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I Relocated And Bought Back My1940s Hawthorne Comet
- Thread starter Squiggle Dog
- Start date
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Alienbaby17
Finally riding a big boys bike
Funny, I have the exact same bike (minus the springer fork). I bought mine at a garage sale last summer. I didn't even have to put air in the tires and I rode it that day.
Since then I have installed correct grips, seat and put the original rack back on.
I think they're great bikes!
Since then I have installed correct grips, seat and put the original rack back on.
I think they're great bikes!
Balloonatic
Riding my '39 Silver King 26X
Relics from our youth...
Nice story, thanks for sharing. I have to say one of my favorite parts of the story is the painting you did of the yellow bike for art class... that put a smile on my face.
The very first balloon tire bike I ever bought was a pieced together AMF Hiawatha with mismatched parts, but the very first bike I ever restored was a Hawthorne just like yours. I did it in maroon and cream and it came out so nicely, a guy I met saw it and offered me REAL money for it, so I sold it to him and used the funds to restored my Hiawatha. The guy who bought my Hawthorne turned out to be a lifelong friend and we worked together for 30 years restoring antique carousels. He became one of the premier restorers and experts of carousels in the country.
And yes, I still have the Hiawatha... it had the wrong tank and was pieced together so I did a "hot-dog" custom restoration on it. I will post photos of it here someday soon. Most of the bikes in my collection today are correct, original bikes, but I kept this one as it's the first bike I did for myself and rode it in numerous parades and for fun for many, many years. It's over restored and funky, but it's a relic from my youth.
Cheers to those relics from our youth!
Congrats on tracking down your old bike!
Nice story, thanks for sharing. I have to say one of my favorite parts of the story is the painting you did of the yellow bike for art class... that put a smile on my face.
The very first balloon tire bike I ever bought was a pieced together AMF Hiawatha with mismatched parts, but the very first bike I ever restored was a Hawthorne just like yours. I did it in maroon and cream and it came out so nicely, a guy I met saw it and offered me REAL money for it, so I sold it to him and used the funds to restored my Hiawatha. The guy who bought my Hawthorne turned out to be a lifelong friend and we worked together for 30 years restoring antique carousels. He became one of the premier restorers and experts of carousels in the country.
And yes, I still have the Hiawatha... it had the wrong tank and was pieced together so I did a "hot-dog" custom restoration on it. I will post photos of it here someday soon. Most of the bikes in my collection today are correct, original bikes, but I kept this one as it's the first bike I did for myself and rode it in numerous parades and for fun for many, many years. It's over restored and funky, but it's a relic from my youth.
Cheers to those relics from our youth!
Congrats on tracking down your old bike!
theyankeedoodler
Wore out three sets of tires already!
Reunited! Awesome!
37fleetwood
Riding a '37 Fleetwood
I'm really glad you got your bike back, sad you didn't buy mine, and hoping by "refurbish" you mean clean and lube, please do not restore that bike, it's great the way it is.
Squiggle Dog
Finally riding a big boys bike
Alienbaby17, your bike does look like mine. They had many really neat designs, but the Hawthorne Comet/Western Flyer equivalent is still a favorite.
Nice story, Balloonatic. I'd love to see that Hawthorne you restored. And the Hiawatha.
37fleetwood, I thought really hard about buying your bike. It was my backup plan. My plan for the Hawthorne is to find some close-matching spray paint at the dollar store here (because it's cheap) and paint over the original paint, using the original graphics as a guide. I used a similar method to restore this really old painting I had, with pretty good results:
I'm just kidding! I plan to very carefully sand down any heavy rust and brush down a water-based rust converter on the rust areas and bare metal, wiping it off before it dries. This will turn the rust and bare metal black. Or, I may just soak the painted parts in Evaporust, carefully monitoring the paint. Once I have completed either of those steps, I plan to very lightly and carefully polish the paint with a product like Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish, avoiding the pinstripes. Then I will wax it.
The plated parts will be soaked in Evaporust and then polished and waxed. I may wipe silver paint over the parts so it fills in the pits and flaked areas, then wiping the paint off of the plating. The rubber parts will be cleaned and treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant. The bearings will be repacked with fresh grease, probably the synthetic Teflon stuff made for bicycles.
I want to preserve the original finish as much as possible, while also removing rust and bringing back the color and shine. I much prefer a bicycle with original paint and some flaws over one that's been repainted and done to less than factory standards.
Nice story, Balloonatic. I'd love to see that Hawthorne you restored. And the Hiawatha.
37fleetwood, I thought really hard about buying your bike. It was my backup plan. My plan for the Hawthorne is to find some close-matching spray paint at the dollar store here (because it's cheap) and paint over the original paint, using the original graphics as a guide. I used a similar method to restore this really old painting I had, with pretty good results:
I'm just kidding! I plan to very carefully sand down any heavy rust and brush down a water-based rust converter on the rust areas and bare metal, wiping it off before it dries. This will turn the rust and bare metal black. Or, I may just soak the painted parts in Evaporust, carefully monitoring the paint. Once I have completed either of those steps, I plan to very lightly and carefully polish the paint with a product like Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish, avoiding the pinstripes. Then I will wax it.
The plated parts will be soaked in Evaporust and then polished and waxed. I may wipe silver paint over the parts so it fills in the pits and flaked areas, then wiping the paint off of the plating. The rubber parts will be cleaned and treated with 303 Aerospace Protectant. The bearings will be repacked with fresh grease, probably the synthetic Teflon stuff made for bicycles.
I want to preserve the original finish as much as possible, while also removing rust and bringing back the color and shine. I much prefer a bicycle with original paint and some flaws over one that's been repainted and done to less than factory standards.
37fleetwood
Riding a '37 Fleetwood
look through the site before you make any decisions about how to proceed. there are lots of posts about cleaning and rust removal. do a search for oxalic acid, you'll be amazed at some of the results.
John
I live for the CABE
I like the part
“it would never run without a full engine rebuild. The person who bought the Cadillac put a battery in it and drove it away”
Damn parents always knew what was best….. ohh yeah… I am a parent now. I better remember this when I am thinking what’s best for my kids.
“it would never run without a full engine rebuild. The person who bought the Cadillac put a battery in it and drove it away”
Damn parents always knew what was best….. ohh yeah… I am a parent now. I better remember this when I am thinking what’s best for my kids.
37fleetwood
Riding a '37 Fleetwood
when I was 15 my Dad made me pass on a 55 Chevy 210 2dr sedan with a 409 and a T-10 4 speed for $400!
randallace
Finally riding a big boys bike
Great story - I have the Shelby my grandmother taught me to ride a bicycle on - I will never part with it --
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