worth more than Flightliners. They made tons of blue ladies' FLR's that are much better parts donors. Also, the usual FLR rear reflector is sort of a football shape with a chrome bezel. And there were probably factory red/white seats.


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## Brandonstep@hotmail.com (Apr 29, 2011)

I just found what I think to be a Sears Flightliner at a garage sale.  I picked it up for $15.  It looked like it was in decent condition with original paint.  There is some pitting on the paint, chrome and wheels and I am just wanting to find the best way to clean it up.  Also I was wondering if its original seat or pedals and where I can find the serial #.  After researching these bikes a little its fun to see that other people are interested in these too.  If you can tell from my profile pic what year and model the bike is that would be great.  Thanks


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## Sulley (Apr 30, 2011)

I just restored a 60 Flightliner as a rider, many things are not correct but it looks good. My #s are MOD502 46060        592309.  Sulley


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## Adamtinkerer (May 1, 2011)

Brandonstep@hotmail.com said:


> I just found what I think to be a Sears Flightliner at a garage sale.  I picked it up for $15.  It looked like it was in decent condition with original paint.  There is some pitting on the paint, chrome and wheels and I am just wanting to find the best way to clean it up.  Also I was wondering if its original seat or pedals and where I can find the serial #.  After researching these bikes a little its fun to see that other people are interested in these too.  If you can tell from my profile pic what year and model the bike is that would be great.  Thanks



 Serial should be on the brake arm side rear dropout. The fender brace may cover some of it.


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## Mongla (May 1, 2011)

Brandonstep@hotmail.com said:


> I just found what I think to be a Sears Flightliner at a garage sale.  I picked it up for $15.  It looked like it was in decent condition with original paint.  There is some pitting on the paint, chrome and wheels and I am just wanting to find the best way to clean it up.  Also I was wondering if its original seat or pedals and where I can find the serial #.  After researching these bikes a little its fun to see that other people are interested in these too.  If you can tell from my profile pic what year and model the bike is that would be great.  Thanks




That's a great deal! You could post a picture of it on here. Your profile one is too small to tell much about it. To clean chrome I use 'Lemon Pledge Furniture Polish' and/or 'Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust Remover' with a microfiber cloth and a lot of elbow grease. For more heavily rusted areas like the underside of the fenders and the back of the chainguard I use 000 steel wool with 'Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust Remover'. I'm not sure it these are the best techniques (I'm relatively new to this) but I have found that they typically work for me, and are not too abrasive.

And Sulley, your Flightliner looks awesome. Your bike is the one I was referencing before when I was curious if a red and white seat could be correct for a 1960 Flightliner.


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## Sulley (May 1, 2011)

I dont know if the color of the seat is correct it only had the seat pan when i got the bike.  Sulley


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