Hello all,
Sorry I have not been participating in any discussions lately. But I have been trying to research as much as possible about this Hiawatha I have.
Here is an update:
1. After being transported from Des moines, Iowa to a self storage facility in Sgt. Bluff, Iowa nad sitting there for over a taer the Hiawataha is now at the local bike shop being mechanically overhauled/rebuilt.
2. It has been recently discovered the pedals are Schwinn and it is believed the crank and crank arms are also Schwinn. It was someone in this group who advised me the chainguard is a Schwinn and it had an "incorrect" chainring on it that was thought to be a Wald replacement.
3. The bike has been 75" disasembled. The fenders, handlebars, rack, saddle and front end are still assembled. The battery box, grips, wheels, chainring, tires, tubes, chain, and tank have been removed.
4. I have the half of the tank with the horn. It still had old batteries in it. One was very corroded and had fallen out of the holder and was "fused" to the inside of the bottom of right side of the tank. The other was still in the holder with little to no signs of corrosion.
5. The horn is a Delta. At least that is what it says on the horn.
6. I put fresh batteries in the horn and it does work. But it sounds more like a buzzer than a horn.
7. I can turn the round "disc" that says Delta 360 degrees in either direction. It also looks like it has small tabs holding it on that can be "unbent" to remove it. As I turn the disc and push the button the tone changes from an obvious buzz to more of a horn sound.
8. The grips have to be replaced.
9. There is a hole at the end of the handlebar, on the top surface, on the right side, the grip covered it up. There is no hole on the left side.
10. I purchased a Hiawatha chain guard from Ebay.
11. The head light is missing.
12. Original grips are in terrible shape. Need to ne replaced.
13. Tires, tubes and rim tape needs to be replaced.
14. For right now the bike will not be fully restored. It does have scratches, and a few minor dents on the tank. It also has petina and surface rust that can be cleaned off with CLR and steel wool.
This is what is going to happen with the Hiawatha:
1. It is going to be mechanincally overhauled with same chain, chainring, cranks, pedals, rims, wheeL bearings, bottom bracket bearings, handlebars, head set bearings, saddle, tank, and horn.
2. Chain guard purchased from Ebay will be installed.
3. Spokes will be reused if they are good enough, otherwise they will be replaced as will the rim tape.
4. Tires and tubes will be replaced.
5. Grips will be replaced with black Schwinn replica's.
Here are more questions to this point:
1. What style of tires would be good for this bike? It is going to be ridden. Would white walls look better or black walls? Is there a specific brand collectors and restorers like to use. I usually prefer white walls on a deluxe bike and this one likely came with white walls. Given you are going to leave it crusty for the time being a set of John's repo black walls would be an excellent solution.
2. Is it normal for the horn to sound more like a buzzer than a horn? As I stated as the disc is turned it changes tone. Should the disc be taken off to adjust something on the inside of the horn? Should it sound more like a horn when I get the other half of the tank on? Don't expect a car horn sound out of these--no matter how it is adjusted it will still sound more like a loud buzzer than horn
3. If I did ever want to replace the chainring, cranks and pedals is there a new/old stock supplier I can reach out to? or some other resource OTHER THAN Ebay? Ebay is not a very good source for parts like this. There are no NOS suppliers. Other collectors may have NOS parts and if you don't want to source from Ebay then either attend shows, run a wanted ad here, or both.
4. Is there a web site dedicated to Hiawatha's or a book, guide, etc. Any other legitmiate resource? No,
As previously discussed Hiawatha is a brand that was sold through a department store and over the years there were a few different manufacturers (suppliers). Other than period ads there is no book currently on post war CWC products or Hiawatha brand bikes specifically.
I have taken photos of the bike with it torn down at the bike shop. My wife and I have also found old photos with the my father in law and the bike in it. I am hoping to create a slide show of the photos I have taken and of the photos we have found.
I am sure I wil lhave more to ask later. For nw thank yuou for any information and advice you can offer.