Hiawatha Silver Chief

[GoPackGo]

Hi all,
Since I can remember, I have been an old bike lover. I bought this bike 18 years ago as a twelve year old and I've stored it in a barn until now. It's still in the same shape as when I bought it, only now it has some layers of dust that I need to find time to clean off. This bike has always perplexed me because I have never seen another one like it.
here are some pics:

I'm hoping you guys can tell me when this bike was made and if it is special in any way. (it will always be special to me)
I have some other information and questions as well.
On one side of the frame by the rear tire there is a serial number :7H250420
On the Hiawatha Badge there are numbers stamped : 57WG8 2 1073
The bike has white Hunt Wilde corp. grips. Would these be original?
The bike is also missing something on the front fender. a headlight or hood ornament maybe?
The seat is a troxel seat and feels stripped out because it moves when I sit on it. Would this be original? I think it might need to be replaced or fixed. any suggestions?
The rear fender has a hole on the lower part where something used to be attached, possibly a reflector of some kind? any suggestions?
Finally, the tires on it were on it when I bought it in 1992. One tire is made by coast to coast stores, model coast king. The other tire is a Ward riverside supreme. On both tires there is a detail that says: 26 x 1.75 fits 26 x 2.125 rim.
Is my bike a balloon tire bike? It would seem it currently has a smaller tire than the rim could house.
Since the bike has been stored for so long with flat tires, the tires need to be replaced. Can anyone give me specific suggestions as to what size and make tires this bike may have had when it was new so I can try to find some replacements? Would they have been whitewalls or just black?

I currently live in Central Michigan and there is going to be a big antique bike show in Ann Arbor in two weeks. With a little more info and help from you guys I might be able to go down there and get some parts for my baby. I've searched the web for hours and I haven't found any info or pics of another Hiawatha Silver Chief.
Thanks for your time.
Josh @ CMU

 

[Strings-n-Spokes]

Gambles the hardware store sold Hiawatha bikes. They had the bikes made by all kinds of companies and then put their own badges on them. Yours is a Huffman or Huffy made bike it could be from around the time Huffman changed it's name. Aside from being in very nice shape, I don't think Huffman made Hiawathas show up too often. I'll take a stab at the vintage and ballpark it at '56 to '59. Some Cheng Shin tires from a local bike shop would probably dress it up nicely, probably $15 or so bucks apiece for a pair of white walls, they should be 26x 2.125. The holes on the fender are for a light , usually called a torpedo light. You might need to be a little more specific about how the seat moves, but it looks to be correct. Hope this helps.

Shane

 

[waynemarkus]

shane, i'm aware that rear drop out bolts usually can mean that the bike is pre-war, but that it's not always true as bike manufacturers continued to use them on into the late 40's too.. did some actually continue to use them as late as '56-'59 too?

 

[Gordon]

I have a couple of these, one badged Hiawatha, same as this one, and the other is a Western Flyer. I am of the opinion that they are from the late 40's early 50's. Almost all manufacturers went to 1.75 tires after 1954. The chainguard and tank are the same as the Huffy Radiobike.

 

[Classicriders]

The tank is not the same as the Radio bike. Radio bike tanks hid the top tube. Here is a pic from my 1956 Huffy catalog for reference on your bike.

 

[RMS37]

The 7 at the beginning of the frame serial number is the last digit of the year the frame was made. Other features pin the bike down as mid fifties so the year would be 1957. Also the bike was designed as a middleweight with 26" x 1.75" wheels and tires rather than full balloon 26" x 2.125" tires.

 

[Strings-n-Spokes]

Hey I think I did pretty well. I got everything fairly close, except the tire size. What a fantastic ride!

 

[partsguy]

Speechless......................................speechless.................it's so beautiful. I can't believe you got that when you were twelve...........................

 

[37fleetwood]

HI,
got your message,
very nice bike! very definitely a 1957 Huffy Middleweight. everything looks about correct. would have had a headlight on the fender possibly like the one shown in the catalog page, maybe something like a Delta Hawk, my catalogs just don't reach into the middleweight era. Huffy sold bikes to many different buyers who badged them to suit. as to the seat issue, I would try to figure out where it is slipping and see what is going on. it may be able to be tightened, or it may need a part or two. the tires are the correct size, I'm not sure what brand they had originally but I agree with whoever said to get a nice set of shiny new whitewalls and ride it around. the rims would be exactly the same size for 26x1.75 and 26x2.25 (there are a couple sizes that will not fit). the rear fender would have had a reflector, most likely a Stratolite, or stimsonite.
go carefully and clean it with a wash cloth and some dish detergent and warm water in a bucket. be especially careful around the decals as the water may loosen them. if you are confident you will be able to get it back together, pull it all apart and clean and lube all the bearings, use a bicycle type grease, you can get it at a local bike shop. you may just want to take them the wheels and have them check them out for straightness and spoke tension and have them repack the hubs if you don't feel up to it. pick a bike shop you trust not to screw up.
I may have some parts laying around if you find anything you need. the hard and expensive part will be the headlight, you will find all sorts of lights out there but the one shown in the catalog is kinda hard to find, Ann Arbor may be a good place to look, that's the one I would go for.
most of the guys here were on the right track, you won't get more knowledge than this site.

 

[GoPackGo]

The tank is not the same as the Radio bike. Radio bike tanks hid the top tube. Here is a pic from my 1956 Huffy catalog for reference on your bike.

Classicriders,
Thanks for sharing this catalog picture. They almost look like the same bike! This really helps put things in perspective.
Josh