# Craigslist Find---1957 Murray Super Deluxe Fleetline



## silvertonguedevil

After having to sell my '57 Western Flyer X53 recently, I've been so bummed that I even contemplated getting out of the hobby all together. I finally decided to brush the dust off and start looking for another bike instead. I ran across an ad on craigslist where a guy was selling several "old cruisers". His ad said to text for pictures which I did. He sent me a picture of this '57 Murray Super Deluxe Fleetline. I had never seen one of these before. I of course did some searching and saw a small handful of them on this website and on the web. I took off after work last night and drove the 500-mile roundtrip to bring it home. I got home a little after 1 am last night but enjoyed every minute of it. I am absolutely, head-over-heels in love with this bike. What a perfect bike to replace the X53 given their close relationship. Anyways, I got what I felt is a pretty good deal for a clean, original and 99% complete bike. The only thing that it's missing is the top to the headlight. Plans call for a deep scrub, some chrome and paint polishing and of course, some greasing and adjusting. Then, ride the wheels off of her with a 10-foot grin. I will be hanging on to this one!! I'll post pictures as I go along to show my progress.


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## silvertonguedevil

So the wife was kind enough to let me bring my "work" into the living room so I could watch the games while working on my bike. 

I started with the seat. The front spring is broken so if anyone has an extra one, please let me know. I disassembled the seat and scrubbed everything down with hot soapy water. The sink was BLACK when I was done.


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## silvertonguedevil

I reassembled the seat as far as I could (without having the front spring) and I started working on the front rim. I took steel wool to all of the spokes, the rim and the hub. I found that one of the spokes was laced incorrectly so I corrected that. I will finish cleaning it, reassemble it and then I'll post some before and after pics. Stay tuned...


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## militarymonark

i might have one for ya, ill take a look here in the next day or so


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## jpromo

Now _that's_ a different one! Sweet, unique find.


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## GiovanniLiCalsi

Sno-Seal leather finish works wonders on bicycle seats.


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## silvertonguedevil

militarymonark said:


> i might have one for ya, ill take a look here in the next day or so



That'd be awesome! Thank you!!


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## silvertonguedevil

GiovanniLiCalsi said:


> Sno-Seal leather finish works wonders on bicycle seats.



I'll check that out. Thanks for the tip!


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## Mojo80

Is there a bike light bandit looming?
About a week ago i picked up a '56(?) all there except for the top of the light.
Great bike, an easy favorite in my little stash. Any and all tips on "cleanup" is much appreciated , as I 've never had a bike this nice in this original condition to clean. I've heard you can do more harm than good.
Anyways, that's an awesome bike and nice pics. 
(we're almost neighbors, I'm 30 miles SE of Fresno) 
Sorry about the qualty :


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## silvertonguedevil

I think this is about to get a little uncomfortable......

I'm pretty sure that this is the bike that is in those pictures you just posted. I'm a little confused though. I'm sure this HAS to be the same bike. I bought this one last night from a guy in Porterville. Are we talking about the same guy/bike?


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## bike

*hope you of you got it*

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Murray-...eweled-Fender-Headlight-Top-Cap-/190780677207


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## Mojo80

Are you serious? 19  year old kid.
He is supposedly holding it as a favor since i bought abunch of other stuff until February first. He just txt me 2 days ago to reassure me we were still good to go.
You bought my bike!
Have to add this to my grieving list.... I dont know what to say except ?!$@!
I'm so pissed and what a way to find out!



silvertonguedevil said:


> I think this is about to get a little uncomfortable......
> 
> I'm pretty sure that this is the bike that is in those pictures you just posted. I'm a little confused though. I'm sure this HAS to be the same bike. I bought this one last night from a guy in Porterville. Are we talking about the same guy/bike?


