How to date post? spaceliner Sears MW bicycle

[bike]

Thanks!

 

[Adamtinkerer]

Nice ride! The ladies' model Flightliner/Spaceliner was mostly unchanged from 1960-late 60s. Yours, having Sears badging, as opposed to the earlier JC Higgins badge, makes it '63 or later. Later 60s deluxe bikes had a more elaborate tank. The serial # and catalog # is stamped on the rear dropout, the rack brace may be covering part of it. The catalog # might be dated to a particular year.

 

[BrentP]

The Sears badge threw me for a moment, because it's obviously a Flightliner that pre-dates the Speedliners of 1964, and it should have a J.C. Higgins badge if it was 1963 or earlier.

I looked up the model number from your frame (46311), and it's a 1963 Flightliner (the last year they were made of their five year run). Somebody has put an aftermarket Sears sticker on the tank (probably after painting it) rather than the correct J.C. Higgins sticker. They also painted over and/or removed the Flightliner decal on the chain guard. Other than that, the bike looks correct.

 

[bike]

The term Badge threw me

I thought HEADBADGE I see what you are saying

Thanks!

 

[BrentP]

I thought HEADBADGE I see what you are saying

Thanks!

Sorry, I should have referred to it as a tank decal, but now that I look at the first picture more carefully I see that they also put an aftermarket decal on the head tube. That's actually a Franken'd seat post decal from the later model 'painted' Spaceliners, and shouldn't be there either.

 

[Adamtinkerer]

I checked my book, and 46311 was a 1964, essentially a Flightliner, but no longer named as such. They had several basic models that were sold, but not mentioned in the catalogs.

 

[BrentP]

I checked my book, and 46311 was a 1964, essentially a Flightliner, but no longer named as such. They had several basic models that were sold, but not mentioned in the catalogs.

You're right. I took a closer look at my references (I hadn't bothered to look after '63) and they did indeed carry over the Flightliner model 46311 for an additional year into 1964, and still called it Flightliner. They must have had a lot of excess inventory... LOL. The OP's bike might be either year, because those Sears stickers look too pristine to be original, and the bike could just as easily have had J.C. Higgins stickers on it before the tank and chain guard were repainted.