# Its finally done...1938 Elgin Bluebird  ..or "Redbird" as my wife calls it....



## bikesnbuses (Nov 16, 2013)

Some of you know the story behind this bike..I was lucky enough to find this off Craigslist..Listed as; "Vintage bike. Type unknown. Cash and carry" with a night time dark outside photo..The gentleman said he pulled it out of a dumpser because he though it might be an old Harley(big bars/tank)..it had his phone # in the ad!and took me what seemed FOREVER to get out of there with the rusty old bike!!I stared at his phone ON HIS HIP,waiting for it to start ringing off the hook!!But luckily his phone never rang and I got it home with full intention of restoring it.
Ive never FULLY restored a bicycle before..Ive done LOTS of refurbishings of bikes,VW buses and restoration work on OTHER peoples Vws ,Porsches and Jaguars over the years..so technically this is my first bike restoration..2 years later..Its finally done,and wanted to thank a few people
To answer the main question..I did NOT paint this bicycle,that was done by my longtime close friend Mark "Dinkbike"(Name here on the CABE) who did a phenominal job,and made the rough original chainguard look great and saved the original bakelite blackout headlight lens!The pinstriping was mostly done by a talented local pinstriper,but unfortunately I wasnt happy with the placement of the tank "feather" stripes so I contacted DJshakes and sent him the tank and he removed the thin feather pinstripes and restriped them PERFECTLY!! Of course the awesome seat was done by Bob U.And thanks to Marty W for selling me the original chainguard (not original for THIS specific "Standard" Bluebird model,but I wanted add the "bolt on" accessory.)"TuckTuck" from the Ratrodbikes forum for selling me his garage sale find NOS Allstates!And thanks to Bricycle for buying all my junk..I mean "High quality merchadise",so I could aford to buy all the parts/labor forthe bike !
Kind of nervous about riding it but I will give it a spin tomorrow and took pictures so incase I crash it!!


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## fordsnake (Nov 16, 2013)

Very nice...excellent job!


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## dinkbike (Nov 16, 2013)

...did I ever mention how much time that chainguard took?


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## bikewhorder (Nov 16, 2013)

Pretty Sweet! Do you know if that was the original color?


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## Hubs-n-Spokes (Nov 16, 2013)

The more I see this model the more I'm starting to prefer it over the other style Bluebird. Wonderful job, looks great!!


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## bikesnbuses (Nov 16, 2013)

bikewhorder said:


> Pretty Sweet! Do you know if that was the original color?




Yes,that was the original color..Dinkbike color matched it and refered to it as "Ferrari red"  
Heres Scotts original paint deluxe 38 BB


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## Freqman1 (Nov 16, 2013)

I'm still not a fan of the '38s but you did a fine job of restoring this rare bird and should be proud of the results. I don't hesitate to ride any of my bikes. To me the enjoyment is the ride. V/r Shawn


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## Nickinator (Nov 16, 2013)

AMAZING Restoration@!  and To my knowledge a correct restoration too!

Well done!

Nick.


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## catfish (Nov 16, 2013)

Very nice job!


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## bikewhorder (Nov 16, 2013)

bikesnbuses said:


> Yes,that was the original color..Dinkbike color matched it and refered to it as "Ferrari red"
> Heres Scotts original paint deluxe 38 BB




Oh my God! What sort of a time capsule did that come from?


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## dinkbike (Nov 16, 2013)

bikewhorder said:


> Pretty Sweet! Do you know if that was the original color?




I found some nice original paint under the chrome speedo ring on the tank and matched it before stripping everything. I think it ended up being a tweaked version of "ruby red" single stage ppg concept urethane.

(sorry for posting the pic twice-- I'm better at painting bikes then figuring out how computers work..)


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## MaxGlide (Nov 16, 2013)

Stunning…… Nice job….


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## mike j (Nov 16, 2013)

Beautiful bike, great job, looks very meticulously done throughout.


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## catfish (Nov 16, 2013)

dinkbike said:


> I found some nice original paint under the chrome speedo ring on the tank and matched it before stripping everything. I think it ended up being a tweaked version of "ruby red" single stage ppg concept urethane.
> 
> (sorry for posting the pic twice-- I'm better at painting bikes then figuring out how computers work..)




So are you up for doing more bikes? Have you done any others? Prices?


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## Tin machine (Nov 16, 2013)

*awesome job !!!!!*

awesome job !!! you have something to really be proud of  , wow !!!


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## dinkbike (Nov 16, 2013)

catfish said:


> So are you up for doing more bikes? Have you done any others? Prices?




emailed you directly...


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## catfish (Nov 16, 2013)

dinkbike said:


> emailed you directly...




Cool. Thanks!


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## carlitos60 (Nov 16, 2013)

*Sooooo Clean!!!!*

Looks Sooooo Clean!!!! I don't Think You Will Ever Ride It! ha,ha,,,,
Nice Resto $$$$$.00

"I Prefer the Rat Look for a Rider!!!!"

