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1940 Davega Girl - Reggie Mac

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pedalpower17

Finally riding a big boys bike
It’s finally time to clean up my Davega girl and get her road ready. I plan to share the steps of the process here on the CABE, with the hopes of mining all the knowledge out there, maybe some practical tips and suggestions along the way.

This Davega story began three years ago when I wanted a prewar rider for cruising the neighborhood with the family. I had no particular make or model in mind, just waiting for something to catch my eye. Thanks to fellow Caber, Rollo, I was able to pick up a 36 Davega Reggie McNamara Roadster. Love the bike! That led to reading Colonel Albert Pope And His American Dream Machines (great book), and also discovering the basic story of the Davega department stores in New York City. I was really entertained and fascinated by both stories, Pope and Davega.

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Book.jpg

While researching the Davega company, I went to eBay and entered the name…and got lots of results for all kinds of sports equipment, including baseball gloves, ice skates, tennis rackets and golf clubs from the 30s and 40s. And there, way down at the bottom of the page of items was the Davega girl!!! The seller was the Lowry Street Pickers in Smyrna, TN, just south of Nashville. They got it from an estate sale and had had her for a long time. She was incomplete, modified and imperfect with skinny tires, but looked to be a nice survivor. I saw potential to be a great mate for my 36….as well as a cool rider for my 5’2” wife! Also, worth mentioning, I always thought that those laced skirt guards gave the prewar ladies bikes a cool uniqueness, not to mention encouraging more women to ride….and who doesn’t love to see women riding bikes! When I noticed the eyelets on the rear fender of the bike, my mind was made up. I paid $115 for the bike in the Spring of 2018 and then, the following September, made the road trip from MI to pick it up. More than a year later, it’s time to start bringing her back to life.

Davega Girl.jpg

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Davega Girl Rear.jpg

2018Sept Smyrna TN.jpg

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2018Sept.jpg

The goal is preservation of what appears to be OE on the bike and replacing non-OE components with something that is at least close. For this project, "close" will mean a component that, according to catalogs in the Westfield book and other images, could have been spec on Davega, Westfield or even Columbia-branded bikes in the late 30s or just before the war, at a similar equipment level (i.e. tank, light, truss rods, chain guard). The 39 and 41 Westfields pictured below will be guides, recognizing that my Davega probably had slightly different specs. Rust will be removed from all components.

1941 Westfield.jpg

1939 Westfield.jpg

Mr. Colombia confirmed that the chain ring, assuming it’s original, makes this a junior model.

A drop stand was installed and I’ve already picked up a few components for the project. I'm planning to patina paint the tank to match. At this point, the only missing items are the horn to fit the tank and the skirt lace loops for the rear axle.

Added Components.jpg

This will be a slow burn, unrushed effort. No pressure of a finish date goal. I'm just gonna enjoy the process, component by component.
 
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I look forward to seeing the finished product. The Reggie McNamara story is interesting to me. Six Day racing had some interesting characters but this guy was something else! V/r Shawn
Hey, Shawn. I completely agree about Reggie, and I could easily have mentioned in this post that his incredible story is also a part of my fondness and appreciation for these Davegas. After three years, I still can't choose between referring to my red one as The Colonel or as Reggie Mac. Both were giants.
 
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I like to start with the wheels, which will be disassembled, cleaned, and overhauled. For an 80 year old wheel set that has been painted over, the nipples were fairly easy to loosen up. The rims and nipples have received a coat of silver paint, which appears quite old. Any suggestions for a product to remove old paint, without doing damage to any chrome left underneath?

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Wheel 1.jpg
 
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Spokes.jpg

SPOKES & NIPPLES

On this bike, there’s lots of plating left on the inward ends, towards the hubs, where the spokes were caked with crud that protected the plating. Going out towards the rims, the level of old crud decreased and the rust increased progressively. In many areas, the rust had eaten away the plating and down to the metal.

STEP 1: disassemble wheel

STEP 2: degrease...this step was enough to remove the silver house paint on the nipples!

STEP 3: Evaporust. This is the tricky step. Too much time soaking, and any remaining, 80-year-old plating (nickel, cadmium, other?) will be removed. Too little time, and not much rust removed. After some trial and error, my sweet spot was about 5 minutes soaking, followed by a gentle rub down with the abrasives pads sold for kitchen use.

STEP 4: let dry and spray with clear RustOleum rust inhibitor (not paint)

I’ve always thought that the bicycle wheel is a marvelous invention, with incredible strength to weight ratio. Spokes, with a good bit of tension added, make it possible. I love bringing them back to life, especially uncovering and preserving any remaining shine. No doubt that the rust-loving fans of crust, and I know there’s a lot out there, don’t share this pleasure!
 
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WHEEL SET..."before" they had lots of rust, silver paint and skinny rubber! See pics above. And now...with new tires, tubes, a set of NOS New Departure discs and some old brass valve covers...as well as lots of paint stripper, Evaporust and fresh grease. Such a great feeling to bring this wheel set back to life and ready to roll for another 80 years! Joyous Holidays and Happy Trails to all!

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