AMF Debutante and unknown Huffy girls' bikes ID, Value and Potential

[Bike from the Dead]

I've got a small preview of some progress I've made on the Huffy. I got the original fork off the bike, and I found a 20 inch fork in my stash of parts with the correct steerer tube length to replace it. I also got the seat post out of the frame, and found that it was only inserted about 2 or 3 inches into the seat tube!

Here's the plan: I need to figure out if I have replacement bearings and bearing cups in stock so I can mount the bottom bracket assembly and fork. I also need to find out if the Debutante's seat post is longer than the Huffy's, so I can use that instead of this far too short seat post. If the seat post isn't long enough, I have an idea to work around that, but I really need the right combination of bearings and bearing cups if I'm going to make this bike rideable again. If it turns out I have the parts I need, then I may just enter this Huffy into the Muscle Bike Build Off on RatRodBikes.com. If not, then I'll just save this project for a later time and work on something else.

 

[videoranger]

Just shows how much fun can be had without spending down the cash. I think you're creative instincts will lead to some interesting customs. RatRodBikes is a great source of inspiration.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Just shows how much fun can be had without spending down the cash. I think you're creative instincts will lead to some interesting customs. RatRodBikes is a great source of inspiration.

Thanks dude, I appreciate that!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Made a little progress on these 2 bikes last night. I took apart the Debutante so I could use the parts on my other bikes, chief among them being my 1962 AMF Western Flyer Sonic Flyer, which is just barely visible on the far left of the picture below.

Can't recall the last time I saw the coaster brake arm mounted this way...

I was hoping to use the seat post off the Debutante on the Huffy, but to my surprise, the seat bolts directly through the seat post! It doesn't even use a clamp; it just bolts into the seat post! So unless I use the Debutante's seat with it, I can't really use this seat post.

The end result: a pile of parts, perfect for repurposing.

As for the Huffy, I lucked out and found I had the bearings, bearing cups, and races necessary to get this bike rolling.

And it even has a near-nonexistent gap!

I had to take apart this $5 Huffy parts bike to get the other headset bearing, as I only had one good Hartford 52 bearing loose up to that point. I've had the chance to ride this bike a bit, now it's time to use it the way I intended.

Fortunately, it had exactly what I needed! The bearings need cleaning of course, but they should be totally useable.

I also took apart another parts bike for the bottom bracket bearings and cups, though I've got enough of those parts loose that I'm covered regardless.

So here's the good news on the Huffy: aside from the seat post, I have everything I need to make this bike rideable. I've got wheels, tires, tubes, sissy bars, banana seats, bearings, bearing cups, cranks, chain rings, handlebars, and I've got a fork and chain guard that all can go on this bike. I could build this bike super cheap... but there's a catch.

I've got everything I need to make the bike rideable, but I don't have everything I need to make the bike look good. Just about every part I have for this bike is a different color, and most of them are rather unsightly. The fork is pink, the chain guard is grey, the seat is either a worn-out white or a mint condition black depending on which one I choose, the good wheels I have are some shade of pink or purple, the rear fender is chrome, I have one 20" slick but no other good 20" black tires, and the rest of the good 20" tires I have are either whitewalls or just plain white. Basically, if I throw this bike together using just what I have, it'll look like a mess. Worse yet, I only have a few different colors of spray paint to work with, and the weather's not ideal for painting either.

I could ask Dad to powder coat this bike for me so the fork, frame, fender and maybe the chain guard match, but the rest of the chrome parts I have aren't all that nice and shiny, and it'd be hard to get them to shine up as well as the rest of the bike after powder coating. I think the best option I've got is to try and use the original, color and patina-matched fork that came with the bike, and weld a new steerer tube on it. As long as the fork matches the frame, it'd be easier to either leave or paint the other parts the way I want.

I have an idea of how I'd do that, but I need to do some serious research on how to cut and weld steerer tubes before I try that. I do not want a repeat of what happened last year with The Schwinn Dixie Dreamcycle. That hurt in more ways than one. If anyone knows the best way to cut and weld a new steerer tube to a fork without it resulting in utter disaster like what's pictured below, please let me know.

At this point, I'm not going to enter the MBBO this year. I've got other bikes to work on right now that don't require as much effort or cash. I know I can still build this Huffy into something cool, but between the weather, the parts that need repairing, the parts that need painting, and the parts that I just plain need, I think it's best if I wait to build this bike until the time is right. Now just isn't that time.

