I have a question for the experts. I picked up a 1957 Pleasure Liner that came with a 1958 parts bike. The 1957 has the serial number on the bottom bracket, like all '57's, but the 1958 also has a serial number on the bottom bracket, a "J" and a 5 digit number, where most '58's I've seen have an "H" and a 6 digit number on the left drop-out. But I've seen other late '50's AMF bikes with the serial under the bottom bracket.
@Oldude13 posted one halfway down page 23 of this thread, and the head badge on his looks like it could be a 1959. The head badge on the 1958 pleasure liner matches the head badge on my 1958 Flying Falcon, which is why I'm calling it a 1958, but the serial number on the F.F. is "H" followed by a 6 digit number on the left drop-out.
@Scout Evans posted that the serial number on the Pleasure Liner may be early 1959, which would match Phil Marshall's list, but I think 1958 was the last year for the Pleasure Liner or Luxury Liner, at least going by the catalog. The Luxury Liner was replaced by the Sky King in 1959, which had a cantilever frame. There happens to be a Sky King and Sky Queen for sale on Facebook Marketplace near Chicago, and I messaged the seller asking about the year and he sent me a picture of the serial number, which is the first cantilever frame I've seen with the serial number on the bottom bracket. So now I'm thinking AMF was using two different serial number systems at the same time in the late '50's, which leads to the question: could AMF have still been building some bikes in Cleveland as late as 1959? I've been trying to find a way to tell whether an AMF bike was built in Cleveland or Little Rock and so far I haven't nailed it down, although seeing more bikes might help. So does anybody else have any ideas? I know these middleweight AMF's have no interest for a lot of people, but this question is like a bug in my brain, it keeps gnawing at me.
The page with
@Oldude13's bike:
Again another CWC serial number decipher that I'm guessing at. Owner said this was a 1936. Serial is J95284 ...no suffix stamping. I've got the same exact bike/frame in a western flyer, cept my serial numbers don't even make sense. Regardless, it's based on a frame modification in 1938...
thecabe.com
The Pleasure Liners are here:
I like these '50's AMFs, sometimes against my better judgement. I think 1958 was the last year for either the Pleasure Liner or the Luxury Liner, so this was getting towards the end. 1957 was the last year for the kickstand plate, I've seen it on some of the early cantilever frames, but it...
thecabe.com
@Mitt25 posted pictures of a nice '58 Luxury Liner at the end of this thread, with a good shot of the serial number on the left drop-out:
Hey Guys, a friend of mine had his 1950s AMF Roarmaster Luxury Liner restored locally. It seems like guy didn't really know what he was doing... The question that I'm wondering is, is it worth finishing properly? He has the original rack and seat, but it needs the tank, light, pedals, head...
thecabe.com
I've posted pictures of my '58 Flying Falcon in this thread. I don't have a good picture of the serial number, but it's the same pattern as Mitt25's Luxury Liner and the head badge is the same as the Pleasure Liner, except more faded:
Can anybody give me some info on this bike. Real barn find. I believe it's a mid 50s bike but I can't find any good info on it.
thecabe.com
And this is a link to the Facebook ad for the Sky King, along with a picture of the bike and the serial number that the seller sent me:
26” sky king and 26” sky king complete bicycles
www.facebook.com
And if you have a bike that may shed some light on this, then by all means let's see some pictures!