# F 92 H Compax



## MrColumbia (May 21, 2017)

I picked up this Balloon Tire Compax Military Model at Copake this year. I figured since I was restoring the Army Columbia I might as well sneak this one in.

Missing the following if anyone has extra;
Torrington 8 Pedals, I have the wood blocks for them.
Reflector for rear fender
Spring for Kickstand

Model F-92H
Serial Number; G118300
BB Code; K2
Same month and year and just 828 bikes down from my MG Army Bike. No doubt made the same week and possibly the same day.


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## Coslett (May 21, 2017)

What condition on the torringtons are you looking for?  I do have a few sets that I would consider average.  I can dig them out and get pics if interested.


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## johan willaert (May 22, 2017)

Great bike... Was the strap bracket attached to the rear axle's right side when you bought it?


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## MrColumbia (May 22, 2017)

Coslett said:


> What condition on the torringtons are you looking for?  I do have a few sets that I would consider average.  I can dig them out and get pics if interested.




Please do. Restorable condition. I had a die made a few years ago so I can even fix bent end plates. I need two pair.


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## MrColumbia (May 22, 2017)

johan willaert said:


> Great bike... Was the strap bracket attached to the rear axle's right side when you bought it?




No, I put that on. I was wondering if anyone would notice it. 

This bike was a literal basket case. Almost every part that could come apart was in a box. The seat pan was rusted in half but the seat undercarriage was in excellent shape. The frame was heavily rusted near the rear. It was missing a lot of small parts like bearings but from working on Columbia's for years I have stashes of that stuff. The chain was rusted to a solid mass and started to disintegrate when I tried to clean it.


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## izee2 (May 28, 2017)

It looks like your bike has the heavy duty spokes and hubs on it. I didn't think that model came with them. I was under the impression that they used the standard wheel set. Does anyone have Any info to help clarify this? It would be greatly appreciated. 
Thanks
Tom


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## HUFFMANBILL (May 28, 2017)

Tom you are correct!  The wartime compax models, both the F92-H and F92-L, were fitted with standard thin spokes.  Not the .120 gauge that were fitted to the men's and women's standard wartime military contracted models.  Also,  the wartime compax would have been fitted with a New Departure rear hub/brake assembly and not a eclipse/morrow hub and brake ( from the picture provided I cannot tell the rear hub/brake maker).  The front hub/axle should be a westfield unit. I cannot be certain, but from the photo above it appears not to be the correct westfield unit and could possibly be the beefier eclipse unit. 

Regards,
Bill


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## HUFFMANBILL (May 28, 2017)

Also, just noticed that the chain adjuster screws appear to be incorrect.  The ones in the photo look to be the cylinder shape head type used on the standard G519 Columbia/Huffman models.  The wartime compax would use the somewhat triangular shaped screws.  Again, a closer photo of the adjusters would confirm which type are being used.

Regards,
Bill


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## MrColumbia (May 29, 2017)

The above comments on the spokes are all correct. This was a basket case build and was missing the rear wheel. It did come with a front wheel with wartime blackout hub and painted rim and that did have the heavy gauge spokes. Not sure what that had come off of. I had this set of wheels already made up and painted Lusterless Olive Drab so decided to try them on for size. The spoke adjusters were in the frame when I got it but have no idea if they are factory. Ive seen plenty of this style on Columbia's over the years. 

Please do not use this particular bike as an example of a F 92 H as it came from the factory. This was meant as a fun build because as already stated this was a basket case missing plenty of parts. They would not have come out of the factory in OD paint anyway but painted in gloss civilian colors and wartime blackout parts. I had extra paint from the other resto I was doing and this frame was way too rusted to look good in a gloss finish. 

For future reference so there is no confusion;
Frame, fork, handlebars, chainguard, crank and sprocket, seat carriage and post and bearing cups are all correct and probably original to this bike. Fenders and chain from other bikes. Wheels built up from original surplus army rims, new spokes and Morrow rear hub and reproduced front hub. I do have a correct wheel set that I first put on this bike but figured to try this one out for size and I like it this way so think I will keep it this way. 

For a good example of what one of these from the factory would have looked like see my site on the Compax page where I show detailed pictures of a black one I had unrestored. Unfortunatly I was was compelled to sell that one a few years ago.


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## HUFFMANBILL (May 29, 2017)

Thank you, Mr. Columbia, for the above clarification on your F92-H restoration.  Hopefully, this information will be of benefit to others that may be restoring or thinking about restoring this type of bicycle.

Regards,
Bill


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## johan willaert (May 29, 2017)

MrColumbia said:


> For a good example of what one of these from the factory would have looked like see my site on the Compax page where I show detailed pictures of a black one I had unrestored. Unfortunatly I was was compelled to sell that one a few years ago.




That is a great example and it is now in a friend's collection in Belgium where I had the pleasure of looking it over...


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## izee2 (May 29, 2017)

Thank you to everyone who replied. I had picked up one of the military compax  ballooners a few years ago that had an amateur restoration. The wheels on it were just the basic rim set for a Columbia. So when I saw mrcolumbia's bike and noticed the heavy duty wheel set I was thinking "oh poop now I have to try to find a set of those wheels". Now I can rest easier. Thanks again for the info. You guys are the best!! By the way that bike does look good with those rims on it. Gives it a tough look.


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## Sarg1969 (Jul 9, 2020)

Does anyone have an extra military grip?  My ‘44 has one original on it the other is missing.


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## johan willaert (Jul 9, 2020)

Was just going to refer you to the G503 board, but see you've already posted there...

Bergerwerke.com might have some left too...


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## Sarg1969 (Jul 9, 2020)

I saw the repos and they look good.


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