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1949 Shapleigh's Special (or so I'm told)

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Ambiker

On Training Wheels
Hello fellow bike enthusiast. New member here. I know there's been a few post on Shapleigh's bicycles but I did not want to tag on the end. Just purchased this Shapleigh's Special bike and many thanks to prior posters who educated me on this cycle before I bought. The seller said it was a 1949 and proved it with the label on the rear rim spokes. That's cool but it is not proof. The serial number on the left rear drop out is RG656225 and from that I am guessing more around the 1960's. Anyway, it is a neat bike and after greasing all the bearings and chain it rides as good as any beach cruiser. I am going to leave it as is showing off the originality and patina, aka rust.
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BTW, I have the original seat but is in desperate need of recovering.
 
You can get your og seat recovered or purchase the correct replacement if you want.
 
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hello walt,

thanks very much for sharing this find with the forum

appears original colour was red with white trim

if you were to do an evaporust or citric acid bath a surprising amount of the original colour would reappear

outstanding that there is no damage or non-original fittings... 😉


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hello walt,

thanks very much for sharing this find with the forum

appears original colour was red with white trim

if you were to do an evaporust or citric acid bath a surprising amount of the original colour would reappear

outstanding that there is no damage or non-original fittings... 😉


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I did coat the entire bike including rims with boiled linseed oil/mineral spirits. I too was surprised that there were no dents on the frame and minimal on the fenders that I could gently hammer out.
 
Hi @Ambiker

The actual s/n is R656225.

This was probably built late September 1952.

R659514 is recorded in Westfield documents as being made 3rd October 1952, and Westfield were building about 17,000 frames a month at that point.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
Beautiful bike! 😍 Simply gorgeous....

Milton? I'm a little familiar having lived in Navarre while stationed at Hurlburt Field.

Great bike!👍👍
 
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