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## Mojo80

Are you serious? 19  year old kid.
He is supposedly holding it as a favor since i bought abunch of other stuff until February first. He just txt me 2 days ago to reassure me we were still good to go.
You bought my bike!
Have to add this to my grieving list.... I dont know what to say except ?!$@!
I'm so pissed and what a way to find out!
Guess i should rephrase picked up to thought i was picking up!



silvertonguedevil said:


> I think this is about to get a little uncomfortable......
> 
> I'm pretty sure that this is the bike that is in those pictures you just posted. I'm a little confused though. I'm sure this HAS to be the same bike. I bought this one last night from a guy in Porterville. Are we talking about the same guy/bike?


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## silvertonguedevil

I sent you a pm. I had no idea. I feel horrible. He never mentioned that he had promised it to anyone.


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## Mojo80

I called and txt him, no response. What a jerk!  
I'm seriously shocked. 
Nice score, i know first hand.
Never mind the restoration tips


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## silvertonguedevil

bike said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Murray-...eweled-Fender-Headlight-Top-Cap-/190780677207



The good thing is, I don't need an NOS one. The bad news is, it's going to be almost as hard to find. If you run across another one, let me know.


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## jd56

*wow...promised sales to numerous buyers...that's just not right!!*

I know this may not be the place to say this but....here goes.

What in the world is wrong with some people. First let me say that the deal is never done till it's in your hands....sorry to hear about the blown deal MoJo80. But, in the same breath, nice score Greg.

I have issues with sellers and their inability of proper disclosure of the condition of bikes or parts and I have posted this numerous times here. 
But, to promise a bike to a potental buyer then sell it to another, is just not right.
Unfortunately we as buyers hope that sellers honor their agreements. 
Greg, you had no idea that it was promised to another. 
And MoJo80 should be disappointed and angry but, this is how it is, unfortunately too often.

I know it's all about the sale and all and getting the cash in your hand asap but, this guy should have honored the potental pending sale and said so in the second offer from another.

Just saying. 

MoJo, there will be another potental bike sale, that will get you just as excited, trust me.

JD


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## widpanic02

*Pickers will tell you anything!*

I have had similar things happen before but it's usually the pickers who screw it up most of the time not the collectors. That sucks I ran across my 56 fleetline super deluxe fleetline at a flea market in greer sc and snagged it. Mine was set outside for years but is totally complete except for a the light . I might add that I have read that this particular light top is prone to falling off the super rocket ray so be careful when you get one. I ran across a gentleman on the cabe who has been nice enough to sell me his girls bike that has the same murray light . Eventually you will find one but they are extremely rare and when you do find one your usually looking at 200 for just the top . Cool bike original .mine is on the way to the powder coat shop soon.


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## widpanic02

*Last thing*

Some people might differ but in my eyes fleetline blossom x53 out  of the water on cool factor. The  rack is rad.


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## silvertonguedevil

widpanic02 said:


> I have had similar things happen before but it's usually the pickers who screw it up most of the time not the collectors. That sucks I ran across my 56 fleetline super deluxe fleetline at a flea market in greer sc and snagged it. Mine was set outside for years but is totally complete except for a the light . I might add that I have read that this particular light top is prone to falling off the super rocket ray so be careful when you get one. I ran across a gentleman on the cabe who has been nice enough to sell me his girls bike that has the same murray light . Eventually you will find one but they are extremely rare and when you do find one your usually looking at 200 for just the top . Cool bike original .mine is on the way to the powder coat shop soon.



That's about what I figured on the going rate of one of those. I'll find one eventually. I'll just have to figure out how to properly secure it to the base. I would scream like an 8-year-old girl if that thing fell off while I was riding!!

Do you have a build thread on yours?


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## silvertonguedevil

widpanic02 said:


> Some people might differ but in my eyes fleetline blossom x53 out  of the water on cool factor. The  rack is rad.



The X53 still has a great hold on my heart and I will definitely have another one but, I must say, this (to me anyways) is one bad-ss looking bike. It's beautiful!!


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## silvertonguedevil

I had a day off today so after I got all of my errands done, I spent some time blowing this baby apart. You don't see the rims in the picture because I took them to my LBS to have them trued.


