Picked this one up for my wife a few years back. Probably just put some new tires and tubes on it and ride, and a little TLC. The chrome cleaned up pretty good...needs a little more polishing. Some of the plastic peices need refinishing. Need a few parts but it's mostly there.
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64-65 Girls Spaceliner
- Thread starter TexasDart
- Start date
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jpromo
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Always a fine bicycle to look at! Looks to match the condition of my fine lady. These frames were actually clearcoated from the factory, so if you're having trouble polishing a certain area, it may be retaining that clearcoat. Though, if your clear is all still good, just leave it.. if you scrape one section off, it looks terrible, so you've got to take it off the whole frame, which is a PITA. Once it's all gone though, it can really shine!
jd56
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Looks complete to me
Texas....the bike looks complete to me unless it's the battery tray and lens your referring to on the needed parts.
If so there is a guy here on the cabe that makes a repop lens....but, if you need the battery tray....get in line, as they just aren't out there.
If the chromed frame looks foxed or dull, it's probably because someone tried using a scuff pad on it. Once the factory clearcoat is scratched there is no polish that will bring it back.
I had the same issue with scratched clearcoat on my "Spaceliner" styled Murray "AstroFlite". The painstaking task of scraping the factory clearcoat of the frame is just that....painstaking. But, the end result was amazing. The chrome now looks great and as bright as it would have looked when it came out of the store. My fingers are still sore from that 3 month ordeal. I tried polishing...no good result. The rust spots remained present. Then I decided to get the straight razor blade out and tested an area after scraping and I was impressed. It was winter time and the bike frame was cold. The 50 year old clearcoat was hard and difficult to remove at first. I tried heating the frame with a torch (I know right...what the #$%@*, a torch) but, it did made the scraping a bit easier. Then I felt it was just taking too long. I then used 0000 steel wool to foxed (scratch) the clearcoat so I could see what needed to be removed. DO NOT USE A SCOTCH PAD...it will scratch the chrome. Using the razor only removed a 1/32" strip at a time....so seeing what still needed scraping was only seen after scuffing with the 0000.
The process....lots of work there.
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...ool-on-chrome-frames-help&highlight=Clearcoat
The end results....
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...lite-is-done-almost/page2&highlight=Clearcoat
Your better half will enjoy the bike for sure. These "Spaceliners" are real headturners. I hope you have a matched mens Spaceliner....they as a pair riding tandem is an awesome sight.
Good luck and please post a picture once you're satisfied of the cleaning on the ever popular "lets see you chromed Spaceliner styled bike" picture thread.
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...med-Spaceliner-style-bike&highlight=Clearcoat
Texas....the bike looks complete to me unless it's the battery tray and lens your referring to on the needed parts.
If so there is a guy here on the cabe that makes a repop lens....but, if you need the battery tray....get in line, as they just aren't out there.
If the chromed frame looks foxed or dull, it's probably because someone tried using a scuff pad on it. Once the factory clearcoat is scratched there is no polish that will bring it back.
I had the same issue with scratched clearcoat on my "Spaceliner" styled Murray "AstroFlite". The painstaking task of scraping the factory clearcoat of the frame is just that....painstaking. But, the end result was amazing. The chrome now looks great and as bright as it would have looked when it came out of the store. My fingers are still sore from that 3 month ordeal. I tried polishing...no good result. The rust spots remained present. Then I decided to get the straight razor blade out and tested an area after scraping and I was impressed. It was winter time and the bike frame was cold. The 50 year old clearcoat was hard and difficult to remove at first. I tried heating the frame with a torch (I know right...what the #$%@*, a torch) but, it did made the scraping a bit easier. Then I felt it was just taking too long. I then used 0000 steel wool to foxed (scratch) the clearcoat so I could see what needed to be removed. DO NOT USE A SCOTCH PAD...it will scratch the chrome. Using the razor only removed a 1/32" strip at a time....so seeing what still needed scraping was only seen after scuffing with the 0000.
The process....lots of work there.
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...ool-on-chrome-frames-help&highlight=Clearcoat
The end results....
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...lite-is-done-almost/page2&highlight=Clearcoat
Your better half will enjoy the bike for sure. These "Spaceliners" are real headturners. I hope you have a matched mens Spaceliner....they as a pair riding tandem is an awesome sight.
Good luck and please post a picture once you're satisfied of the cleaning on the ever popular "lets see you chromed Spaceliner styled bike" picture thread.
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...med-Spaceliner-style-bike&highlight=Clearcoat
thanks for the heads up on the clear over the chrome. Right now I'm going to concentrate on the 59 Hornet Spitfire that I have...it's in the worst shape. The tires on this bike seem to be in decent shape but they are the original looking tires they have sears on the sidewalls. Should I run them or not.
Presently I know I am missing the tailight and I'm the head light assembly is there but it does have a broken piece. But at this time I'm just going to get it riding..ie...fix the flat tires.
Presently I know I am missing the tailight and I'm the head light assembly is there but it does have a broken piece. But at this time I'm just going to get it riding..ie...fix the flat tires.
jpromo
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
thanks for the heads up on the clear over the chrome. Right now I'm going to concentrate on the 59 Hornet Spitfire that I have...it's in the worst shape. The tires on this bike seem to be in decent shape but they are the original looking tires they have sears on the sidewalls. Should I run them or not.
Presently I know I am missing the tailight and I'm the head light assembly is there but it does have a broken piece. But at this time I'm just going to get it riding..ie...fix the flat tires.
