Columbia Conundrum

[soddruntlestuntle]

Now that the novelty of my '37 Hawthorne has worn off, my restless heart is already looking for a new balloon tire bike to obsess over. Of course there's very little available here locally, and even less in my meagre price range, but I think I've managed to narrow it down to a pair of pre-war Columbias; the first bike is listed as a '41 Superb (pretty sure it's not a '41), with a cheese grater chain guard and rain gutter fenders, though the frame has inexplicably been painted black:

It's also missing many parts, as you can see. But I love those fenders and that chain guard, hmmmmm.

The second bike is being sold as a '41 Westfield (yeah, these pictures suck, I know

Sadly the tank doesn't come with the bike (and luckily that awful rack and box don't either) but it's otherwise complete. And I know that @tanksalot has a tank AND rack for sale that would match this bike perfectly, though their collective costs are almost equal to the price of the whole bike...

So I'm torn as to which direction to take; I don't know much about the Columbia brand, though I believe the black bike, if it is in fact a Superb, would be a higher-end bike than the blue Westfield. One would require parts just to make ridable, while the other is ready to go right out of the box. I love original paint bikes, but those fenders and that chain guard... which would you all choose?

 

[tryder]

The blue bike!
The black bike is not a "Columbia".
It's a "Westfield".
It should have peaked fenders.

 

[soddruntlestuntle]

The blue bike!
The black bike is not a "Columbia".
It's a "Westfield".
It should have peaked fenders.

Please educate me-- what makes the black bike a Westfield?

 

[catfish]

The blue bike!
The black bike is not a "Columbia".
It's a "Westfield".
It should have peaked fenders.

The Black bike is a Columbia. The fenders are correct.

 

[soddruntlestuntle]

The Black bike is a Columbia. The fenders are correct.

What year do you suppose? 36?

 

[catfish]

What year do you suppose? 36?

1941 ish. Check the serial number.

 

[soddruntlestuntle]

1941 ish. Check the serial number.

According to the seller it's apparently been painted over.

 

[tryder]

My 1941 complete original paint Columbia has pinched seat stays and boxed fenders.
My 1941 compete original paint Viking badged Westfield has regular seat stays and peaked fenders.
The seat stays on the black bike do not appear to be pinched in the photo.
Perhaps I am missing something.
What are the serial numbers under the bottom bracket?
There should be two sets.
We have a resident expert that will be more than happy to help you figure out the year of the frame.

 

[soddruntlestuntle]

According to the seller the serial number has been painted over.

 

[soddruntlestuntle]

My 1941 complete original paint Columbia has pinched seat stays and boxed fenders.
My 1941 compete original paint Viking badged Westfield has regular seat stays and peaked fenders.
The seat stays on the black bike do not appear to be pinched in the photo.
Perhaps I am missing something.
What are the serial numbers under the bottom bracket?
There should be two sets.
We have a resident expert that will be more than happy to help you figure out the year of the frame.

Does this picture help?