# 1949 Huffman (Western Flyer) Deluxification.



## Iverider (Nov 12, 2013)

Let's start with a $30 auction bike.






What could be wrong with a bike like this? Serial # begins with 9H making it a 1949 according to Huffman experts near and far.

Stripped down with a "new" tank and straightened fork!





Enter Cheesy 80's dressing room montage music.

Klunker look with Tange fork, Nitto Stem and motoX bars?





Nah...

Liking the rear end and the fender color!





Front fender is nice and clean too! A girls Dayton died for this bike. I didn't do it, but I suppose I'm an accessory after the fact! Anyone know what light goes there?





A good start anyway. All of this stuff is just hanging on the frame. I'll be switching back to the original fork, finding a light, truss rods and repainting the frame, tank and wheels to match the fenders, rack and guard. Now my only question is, do I rebadge as a Dayton? The originality doesn't matter to me THAT much with this bike as it's a piecemeal deal. Please forgive my windows. They need attention, I know, but dammit, I'm working on bikes right now!!!


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## Oldnut (Nov 12, 2013)

*Huffman*

Great start going to look great


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## 37fleetwood (Nov 12, 2013)

I say rebadge it! and it should have a Delta Rocket Ray.


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## Iverider (Nov 12, 2013)

I thought that chainguard looked a lot like the photo you sent me earlier! Very cool. Do you have a pic of the badge on that bike...or maybe a badge to sell? I think that the Rocket Ray, Truss Rods, Stem, Saddle and tires are the last things I have to add to complete this.


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## 37fleetwood (Nov 12, 2013)

Krautwaggen said:


> I thought that chainguard looked a lot like the photo you sent me earlier! Very cool. Do you have a pic of the badge on that bike...or maybe a badge to sell? I think that the Rocket Ray, Truss Rods, Stem, Saddle and tires are the last things I have to add to complete this.




certainly I have a photo!






how nice are you looking to make the bike?
this one will work if you are leaving it rough. if not I'll have to check, I might have one that's NOS or nearly so. I'd be tempted to only rework the frame fork and tank to match the original paint on the fenders rack and chain guard.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Huffman-Mfg-Co-Dayton-Brass-Bicycle-Badge-/221314592229?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338760ade5


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## Iverider (Nov 15, 2013)

Thanks for the photos! I plan on painting only the frame, fork, tank and rims. The fenders, rack and chain guard are REALLY nice!

I think I need an imperfect, but not roached badge. NOS would be too good for this bike. I've seen a few past auctions on ePay for the right amount of wear that I'm looking for in the $40 range.

A couple of questions 

1. Should the rims be blue with a white stripe? (I've been contemplating picking up the red from the pinstripes with a white stripe instead)

2. What color should the bottom half of the tank be? The greyish white that is on the red tank I have matches pretty well with the chain guard so I'm wondering if I should just repaint the red part of the tank blue and add the Dayton logo. It might be hard to do and have look believeable, but it might be worth a shot. I also noticed the photos you posted didn't have any evident darts or pin striping on the frame. Have they just worn away entirely?

Thanks for your help!


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## velo-vecchio (Dec 2, 2013)

Brian, what route you plan to go for painting? DIY, powdercoat, other? Are you going to outsource it?


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## Iverider (Dec 2, 2013)

I'll probably do it myself. It's just a rider, but I'm going to strip the frame, prime and probably spray bomb with as close a color I can get to the off-white grey that's on the fenders, chaingaurd, etc. Scott says the rims should be silver or Chrome, but since the rims I have on hand are painted, they'll get stripped as well and probably painted red with a white pin stripe. Just a little something to set it apart. I'm going to paint the red part of the tank the same blue as the rest of the bike and put a "Dayton" decal on it. It'll have plenty of patina but not TOO much. I never intended to go THIS far with it, but Scott (37Fleetwood) kept sending me eBay auctions with Good deals for Deluxe parts. I'm lacking a saddle, Truss Rods and a Dayton Badge at this point. Whatever I do with it will be better off than it was before!!!


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## Iverider (Mar 3, 2014)

Something has gone very very wrong here.

I think cabin fever mixed with lacking a mountain bike has somehow derailed this project entirely.

Oh well. Hopefully have it ready for spring thaw and mucking around on the gravel roads around here. Might even throw some fenders on it.


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## Iverider (Mar 19, 2014)

Who woulda thought there was paint under that oxidation. I thought the bike was a tan color when I picked it up.


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## Iverider (Apr 30, 2014)

I've moved ahead a little with this project and was *curious if anyone had a photo of the screw and position where the chain guard should mount.* The bike I started with is a bare bones standard Huffman model I believe. I don't know if it even had a chainguard, but there isn't a hole for the particular guard I'm attempting to mount. After this is done, I just have to lace up some wheels and RIDE! I guess I have to rebuild the rear hub too, but that should be easy.





  by VW Sightings, on Flickr



Untitled by VW Sightings, on Flickr

I had initially considered painting the frame and tank to match the paint scheme and then put a dayton badge on the bike, but it still has an H stamped underneath. Thinking I'll just stick with the Western Flyer badge instead.



Untitled by VW Sightings, on Flickr


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## Fltwd57 (Apr 30, 2014)

Here you go Brian, a '51 and a '53 for comparison...









Martyn


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## Iverider (Apr 30, 2014)

THANKS! Very helpful. I figured I had the position about right. I think I might even have a bolt that looks like that in the bin.


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