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## 1973rx3

What brand hubs are on yours? (front and rear)


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## PCHiggin

*Nice Find....*

You rarely see one that old unmolested,good for you.


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## silvertonguedevil

1973rx3 said:


> What brand hubs are on yours? (front and rear)



Musselman in the rear. I can't make out any writing on the front but there's a horseshoe looking thing on it. It's the identical set up that my X53 had except for this one being a skip tooth.


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## silvertonguedevil

PCHiggin said:


> You rarely see one that old unmolested,good for you.



I feel very fortunate. Thank you!


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## 1973rx3

Cool although mine is a x53 my rear hub is a musselman and front one is a Union.  I guess the horseshoe shape is the U for Union.  Thank you I was trying to make sure I had the correct hubs.


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## silvertonguedevil

Spent some time today working on the bike. I got the frame and forks all rubbed down. Bearings cleaned and regreased. Forks reinstalled. 

The first couple of pics are "before" I started cleaning and I included one pic comparing the newly cleaned up frame to the crusty/dirty forks. I was also impressed with my cleaning of the crank bearing cups.


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## silvertonguedevil

Some more pics...


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## Turnerr

Greg,
This is Rob, the guy who bought your X53. First off, thanks for selling me your bike, i absolutely love it and i am taking good care of it. Secondly, nice find in that bike you found. Please let me know if you ever come across another or if someday you wish to sell yours

Take care


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## silvertonguedevil

I can tell you that I want my X53 back! Lol!


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## silvertonguedevil

So today I cleaned up and polished the chainguard and the rear rack. I also have all of the chrome bits from my front springer assembly soaking in Oxalic Acid. I got both of my fenders all cleaned up and de-rustified with the aluminum foil trick. That works pretty darn good!

Here's my polished front fender next to my yet-to-be-done rear fender. Quite the difference!






And here's my springer assy all broken down and ready to go in the tank





Next I'll finish up the rims and hopefully move on to some more assembly. I can't wait for my first ride!!


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## silvertonguedevil

I pulled my chrome springer pieces out of the oxalic acid bath last night and then scrubbed everything down with warm soapy water. Tonight I put it all back together. 

Here's a before-and-after of my springer assembly after the bath in oxalic acid
Before:  

   After:  



And a few more pics


 



On the front hub, I was able to just clean it with a combination of brake cleaner, a toothbrush and steel wool
A before-and-after of the front hub


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## silvertonguedevil

I got some more work done today. I located a headlight for it which I mounted...




I got the crankset installed...




And I got the rear fender and rear bars installed...


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## Nickinator

Looking good!


silvertonguedevil said:


> I got some more work done today. I located a headlight for it which I mounted...
> View attachment 82232
> 
> I got the crankset installed...
> View attachment 82233
> 
> And I got the rear fender and rear bars installed...
> View attachment 82234


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## silvertonguedevil

Thanks Nick!


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## spoker

*bike*

ihave 2 bikes with the biscuit lite,boyh tops are missing,im going with a differant lite as the correct ones are overpriced


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## silvertonguedevil

Well, it's all done. Went for my first spin this afternoon and it was better than.....well, I'll keep this G-rated.


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## Tin machine

*awesome score*

great find , good to see someone find something unique like this bike , very nice !!! happy for you member


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## silvertonguedevil

Thanks buddy! I appreciate it!


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## Larmo63

Great job on your restoration....! Properly done and tasteful.

I think it's cooler than an X-35 because of the rareness factor.


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## silvertonguedevil

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!!


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## THEGOLDENGREEK

silvertonguedevil said:


> Well, it's all done. Went for my first spin this afternoon and it was better than.....well, I'll keep this G-rated.
> 
> View attachment 82315 View attachment 82316 View attachment 82317 View attachment 82318 View attachment 82319




Woow Great job Greg....Just goes to show you what a little time and cleaning can bring back alot of shine and beauty again. I cant wait to see my old roadmaster luxury liner i sold you will look like when you finish that as well.


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