Good Luck!


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## bricycle (Nov 16, 2013)

She be awesome!!!!


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## OldRider (Nov 16, 2013)

Great job! I'm thinking I like the red colour better on a BB then the blue.


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## THEGOLDENGREEK (Nov 17, 2013)

Great job....she looks nicely done!!


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## Oldnut (Nov 18, 2013)

*What a find*

Beautiful restoration what a great find and bike,lately I really like these high line bikes with b/w tires.maybe it's me----


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## dfa242 (Nov 18, 2013)

It looks fantastic Jeff - good for you.


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## poolboy1 (Nov 18, 2013)

Very nice.


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## kingfish254 (Nov 19, 2013)

Great work! That's a beautiful bike.


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## oldfart36 (Nov 20, 2013)

Wonderful bike. I don't usually care for restored bikes, but this one deserves a center stage spot. Nice work.


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## Larmo63 (Nov 20, 2013)

Bitchen bike.......congratulations.....!


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## Nickinator (Nov 20, 2013)

Here is a picture you might like, never know could be yours


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## catfish (Nov 21, 2013)

Nickinator said:


> Here is a picture you might like, never know could be yours




Very cool photo!


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## DonChristie (Nov 21, 2013)

WOW! What I find amazing is in WWII we lost a bunch of classic bikes due to recycling metal! Nowadays we look back and weep at the loss. This beauty was almost lost in present day just because! You have truly reconnected history with this Bird! So nice! Ride that bird!!


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## bikesnbuses (Nov 21, 2013)

Thanks for all the compliments guys,I appreciate them!The picture Nickinator put up is the only one Ive seen so far (other than mine)with a "factory"headlight on the front fender..Id love to see the sears catalog bicycle page for the 1938 Fall/winter Sears catalog?Just to see the "options" 
The wierd thing about this bike is its SO light! Compared to my Monark Holiday or my Hawthorne All-American,etc :eek:..Im talking at LEAST 10-15 lbs! I rode it up and down my driveway  but I do plan on riding it though this coming weekend  Thanks again guys!Now on to the next bike!Problem is....which one!?


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## Nickinator (Nov 21, 2013)

bikesnbuses said:


> The picture Nickinator put up is the only one Ive seen so far (other than mine)with a "factory"headlight on the front fender




Here is another


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## bikesnbuses (Nov 21, 2013)

oops..yup,I have that pic saved on the upstairs computer..I forgot about it!Thanks Nickinator!


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## Crazybikelady (Nov 21, 2013)

Wow! Amazing How beautiful it came out!! A+


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## bushb2004 (Nov 28, 2013)

bikesnbuses said:


> Some of you know the story behind this bike..I was lucky enough to find this off Craigslist..Listed as; "Vintage bike. Type unknown. Cash and carry" with a night time dark outside photo..The gentleman said he pulled it out of a dumpser because he though it might be an old Harley(big bars/tank)..it had his phone # in the ad!and took me what seemed FOREVER to get out of there with the rusty old bike!!I stared at his phone ON HIS HIP,waiting for it to start ringing off the hook!!But luckily his phone never rang and I got it home with full intention of restoring it.
> Ive never FULLY restored a bicycle before..Ive done LOTS of refurbishings of bikes,VW buses and restoration work on OTHER peoples Vws ,Porsches and Jaguars over the years..so technically this is my first bike restoration..2 years later..Its finally done,and wanted to thank a few people
> To answer the main question..I did NOT paint this bicycle,that was done by my longtime close friend Mark "Dinkbike"(Name here on the CABE) who did a phenominal job,and made the rough original chainguard look great and saved the original bakelite blackout headlight lens!The pinstriping was mostly done by a talented local pinstriper,but unfortunately I wasnt happy with the placement of the tank "feather" stripes so I contacted DJshakes and sent him the tank and he removed the thin feather pinstripes and restriped them PERFECTLY!! Of course the awesome seat was done by Bob U.And thanks to Marty W for selling me the original chainguard (not original for THIS specific "Standard" Bluebird model,but I wanted add the "bolt on" accessory.)"TuckTuck" from the Ratrodbikes forum for selling me his garage sale find NOS Allstates!And thanks to Bricycle for buying all my junk..I mean "High quality merchadise",so I could aford to buy all the parts/labor forthe bike !
> Kind of nervous about riding it but I will give it a spin tomorrow and took pictures so incase I crash it!!




Fantastic Job on true classic


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## redline1968 (Nov 28, 2013)

Here some catalog info might be helpful


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## bikesnbuses (Nov 28, 2013)

redline1968 said:


> Here some catalog info might be helpful




Thanks for the positive comments guy!! And thank you Redline1968  I have those ads in the Elgin/Hawthorne book..I believe I need the 1938 fall/winter catalog pages


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