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A Newbie here with an Oldie (Shapleigh)

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Nice bikes, the Westfield has a lot going for it, for what you are looking to do with it. A matching chain guard, a rack & in my humble opinion, upgraded seat would make it a great display piece. Not sure if they are original, but definitely period, are torpedo or coke bottle grips w/ reflectors. Have fun w/ it & welcome to the cabe
 
Ok... wow.. these are not like collecting soda machines at all... Ha... numbers and letters... a Shapleigh is a Westfield, a Western Flyer is a Huffman ... Is this like a Buick or Pontiac is a GM product, Mustang is a Ford?
Thanks Greeced for the info on grips will be looking for some.
On the Western Flyer... what is this number? I will go out and check for more numbers on the fork.
WesternFlyer01C.jpg
 
That is the serial number. Unfortunately some manufacturer's serial numbers aren't an exact science. Your automotive analogy is correct. Shapleigh and Western Flyer are brands. Unlike auto manufacturers, bicycle brands can be found on multiple makers bikes. Shapleigh was a hardware store who bought bikes from several manufacturers and put their badge on them. Western Flyer badges are found on Huffmans, Shelby, and Cleveland Welding to name a few. Check this link for more info https://vintageamericanbicycles.com/index.php/company-histories/ V/r Shawn
 
Thanks Freqman1... I went out and found these numbers.. you can see a "40" real well... the other number before is up a little higher could be a 5 or 7? paint is so thick there...
but 40 is the year? Dang thought for sure it was a 60s bike... this is older than the Shapleigh? looks newer... See I really do know nothing about bikes.
Is this a "No Frills" version since there is no tank or chain guard... or.. maybe they didn't have tanks for this model, or it was removed? This bike is pretty straight just some bends along the edges of the fender that would be easy to fix... Will have to search out what this may have looked like... white handle bars maybe just painted also though there is no paint on the grips...

WesternFlyer01E.jpg
 
Your Huffman built Western Flyer is cool, and much older than the 1960s.

Western Flyer sold a lot of bikes, never built one though. Mainly Huffman (the Huffy) or Murray.

Shapleigh did the same thing, as did Sears, Coast to Coast, Otasco, many of the auto and hardware stores.
 
Hi, Elwood,

the Shapleigh (made by Westfield) F203285 was one of the last bicycles produced by them in December 1941 (Shawn was right) (serials finished at F213132 that year).
I imagine the talk on the line as it was assembled was of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
If you look above the serial number, you should find a second number, probably starting H with one or two numbers following it. This is the code for when the frame was made before assembly. If you can find it, we can date it to the exact month.

As Shawn also said, the Western Flyer (made by Huffman), the numbers 740 on the fork date it to July 1940. Below is a picture of another Huffman fork with that unusual 7 stamped on it for comparison.

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1...rame-fork.142358/#lg=attachment897371&slide=0

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
Hi Mercian... Here is that number you were talking about... H11 ... So November of 1941? you can see it was a dark maroon color... a lot of paint is gone but gonna mess with this bike through the winter.. fenders are pretty dented up.. noticed different threads on "Fender Rolling"... anyone recommend anyone that is still doing rolling? this bike has the high spot seem along the middle of the fenders if that makes a difference in rolling them.
Shapleigh05B.jpg
 
Hi Elwood,

thanks for looking, it's surprising how many people say they will, and you never hear from them again.

Yes, the frame was made November 1941, and used very shortly afterwards to build the bike. I think that frames were made in batches of a particular style (ie, once the tooling is set up, it's as easy to make 100 as it is to make 10). This means that during sales slumps, or with less popular models, there sometimes can be many months between the frame date and the date it was assembled.

Here, it was probably being built for the Christmas rush, also, I understand that there was beginning to be a patriotic drive to save fuel by using bikes even before the US entered the war.

I look forward to seeing the finished result.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
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