 

[razinhellcustomz]

Instead of

Made a little progress on these 2 bikes last night. I took apart the Debutante so I could use the parts on my other bikes, chief among them being my 1962 AMF Western Flyer Sonic Flyer, which is just barely visible on the far left of the picture below.
View attachment 1748035

Can't recall the last time I saw the coaster brake arm mounted this way...
View attachment 1748036

I was hoping to use the seat post off the Debutante on the Huffy, but to my surprise, the seat bolts directly through the seat post! It doesn't even use a clamp; it just bolts into the seat post! So unless I use the Debutante's seat with it, I can't really use this seat post.
View attachment 1748037
View attachment 1748038

The end result: a pile of parts, perfect for repurposing.
View attachment 1748039

As for the Huffy, I lucked out and found I had the bearings, bearing cups, and races necessary to get this bike rolling.
View attachment 1748040
View attachment 1748041

And it even has a near-nonexistent gap!
View attachment 1748042

I had to take apart this $5 Huffy parts bike to get the other headset bearing, as I only had one good Hartford 52 bearing loose up to that point. I've had the chance to ride this bike a bit, now it's time to use it the way I intended.
View attachment 1748043

Fortunately, it had exactly what I needed! The bearings need cleaning of course, but they should be totally useable.
View attachment 1748044
View attachment 1748045

I also took apart another parts bike for the bottom bracket bearings and cups, though I've got enough of those parts loose that I'm covered regardless.

So here's the good news on the Huffy: aside from the seat post, I have everything I need to make this bike rideable. I've got wheels, tires, tubes, sissy bars, banana seats, bearings, bearing cups, cranks, chain rings, handlebars, and I've got a fork and chain guard that all can go on this bike. I could build this bike super cheap... but there's a catch.

I've got everything I need to make the bike rideable, but I don't have everything I need to make the bike look good. Just about every part I have for this bike is a different color, and most of them are rather unsightly. The fork is pink, the chain guard is grey, the seat is either a worn-out white or a mint condition black depending on which one I choose, the good wheels I have are some shade of pink or purple, the rear fender is chrome, I have one 20" slick but no other good 20" black tires, and the rest of the good 20" tires I have are either whitewalls or just plain white. Basically, if I throw this bike together using just what I have, it'll look like a mess. Worse yet, I only have a few different colors of spray paint to work with, and the weather's not ideal for painting either.
View attachment 1748046

I could ask Dad to powder coat this bike for me so the fork, frame, fender and maybe the chain guard match, but the rest of the chrome parts I have aren't all that nice and shiny, and it'd be hard to get them to shine up as well as the rest of the bike after powder coating. I think the best option I've got is to try and use the original, color and patina-matched fork that came with the bike, and weld a new steerer tube on it. As long as the fork matches the frame, it'd be easier to either leave or paint the other parts the way I want.
View attachment 1748047

I have an idea of how I'd do that, but I need to do some serious research on how to cut and weld steerer tubes before I try that. I do not want a repeat of what happened last year with The Schwinn Dixie Dreamcycle. That hurt in more ways than one. If anyone knows the best way to cut and weld a new steerer tube to a fork without it resulting in utter disaster like what's pictured below, please let me know.
View attachment 1748048
View attachment 1748049

At this point, I'm not going to enter the MBBO this year. I've got other bikes to work on right now that don't require as much effort or cash. I know I can still build this Huffy into something cool, but between the weather, the parts that need repairing, the parts that need painting, and the parts that I just plain need, I think it's best if I wait to build this bike until the time is right. Now just isn't that time.

Instead of cut and weld, find a buddy to rethread the matching fork so you don't have a repeat performance of the Dreamsicle disaster... Good luck..

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Instead of

Instead of cut and weld, find a buddy to rethread the matching fork so you don't have a repeat performance of the Dreamsicle disaster... Good luck..

Yeeeeaaaah that's not gonna happen.

The fork was already split on the threads when I got it, and I had to cut them off and mangle the rest of the threads just so I could get the fork off the frame.

If I'm going to use this fork again, it needs a whole new steerer tube.

 

[razinhellcustomz]

Yeeeeaaaah that's not gonna happen.

The fork was already split on the threads when I got it, and I had to cut them off and mangle the rest of the threads just so I could get the fork off the frame.
View attachment 1748157
View attachment 1748158
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View attachment 1748161

If I'm going to use this fork again, it needs a whole new steerer tube.

