# Hawthorne Girls Aluminum Bike - Help!



## RandyCz (Mar 7, 2011)

*Hello! *
I am new here and I need some help and guidance. I want to surprise my mother and restore her bike she had when she was a young girl. She is now 83. I am not sure of the year - my mother said some time ago that it was a 1926. My guess would be 1936, but I don't want to second guess my mom!

Here is the information I could get from inspecting the bike:

*Hawthorne Ladies Aluminum Bicycle*

*Serial number* (bottom of frame 
13569

*Badge:*
Des. Pats. 99586-99873
99889
99890
WARDS
*H*
Hawthorne
U.S. Pat. 1,998,994
Canada Pat.
357165

*Seat:*
B-800
Mesinger
Pat. May 18, 1926

*Rear Hub:*
New Departure
Model D
Made is USA

*Brake Arm:*
New Departure
Brake

*Tires:*
24 x 2.125


Here are some pictures of the bike:


































I have numerous questions and I am sure I will have more.

What year is it?

What parts are not original?

The rims do not match and I am missing the chain guard. I am missing a couple of spokes and the others look like they need to be replaced. The tires (24x2.125) are shot. Any suggestions where I can get these parts and others I need to replace?

How do you get the handle bar post out of the frame? I removed the long bolt and loosened the nut on the frame post, but it is stuck. (Please excuse my ignorance on the terms used as this is new to me.)

Are there any pictures of a similar bike so I could get an idea of what an original looks like?

What parts were painted or chrome? How were the rims finished? It appears the frame and handle bars were polished aluminum.

Sorry for such a long post, but I thought I should give as much information as possible. I have already found this forum to be informative, especially the restoration tips section. 
Thanks for your help!
Randy


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## Talewinds (Mar 7, 2011)

By the looks of things the wheels are supposed to be 26"????

I think it's a great idea to restore you mom's old bike, ESPECIALLY that bike, those things are awesome!

I'm currently restoring my neighbor's mom's 1939 Elgin and it's been so much fun. http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?11573-Info-About-Prewar-Elgin-1939&highlight=

If you can get any photos of your mom with the bike as a kid that would make the story that much better!


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## Rear Facing Drop Out (Mar 7, 2011)

Nope 24" wheels for sure.
You bike is also known as a Silver King which is mostly used by monark which sold the same bike.
It was surposed to have a headlight either a Delta Silver Ray or a Delta Headlight/Hornlight. Along with the light it would have had a battery tube. OK, aloittle homework for you... Can you see any scratches from a bettery tube? how about where a chainguard would have been clamped to the frame? And if the handle bars are the correct aluminum ones does it have scratches from a horn button? 
It should have had a drop stand that would have swung back to the bottom of the rear fender when not in use. 
Lastley for the neck, thread the long bolt back in and give the top of it a good hard smack which should drive the "wedge" out of the neck and allowing the neck to come out...hopefully!


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## old hotrod (Mar 7, 2011)

Bike is listed as a 37 in the "Hawthorne Book" and may well have been sold late 36...seat is incorrect, I have a nice set of original rims with near NOS Carlisle tires...PM me if you are interested. Here are a couple of copies of the original ads from the book 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/david-quickpic/5507864721/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/david-quickpic/5507864817/in/photostream/


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## RandyCz (Mar 8, 2011)

Thank you for the information and the pictures of the pages!  PM sent.


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## RandyCz (Mar 8, 2011)

*Additional Info - Hawthorne Aluminum Bike*

Thanks for the responses!

Rear Facing Drop Out - I completed my homework assignment last night.

Scratches from the battery tube: Looks like there might have been a bracket there at one time, but it is very faint. Here is a picture of the tube:





Even though the marks for the battery tube brackets are difficult to see, it looks like the front fender had the light with a battery tube. In the picture below there is a hole near the frame where the cable/wire would have gone in. Next there is a rivet which holds a small bracket under the fender to support or hold a cable. Then there is another hole where the light was probably mounted and the wire came up. See the picture below:




On the handle bars, it looks like a horn button bracket was mounted on the right side per the pictures below:









Looking at the frame it is difficult to see where or if a chain guard was attached. Where the back of a chain guard might have attached to the frame there are some marks. I did not notice any others. See this picture for the area:



I do have the kickstand and the clip to hold it. What was the finish of the kick stand? Here are pictures of the stand and clip:







Hope this info helps.

Your suggestion on freeing up the handle bar stem worked great.

I would appreciate any suggestions on where I can get parts and any other advice you can give me on this restoration.

Thanks!


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## Larmo63 (Mar 9, 2011)

DO NOT THROW ANYTHING AWAY!!!! You are smart to do your homework first on this project.


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## 20inchbikes (Jul 14, 2011)

Does anyone have an approximate value of one of these bikes?

Thanks


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## Mira (Jun 30, 2017)

Hello


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## Mira (Jun 30, 2017)

Hi wondering if anyone knew the year or the value of this bike? If the parts are original?


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## THE STIG (Jun 30, 2017)

85¢ shpd


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## kwoodyh (Jul 1, 2017)

Might do some comparison of it on sites that sell bikes? Anything aluminum alloy from the early years has a value, girls bikes will normally bring less, if you're not into riding it and want to flip it I'd do the research and evaluate the condition and price using your best judgment. I don't ever really worry about a collector value and just fix and ride what I like. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Glenn Rhein (Jul 1, 2017)

Missing some expensive parts


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