If they're Sears tires, they're definitely older and likely original. I'd have no problem riding on them. I ride on all my old tires unless I see tube through the cracks :o even then, I'll repair them with a section of another tire on the inside.. so long as it's not too bad. I have a donor tire that I cut chunks out of when a small hole busts through.
Try airing up the tubes before replacing them. See how long they hold air (if at all) and keep the old stuff in there if it seems good after a week or so. I find that new tubes are terrible and I regret changing a lot of my vintage ones right when I got into the hobby. New stuff leaks out of the box and I find that they need to be topped off every couple days or a week. If anybody has any brand of tube they've had better luck with, I'm all ears.
Wayne Adam
I live for the CABE
1964 Girls Spaceliner
Although it was a time consuming task, I think it was worth scraping off all of the clearcoat on my Spaceliner.
Of course at that point I restored the entire bikle including new lacquer paint. This bike still has the original
Sears tires on it & they are fine to ride on. I was given this bike 20 years ago for helping someone move.
Good luck with your bike!.......................Wayne
Although it was a time consuming task, I think it was worth scraping off all of the clearcoat on my Spaceliner.
Of course at that point I restored the entire bikle including new lacquer paint. This bike still has the original
Sears tires on it & they are fine to ride on. I was given this bike 20 years ago for helping someone move.
Good luck with your bike!.......................Wayne
Attachments
BrentP
Finally riding a big boys bike
Try to keep the original Allstate whitewalls on the bike, if possible. There is an excellent product made by John Deere that can rehabilitate old rubber and vinyl over time. I picked some up recently, so can't comment personally on it's long term effectiveness yet, but 'videoranger' made a post about it last year that got me interested. If you have a local John Deere dealer, they will have the product.
videoranger's comments were the following.
Tire shines with silicone or brake fluid etc. will further draw natural rubber oils from rubber items and increase deterioration and cracking. The best tire restoration dressing I've found is marketed by John Deere dealers under the "Ultra Guard" tire preservative label. It uses solvents derived from corn and rice and will help "heal" and prevent further damage to old rubber. I use it on all my tires and have revived some very rare single tube and balloon tires with this fluid. It is about $10 for a spray bottle. I have found no other tire dressing that compares to this stuff; It is the best and only rubber dressing I use. It will even soften very brittle rubber especially after repeated treatments. It leaves rubber looking nice without the greasy shine. Try it, you'll love it. For rare bike tires this is the best insurance that the tires will still be usable and preserved for as long as periodic use is repeated. It is also very good for auto, truck and of course tractor tires(which can be rather expensive). This dressing is only available as far as I know from John Deere dealer parts stores.
.... Oh yeah, if anyone's looking for a rear battery box, I might be putting up for sale an extra, fully restored and painted, batt box that I have (it's nice to have a spare). I'll put it in the sales forum if and when I do, but I'll be keeping the lens (a re-pop I managed to find from a guy who made a small batch of them).
videoranger's comments were the following.
Tire shines with silicone or brake fluid etc. will further draw natural rubber oils from rubber items and increase deterioration and cracking. The best tire restoration dressing I've found is marketed by John Deere dealers under the "Ultra Guard" tire preservative label. It uses solvents derived from corn and rice and will help "heal" and prevent further damage to old rubber. I use it on all my tires and have revived some very rare single tube and balloon tires with this fluid. It is about $10 for a spray bottle. I have found no other tire dressing that compares to this stuff; It is the best and only rubber dressing I use. It will even soften very brittle rubber especially after repeated treatments. It leaves rubber looking nice without the greasy shine. Try it, you'll love it. For rare bike tires this is the best insurance that the tires will still be usable and preserved for as long as periodic use is repeated. It is also very good for auto, truck and of course tractor tires(which can be rather expensive). This dressing is only available as far as I know from John Deere dealer parts stores.
.... Oh yeah, if anyone's looking for a rear battery box, I might be putting up for sale an extra, fully restored and painted, batt box that I have (it's nice to have a spare
). I'll put it in the sales forum if and when I do, but I'll be keeping the lens (a re-pop I managed to find from a guy who made a small batch of them).
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hey
Can I ask you guys what you paid for your spaceliners? There are two in my area for sale on craigslist and at a local bike repair shop. A men's bike which has some rust at $200, and a women's bike in a little better shape for $300. The women's bike is at the repair shop.
Great looking bikes, BTW. Prior to this last weekend, I'd never seen one.
Sherrill
Can I ask you guys what you paid for your spaceliners? There are two in my area for sale on craigslist and at a local bike repair shop. A men's bike which has some rust at $200, and a women's bike in a little better shape for $300. The women's bike is at the repair shop.
Great looking bikes, BTW. Prior to this last weekend, I'd never seen one.
Sherrill
got mine at a garage sale..talked them down to 25bucks...he was trying to rip me off for 30 bucks.
Wayne did you paint the plastic pieces on your Spaceliner..ie...headlamp...reflector housing..I was thinking of painting mine. Some of the chrome is peeling.
Wayne did you paint the plastic pieces on your Spaceliner..ie...headlamp...reflector housing..I was thinking of painting mine. Some of the chrome is peeling.
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BrentP
Finally riding a big boys bike
Try THIS STUFF. It's a metal deposition spray, not a paint, and it's the best I've found for home use and is far superior to silver or chrome paint IF it's applied correctly. I wasted almost a full can before I became proficient at it. The trick is the proper high gloss black base coat, as recommended, followed by VERY light successive coats of chrome. If you spray the chrome heavy enough to get the surface wet, then you've blown it and end up with a finish that looks like regular silver/chrome paint rather than real chrome. The following is a decent example, but not my best (but it's the only one I have before and after photos for).
BEFORE
AFTER
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