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Huffman Dayton G519 Frame Numbers

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Hi @bon

Thanks for thinking to send these details - every little bit of information helps everyone else (-:

I can confirm your number is H157116. It also has the number 3 stamped under it, and a 1943 date. The fork is December 1943, so probably the original foe it.


This bike from Tomato John is the closest survivor to yours.

Did you find your bike in the Philippines?

Are those the original wheels, if so, can you give me the date for the Morrow hub?

Thanks again for your help.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
Hi All,

Please find below the latest edition of the known Huffman G519 list.

As ever, if your bike is on here, and you wish to correct or add details, please contact me.

New frames welcome (-:

1617548134132.png


In addition to these I know of one more Huffman G519 where I don't have the details to put them on the list.

The score for known Huffman Daytons at April 2021 are:

38 plus one 1942 curved bar.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
Hi All,

Please find below the latest edition of the known Huffman G519 list.

As ever, if your bike is on here, and you wish to correct or add details, please contact me.

New frames welcome (-:

View attachment 1385425

In addition to these I know of one more Huffman G519 where I don't have the details to put them on the list.

The score for known Huffman Daytons at April 2021 are:

38 plus one 1942 curved bar.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
Hi Adrian,
Going over some old files from 2005 and ran across some information on Jerry Cleveland's U.S. Marine Corps Dayton bicycle. Here is what I found:

From Jerry,
Here is the info on my '43 Dayton:

1943 Dayton USMC Bicycle SN H102177.

26x2 tires marked “WAR TIRE”

Serial Number markings:

H102177
1
1943

No other markings.

Complete down to the rear fender reflector except for handgrips (missing, replaced with NOS wood grips).

Has rear axle stand.

Painted with flat U.S. Marine Corps forest green.

No evidence of chain guard, tire pump, front fender lamp, or bell.

Appears to be new, never ridden, with unmarked wooden pedal blocks and fresh tires.

Saddle leather dried with very minor cracking but otherwise new appearing.

Chain and axles still have original grease.

Displayed at 7/95 MVPA Convention in Arlington, TX.
Won first place in Motor Pool Ready Class

Adrain, I displayed my 1944 Dayton at the 2006 convention held in Dayton, Ohio
It was also displayed at the Bicycle Museum of America for 5 years, but now back home.

It's been quite a while since I talked to Jerry. I know he also has a Columbia.
Back then, very little info was known about WW2 era U.S. Military bicycles. So when
I started restoring my 1944 Dayton I had very little info to go on, Jerry was a big help.
Anyway, You can add Jerry's bike to your Huffman SN list.

All the Best, Rodger

Jerry's Dayton Bike
1406914
 
Hi Rodger, @facair55

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. Sorry it's taken a couple of days to get back to you. This is a bike that's always been of interest to me. I've not listed it above, because it's not a G519. However, I have had it listed on the serial numbers of all Huffmans until 1945 which I've also been collecting, and therre's an abstract below.

1620669207181.png


You can see that it was probably made right at the beginning of 1943. It would be interesting to know:

Is the frame actually stamped 1943 in the same way as G519 are? You can see that bikes for the civilian market weren't.

What the date on the rear of the fork is.

What the date on the Morrow hub is.

It was produced in the gap between the end of the first contract for G519 (the end of two solid brackets on the fork for truss rods), and the beginning of the second contract. There were some 60,000 bikes produced in that period, certainly some civilian, but being as I've only recorded 6 bikes (1 in 10,000) so far almost anything could be happening there, even a substantial USMC contract which we know nothing of.

I'm guessing that there was no guarantee that there would be a second G519 contract, so Huffman would have tried to keep their military options open. We do know that some of the 'civilian' lightweights and Compax's ended up on USMC camps used as general runarounds.

Of course, another option is that it is the one in the picture, a one off produced for sales promotion, and not made in quantity, hence the reason it appears unused.

Hopefully, other examples will turn up to help solve the mystery.

Either way, thanks for the information, it remains an interesting bike.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
Hi Rodger, @facair55

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. Sorry it's taken a couple of days to get back to you. This is a bike that's always been of interest to me. I've not listed it above, because it's not a G519. However, I have had it listed on the serial numbers of all Huffmans until 1945 which I've also been collecting, and therre's an abstract below.

View attachment 1408714

You can see that it was probably made right at the beginning of 1943. It would be interesting to know:

Is the frame actually stamped 1943 in the same way as G519 are? You can see that bikes for the civilian market weren't.

