1950 J.C. Higgins Color-Flow restored...finally

[shutterbugKELLY]

Before...

After...

1950 Fall / Winter Sears catalog...

I'm really happy with how it turned out, because it was in such bad shape. The "before" photo is somewhat misleading, because it had been taken apart and repainted some years ago and a '53 tank had been added - so it didn't look too bad on first glance. Fortunately we were still able to find a couple spots with original paint, that had been protected from the elements, too match the paint. The chromers we use on a regular basis refused to do some of the parts because they were so rough; they said we wouldn't be happy with the final result, so we had to take some of the pieces to another chromer to be done.

My dad spent a lot of hours on the paint, and we spent a lot of time tracking down some odds and ends, including a 1950 J.C. Higgins Ball Hawk baseball glove that's listed in the catalog with the bike. The only thing we still have to add is a 1950 J.C. Higgins speedometer, it needs a little work before we can put it on.

For it's maiden voyage, we're hoping to ride the Color-Flow in the local 4th of July parade on Friday.

Kelly

 

[imfastareyou]

really fantastic! make me wish I'd held on to mine.

 

[Flat Tire]

Very very nice!

 

[REC]

Outrageous job!

I have never seen one of these in person, but I want to now!

Beautimus!

REC

 

[floridasfavson]

beautiful bike. how did it take to restore it?

 

[Ace356]

Kelly,

Hubba Hubba . What a beauty! Better yet. You did this incredible restoration and had your Dad be a part of it as well. Priceless!

Tim

 

[shutterbugKELLY]

Thanks everyone for the kind words!!

Tim - My dad and I always restore the bikes together. His strong points are things that I don't do, and my strong points are things he doesn't do, so it works out real well.

floridafavson - It probably took about 9 months, which isn't bad considering we were also working on another bike and several other little projects. We had it put together before Christmas, but it still took several more months to track down the correct pedals, the rack emblems, a headlight, etc.

 

[37fleetwood]

Ok, you guys really need to stop with all this fabulous bike bit. it isn't fair to the rest of us that you have so many stunning bikes when I am struggling just to keep one looking ok! well maybe I'm just a bit jealous. tell your Dad that he is not allowed to do such a super job on the next few!
Scott

 

[markivpedalpusher]

Here is a mate to your bike, a bit spendy though...Nice job!

 

[shutterbugKELLY]

Scott...I'll pass that along to my dad, he'll get a kick out of it He just finished painting a 1940s Hawthorne for a friend, and he's now painting an Elgin racer tricycle, then we're going to focus on our Fleetwood once again.

markivpedalpusher...I'm actually thinking about getting a girl's 1950 Color-Flow, which is a big step for me because I don't collect girl's bikes, but I think they're good looking. They came in green or blue that year, so I'm hoping to come across a green one for a good price.