1940's wartime or post war Raleigh Sport

[pacecar]

picked this bike up along with a 71 huffy 3 speed a couple weeks ago

Other than taking some of the dirt and grime off I haven't done much

The things I know

black SA AW 3 speed no date hub
Dunlop rear wheel 26 inch 40 spoke
p lyotard front wheel 26 inch french
Hunte Wilde grips
brampton 3 speed switch
black heron chainring
Dunelt leather saddle
raleigh cottered crank
front and rear miller light with generator
serial num 603(maybe 8)65 AH

I was trying to determine value before I decide what to do with it. The tires are pretty rotten and hard, don't think I can get them off without cutting them. The paint is chipped and some light rust is showing, but I think after a bath and a nice wax job a lot of the original black enamel sheen could be restored. Fenders are banged up and well worn but not really rusty. It a well used survivor. I'm just curious if this is a bike I leave as it is hung in the garage, by some new hubs and build some wheels or fix the old ones, clean and wax or leave it be, replace cables and wires or leave it alone? IF its worth less than 500 bux maybe it doesn't matter to much, but if its more than that i don't want to wreck anything that's there. Lemme know your thoughts

also still trying to hammer down the date, I think its 1948 but I don't know if its a wartime bike or post war bike with wartime parts

anyway, here are the pics

 

[bricycle]

A "blacked-out" hub? WW2?

 

[pacecar]

yeah , its in the last pic

that's what I had read anyway, sometime about 39? some stumey archer hubs were black and also were not dated

black spokes on the wheel as well

edit: bear in my mind I don't pretend to be inherently knowledgeable about bikes or wartime bikes whatsoever, Im only trying to relay and reaffirm what I have found and hopefully find some Raleigh gurus out there to help

 

[gbalke]

First off, nice Raleigh pacecar, one I'd love to add to my collection.

I'm posting several links that may or may not help you in determining the date of this Raleigh. The first is a site by the late Sheldon Brown that lists several serial number formats used by Raleigh. The sad part is, they used several formats and sometimes they don't seem to follow any logic. Of special interest to you would be that Raleigh actually implemented the cessation of cycle production during the Second World War. After the war, starting in 1947, Raleigh began adding letters after the series of numbers, which seems to follow what you have on your bike. Here's that link:http://sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/dating.html

The second is one I used several times to help ID Raleighs in my collection; The Headbadge. This is a very useful sight that not only provides serial number charts, but a year to year illustrated guide to the decals used on various Raleigh models. From this site, it would appear that your serial number falls into what is called Convention #2; 4-5 digits followed by 2 letters, that was used from 1948 thru 1955. The accompanying chart lists the letters AJ thru AP being used in 1948. Your serial number, having the letters AH, might suggest that your Raleigh was made prior to 1948, perhaps 1947. Unfortunately, the data found on this site provides no information prior to 1947 and even shows a different numbering convention that was used. That site can be found here: http://www.theheadbadge.com/

The last link is to the Sturmey Archer Heritage site. Here you can find more information than you will ever use on their IGH hubs and other products. This particular link; http://www.sturmey-archerheritage.com/index.php?page=history-detail&id=744, shows a S/A ad dated 1943 that states they had stopped production until after the war. So from 1943 to 1945, S/A made no hubs. This will help in dating the bike somewhat, thru the process of elimination. The main S/A site is here: http://www.sturmey-archerheritage.com/

Based on the information I found on those three sites, I might conclude that your Raleigh was manufactured around 1947 and quite possibly was built up from parts that may have been in stock prior to that date. This could explain the black painted S/A hub and also the Raleigh chain ring.

Also, I believe that the head light bracket, the grips and the chain guard, are not original to this bike. The Brampton shift lever was most likely a replacement in the early 50's. If this was in my collection, I would not do anything to distract from its originality. Remove the chain guard, install a correct light bracket, get some proper grips and replace the Brampton with the correct S/A shift lever and wipe it down with a light oil to protect the paint. New tire and tubes will not be a bad thing. Basically, preserve the Raleigh as it was originally built.

Hope this helps and I would love to see what else you can find out about this collectable Raleigh Sport.

Gary

 

[Gary Mc]

What a great survivor!!!!!

I'd clean it up, service everything, install new tires, and ride the heck out of it. That bike should be a great rider. Would not change a thing. If I were going to sell it, I'd just determine a value & sell as is. Let the next owner make the decisions.