# What did I find



## professor72 (Apr 1, 2019)

This is my first pre-war bike but I don’t have a clue what it is. Bought it at an antique store and the tag said it was a 1930’s Elgin motorbike frame but the serial number makes no sense for an elgin. SN# is 5 I4519


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## fordmike65 (Apr 1, 2019)

Looking Colson to me


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## fordmike65 (Apr 1, 2019)




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## professor72 (Apr 2, 2019)

I'm thinking you are correct. Looks like its a July 1935 Colson Motorbike?


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## SKPC (Apr 2, 2019)

Sept(I) 1935 Colson!


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## flyingtaco (Apr 2, 2019)

looks like 6 layers of paint to me. maybe 7?


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## professor72 (Apr 2, 2019)

Yep- gonna start over and go with black as it looks like the original color.


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## Archie Sturmer (Apr 2, 2019)

Might check the badge mounting holes; I believe Colson had 2-3/16” spacing, but thought that Sears Elgin was somewhat greater.  Colson head badges become available from time to time. 


flyingtaco said:


> looks like 6 layers of paint to me, maybe 7



Orange; black; aluminum(?); black; red primer; gray primer; metallic blue?


professor72 said:


> black as it looks like the original color



84 year old bike may have been stripped to bare metal in the past.
Looks like the orange and black are on the bottom bracket cups, as if they were never removed.
The original color may still be present underneath the bottom bracket cups; (many Colson bikes were red).


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## bobcycles (Apr 2, 2019)

Incredible find!

Phenomenal!


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## redline1968 (Apr 3, 2019)

I forgot about that bike.....don’t know what happened to it.. might have been stolen..


fordmike65 said:


> View attachment 974225


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## professor72 (Apr 4, 2019)

I plan on looking it over this weekend to figure out if the original paint color was indeed black. Whoever did the last job with the blue just painted over everything inside the bottom bracket and all. What color primer did colson use? I was guessing the red/orange under the black was primer.


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## Archie Sturmer (Apr 4, 2019)

Not sure if they used primer; could not discern on my own bike.
Hard to see paint layers in pictures, but the point was that Colson would not have primed and painted the bearing cups.


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