WOW,that was over kill..Now you kinda limited your options going that route.. Well I guess a new fork is definitely in the works now... Good luck Austin.....

 

[Bryan Akens]

The rear wheel on the Debutante looks to be a Huffy wheel.....If it is a 28 spoke it does have some value......I like to save bikes also....but I think the blue Huffy is probably strictly a parts bike.....Good Luck!!!

 

[Robert Troub]

Ok everyone, thanks for all the feedback. Between the replies I got on here and ratrodbikes.com, I think I got the info I needed. These 2 bikes are clearly not worth the effort to fix up to sell. That's actually something of a relief regarding the Debutante, as I've got bikes that could use most of its parts. The Huffy on the other hand... well, I actually kind of like the frame and the paint. Plus, I'm sure I have most everything needed to build it into a decent rideable bike. Maybe I could try building this bike super cheap, like under $25, mostly using whatever parts I got for free!

To be honest though, after all the feedback I received on this post, I mostly want to build that Huffy out of spite. Having people call a bike "scrap" or "a money pit," no matter how right they may be, just makes me want to prove that point wrong. I like to believe that just about any bike can be made into something cool, no matter how bad it looks at first, and that you don't always have to spend a ton of money to do it. Heck, that's the whole point behind my username; I like to bring broken and castoff bikes "back from the dead!"

Just to prove my point, here are a few bikes I've built so far:

Here is the first bike I ever built, my 1950 Snyder-built Montgomery Ward/Hawthorne, Dumpster Diamond. I paid $20 for this bent-up frame at a swap meet back in 2019, but some who saw it in its rough state thought I "pulled it out of a dumpster." Between that unpleasant comment rubbing me the wrong way, and wanting to participate in the 2020 Rat Rod Bikes Build Off, I decided to turn this "dumpster bike" into a "diamond," hence the name. Did it cost more that I would've liked? Yes. Did I make some mistakes along the way? Absolutely. Did I finish it the way I had initially planned? Not yet. But in the end, I got a cool bike and a good learning experience that's helped me with my latest builds. That, and placing 17th out of 65 finished entries in my class during the Build Off wasn't too bad either, especially for a beginner.
View attachment 1745692

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My next example is my latest Rat Rod Bikes Build Off entry, a 1961 Murray Meteor Flite I call Shoestring. I bought this for $40 at the Kellyville swap meet back in April from a guy who thought this bike was good for nothing but yard art. Hard not to see why, but all that did was give me more motivation to fix it up with all that sweet patina intact! Having learned from my previous builds, I managed to build this bike just the way I wanted, on time, and within my $50 budget! And to top it off, I made it into the top 10 of my class for the first time, finishing 7th place in the 2022 Rat Rod Bikes Build Off! I even won an award for it too! Between all the positive feedback it's received from those who have seen it both online and in-person, and just how fun it is to ride, Shoestring has easily become one of, if not my all-time favorite bicycle build to date!
View attachment 1745694

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Lastly, here is my current project, a 1952 Schwinn Hornet I call Kasual Klunker. It's not done just yet, but I was able set a personal record by tearing this bike down and getting it rideable in just under a month. Like Shoestring, this was another $50 budget build, with the bike costing $40, and the chain an extra $10. I was just throwing it together so I could ride it while I saved the funds to build and paint it the way I wanted, but I ended up loving the bike just the way I've built it. I even fell in love with the original paint and patina after shining it up with some rubbing compound! I've since ditched the $50 budget for this bike, as I want to add a few small personal touches to really finish it off and make it my own, but this bike ended up proving its worth to me in the end. It also helps that I've already received a bunch of compliments on how it's turned out so far.
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So are these 2 girls' bikes worth the trouble to fix up for a profit? Probably not. Will that stop me from fixing up at least one of them, and maybe adding some custom enhancements to spice things up a bit? Also probably not. Heck, I may just enter that Huffy into the Muscle Bike Build Off going on at ratrodbikes.com right now, just to see if I can build it faster than my Schwinn straight bar!

Either way, thank you all for your advice! I appreciate it.

You can make something cool.....these bikes have no resale value.....don't pay too much for these type bikes unless you need a specific part ....

 

[razinhellcustomz]

You can make something cool.....these bikes have no resale value.....don't pay too much for these type bikes unless you need a specific part ....

The best part about that is he got the 2 bikes for free which to me means do what ever you want with them and just do it.. RideOn...