What the date on the rear of the fork is.

What the date on the Morrow hub is.

It was produced in the gap between the end of the first contract for G519 (the end of two solid brackets on the fork for truss rods), and the beginning of the second contract. There were some 60,000 bikes produced in that period, certainly some civilian, but being as I've only recorded 6 bikes (1 in 10,000) so far almost anything could be happening there, even a substantial USMC contract which we know nothing of.

I'm guessing that there was no guarantee that there would be a second G519 contract, so Huffman would have tried to keep their military options open. We do know that some of the 'civilian' lightweights and Compax's ended up on USMC camps used as general runarounds.

Of course, another option is that it is the one in the picture, a one off produced for sales promotion, and not made in quantity, hence the reason it appears unused.

Hopefully, other examples will turn up to help solve the mystery.

Either way, thanks for the information, it remains an interesting bike.

Best Regards,

Adrian
Adrian,
Was able to find Jerry's number (15 years since we last talked) we had a nice chat. His bike is in storage, but will validate the numbers including the fork. He did say the hub is marked M1 (march 1943). And that the rear hub is painted early WW2 no.33070, where as the frame is painted no. 34052 leftover marine corps green.
Not sure how he got that info? If possible, he will sent pictures, so maybe we can solve this. -Rodger
 
Hi Rodger, @facair55

I didn't expect that (-:

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to contact Jerry, and please pass my thanks to him when you talk next. I do appreciate it.

If Jerry was involved with the MVPA, then it's quite possible he got the paint codes there. There are some very knowledgeable people in that group.

Detail pictures would be great, I've only ever seen the MVPA prize-giving one, and the picture of the display you put above this post.

I wish you an excellent weekend.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
Hi @bon

Thanks for thinking to send these details - every little bit of information helps everyone else (-:

I can confirm your number is H157116. It also has the number 3 stamped under it, and a 1943 date. The fork is December 1943, so probably the original foe it.


This bike from Tomato John is the closest survivor to yours.

Did you find your bike in the Philippines?

Are those the original wheels, if so, can you give me the date for the Morrow hub?

Thanks again for your help.

Best Regards,

Adrian
Hi Adrian, sorry i missed your reply. Yes its from the Philippines. I got the frame and fork only unfortunately. I've since accumulated some parts for it. I'll be using an earlier Morrow hub on it, F1 code, as it'll be very hard to find the correct one. I bought an Eclipse front hub, and again unfortunately the seller lost it somewhere. I got a Bendix one and i want to ask if they used these too? Found it painted with olive drab color. And did these Military bikes used New Depature hubs?
2A39CEAF-AB53-445F-973E-7FAE88E3D818.jpeg
55CD38CA-2BA2-423E-ADD4-746F24970888.jpeg
 
Hi Bon,

Thanks for the update. (-:

Locating parts can be a long affair for these bikes. I think the best way to do it is as you are, obtain workable substitutes, then replace them if the right item ever turns up.

I sympathise about the lost Eclipse front hub. I had one disappear in the post too, one of very few items that I've lost in the post between the US and France.

There's no evidence of the style of Bendix hub you show being used on G519 bikes. Bendix was a post war rename of the Eclipse hub, but as a company it had been around for a long time. Perhaps the hub is off one of the other military applications of bicycle type wheels, such as a stretcher gurney, though looking at the one illustrated below, it seems to have the heavy duty hubs, and possibly Centipede tyres.

1630928013365.png

Picture courtesy Nelson Dionne.

Collapsible Field Carrier, Item stock number 9917500,
The Carrier was a collapsible 2-wheeled cart designed for carrying one loaded Litter over long distances. It featured two large wire-spoke bicycle wheels with pneumatic tyres size 26 by 2, and also featured a single leaf suspension system. These carts were manufactured by The Colson Corp., Elyria, Ohio, the Best Metal Products, Inc., Long Island City, New York, Dayton Wheel Co, Dayton, Ohio, and the Jerald Sulky Co., Waterloo, Iowa.
More Information here: https://www.med-dept.com/articles/ww2-us-army-litters/


You probably know that Bendix marked heavy duty hubs, the same as the Eclipse ones, are available, and usually a lot cheaper. Once painted, you practically can't see the markings anyway.

Here's some that recently sold on CABE: https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/bendix-k-hubs-36-11-36-10.195279/

Best of Luck, and let us know how the rebuild goes.

Best Regards,

Adrian
 
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