BEHIND THE FIND

[Handle Bar Hoarder]

SHARE A FEW OF YOUR STORIES RICHARD .....

i never really have had a chance to find any especially here on the west coast... not too many basements attics barns.. where i am at....... i sure wish i did though.....

 

[Kickstand3]

This one, was another one of those,
“Getting the Call” stories.
I was at work, when I got a text message from the Cabe’s own, @sarmisluters He said, that his coworker, Charley, had just inherited a bike and that he wanted to sell it.
I asked what it was, and he said, he thought it was a 1940’s Schwinn Paramount.
That piqued my interest, so I asked if he had any pictures of it?
The next text I got, were a series of pictures, of what I could clearly see, was of a first generation prewar Schwinn Sports Tourist model, Paramount.
Wow!
At that time, I had never even seen an actual set of the Schwinn Webb, “Ten Spot” brakes.
So, right away, I knew I wanted this bike. I made an offer, that I figured would be considered fair, and which was accepted.
We made arrangements to meet up that evening after work.
He lived up in Palos Verdes, which would be a tough drive at that time of day.
Rush hour traffic in Los Angeles is legendary.
So I left right after I got off work and started working my way up there.
I stopped for dinner, all the while, educating myself on all things, Prewar Paramount.
Our meeting time was for 8:00 pm, so I drove up the hill, to get to Charley’s house.
It was a steep drive, so I’m thinking this bike didn’t get ridden much, if at all, while it’s been in Charley’s care.
The view from Charley’s house was spectacular!
It seemed like you could practically reach out and touch Catalina Island, and the lights from Los Angeles Harbor were incredible!
Best light show on Earth!
But, back to the bike.
It turns out, that Charley’s dad had been riding buddies with the Paramounts original owner.
He had been a Dentist in Santa Monica, and had bought the bike locally.
Hans Ohrt was a famous local shop on Santa Monica Blvd, that specialized in early Lightweights.
There is a remnant of the shops decal on the frame, with only the word Santa visible, so I can only assume, that this is the shop, where this bike was purchased when new.
Anyway, when the original owner passed away, he left the bike to Charley’s dad, and when Charley’s dad passed away, he left it to Charley, and then me.
We had a nice visit and consummated the deal.
While I was loading the bike up, Charley asked me, in an inquisitive tone, if I had actually planned on riding that bike?
My reply, Absolutely! View attachment 1739828
View attachment 1739830
View attachment 1739831
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View attachment 1739829
Here’s the;
1939 Schwinn, Sports Tourist model, Paramount.
Cruising the Pacific Coast since 1939.
Thank you, Sarmis!

Daaaaang is that you Marty

 

[oldfart36]

The "Toad Lick Special" !
1941 Monark built Spiegel Airman. Original survivor!
Long story short!! A woman called me and sent me this picture. She said she lived in a small town in Indiana, named "Toad Lick" and they were cleaning out the barn/shed. After thinking she was yanking may chain, the picture took over! It was quite the trip!

The picture she sent!

The bike now, in my shop!

 

[Jesse McCauley]

I think my longest and most rewarding hunting expedition was for my 1894 George Hendee's Silver King.
As far as the collector's world knows this is the oldest surviving Hendee machine / Indian precursor.

It was in a major motorcycle collection in New England and after tracking it to that collection I still had the uphill battle of convincing the widow of the previous owner to sell.

After a few years of patient waiting (with periodic check ins) and the help of a few good friends in the bicycle world I was able to secure this machine and bring it back into the fold.
Incidentally I finally got the 'perfect' saddle for this bike some time ago thanks to @cr250mark but have not yet taken it out for a proper photo shoot, that will be a priority.

First picture 'as found' and as it sat for decades: missing tires, broken / incomplete chain etc.
Second picture after a bit of tinker time.

 

[Handle Bar Hoarder]

any more

 

[Handle Bar Hoarder]

bump

 

[rockabillyjay]

Probably my best find ever..that found me! Mid 90s I was working at a bike shop in NJ. An older gentleman came in and talked to me about wanting to fix up his old bike to take to Florida for retirement so he and his wife could ride together. I told him no problem just bring it by. The next day he comes in and asks me to help unload it from his truck. I go outside and just about loose it when I see whats in the bed of the truck. A Elgin twin bar! With aluminum fenders! I tell him it’s a really cool bike but its missing the seat and it had a head shroud on it when new ( I didn’t notice the pedals or speedo basket yet).

He says oh I’ve got all that , and opens his truck cab and there are all the missing parts to a Elgin Twin 60! He even had all the paperwork and a pic of his uncle riding it. I tried to play it somewhat cool and told him it’s a pretty rare bike and if he wants something to ride to just pick something out of the store and I’ll trade as this bike should be restored and not really ridden as a main bike. He said he would think about it and he and the bike left. I got his number and address and over the next few months I would check in on him and the bike about once a month.

After about 6 excruciating months he calls me and says “ I’ve thought about it, and you’re right I should pass the bike on..but I’ve done some research and I know its pretty valuable” So I said Ok what price were you thinking? He then tells me he needs to get ( insert average price of a Black Phantom repop here)> I said I’m on my way!



This was pre internet so as far as me and my bike buddies knew there were about 5 of these known at the time. I took it completely apart and just cleaned everything as good as could be, found a set od Allstate white walls and re assembled. I took it to Trexlertown to show one year and held onto it for a bit. I ended up selling it in 1999..and bought a 52 chevy and moved to California with the money. (blackwall pics as found, whitewall after cleaning)

 

[SJ_BIKER]

Went to a local bicycle shop circa 2008/9 and saw this fender roller on the shop floor. I asked about it and they said they have it to roll fenders and noted it was used by a stingray guy who had passed away. I knew what it was from pics seen on the Internet and left a few minutes after doing some window shopping. Few weeks past and came in for another purchase and asked about the tool again and how it worked and the guy asked.....you want to buy it? I asked how much and the guy said ...."75 bucks"
Soooo I said yes!! And proceeded to ask for tips and the guy said you'll get. He didn't elaborate and I paid shortly after.
Took it home and he was right ...I figured it out pretty fast.

 

[markivpedalpusher]

This one is old news but worth the read/re-read.

Autocycle | General Discussion About Old Bicycles

June 14, 2010 Last July a gentleman named Bill from Illinois posted 3 pictures of a 1936 Schwinn Straightbar Autocycle on the Schwinn Forum and he said. “I have a Schwinn Autocycle that was purchased by my uncle when he was a teenager. He was killed in WWII and I used it briefly as my bike...

thecabe.com

 

[markivpedalpusher]

She’s a beauty and now resides in Chicago where she was born.

1936 Schwinn AUTO-CYCLE

thecabe.com