1941 Monark Deluxe headlight help

[MrMonark13]

I recently got this beautiful 1941 Monark Deluxe and I ran into an issue with the headlight. It does not fit at all. It doesn’t line up with the holes in the fender and the battery tray does not line up with the holes either. Any input is much appreciated as I have very little experience with these prewar steel bikes.

 

[Nashman]

I recently got this beautiful 1941 Monark Deluxe and I ran into an issue with the headlight. It does not fit at all. It doesn’t line up with the holes in the fender and the battery tray does not line up with the holes either. Any input is much appreciated as I have very little experience with these prewar steel bikes.
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Looks like a Shelby or Rollfast light to me, IMHO. Here is a Monark Light

 

[MrMonark13]

Looks like a Shelby or Rollfast light to me, IMHO. Here is a Monark Light

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Thank you for your reply! I’m fairly certain that headlight design wasn’t around until later in the postwar years (I believe it came out in 1950). I do agree that the light I have looks maybe Shelby or Rollfast.

 

[Krakatoa]

Here's a couple picture sets to compare...

 

[Nashman]

Here's a couple picture sets to compare...

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I guess the early Monarks, lesser models ( than Super Deluxe?) had these style? My examples ( Firestone still have/sold my Super Deluxe) had pedestal style and train light ( pic above). My Rolly had this chrome steel ( not cast like the Monark Train style) type and I see Shelby's with them? The more I learn, the less I know. Obviously your bike doesn't take the chrome style unit. My vote is the cast train style.

 

[dogdart]

The light looks correct, how about pictures of the battery tray

 

[Nashman]

I recently got this beautiful 1941 Monark Deluxe and I ran into an issue with the headlight. It does not fit at all. It doesn’t line up with the holes in the fender and the battery tray does not line up with the holes either. Any input is much appreciated as I have very little experience with these prewar steel bikes.
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I guess the early Monarks, lesser models ( than Super Deluxe?) had these style? My examples ( Firestone still have/sold my Super Deluxe) had pedestal style and train light ( pic above). My Rolly had this chrome steel ( not cast like the Monark Train style) type and I see Shelby's with them? The more I learn, the less I know. Obviously your bike doesn't take the chrome style unit. My vote is the cast train style.

 

[MrMonark13]

Once again, @Krakatoa is my savior when it comes to these bikes! Those examples have much less of a point at the front and are overall more shaped like the wear on my bike. I’m not certain if the deluxe came with a painted or chrome light, so I’ll have to look for an example. If anyone has one in good shape with the battery tray and lense, please dm me with a price!

@Nashman, I appreciate your response! Here’s a pic of the cast light for comparison- much longer and not the same tray design.

Thanks to all for helping me figure this out, I appreciate it!!

 

[mrg]

Similar Snyder version does not have a battery well in the fender.

 

[NBHAA]

I recently got this beautiful 1941 Monark Deluxe and I ran into an issue with the headlight. It does not fit at all. It doesn’t line up with the holes in the fender and the battery tray does not line up with the holes either. Any input is much appreciated as I have very little experience with these prewar steel bikes.
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Hello...

The reason the headlight you are attempting to use won't fit is because it is NOT a Monark headlight. The headlight you have was only on Rollfast and Shelby (postwar). The Rollfast and Shelby headlights were taller and had a self-contained battery tray. The proper 1941 Monark headlight was wider and much more shallow. The Monark headlight had the battery tray recessed into a dimple in the front fender. A whole different animal– despite similar looks.

The Shelby headlights had an injection-molded thick, sculpted lens with fresnelling. The Rollfast and Monark lenses were thin pressed acrylic

So of course, the Monark headlight mountings cannot be fitted to the Rollfast/Shelby units. AND the postwar cast Monark train light is even more different still. No way interchangeable. You will need to keep looking for the right part.. And yes, the proper headlight would be in a chrome finish.

At one point, D.P. Harris/Rollfast had intended to use the same headlight and fender arrangement as on the prewar Monark fenderlight. But for reasons we shall eventually explain, DPH got Delta Electric to make a similar, yet different design.

See photos below for comparison of prewar Monark fenderlight and postwar Rollfast (and Shelby) fenderlight.

The only DPH use of the Monark-type headlight was on the mid-1940s Rollfast aluminum prototype proposal... which is owned by National Bicycle History Archive of America. We show it here with pieces loosely fitted ...and a Rollfast headlight which is clearly too tall sand awkward-looking. The original had a smooth tank that covered the cast crossmembers revealed here, so they were not originally visible.

Since we took this photo many years ago we have attached the proper headlight and other pieces not shown here. It is currently undergoing a full restoration. Like our Roadmaster aluminum Skylark prototype that sat in CWC/AMF headquarters lobby for many years, this Rollfast sat in H.P. Snyder's headquarters lobby for many years..

Leon Dixon
National Bicycle History Archive of America
(NBHAA.com)