Ladies Columbia - but what model/year?

[bthoff]

Hi - not really my specialty but this bike came across my radar. Can someone give me an idea on it? My best guess is a 1950s ladies Torpedo but I could be way off...

Any intel would be valued!

 

[Rivnut]

The serial number is the key.

 

[bthoff]

Unfortunately I'm dealing with an out of state owner who isn't really wanting to go the extra mile on that. I guess I could always take a flier on it and see if he'll give me a good price. It looks like all it needs is cleaning/lube and probably tires to be a really nice looking old bike.

 

[Rivnut]

Looks more like some manufacturer’s middleweight “Space” bike to me which would mean really late 50s or 60s. Will the seller go so far as to tell you what sized tires are on the bike?

 

[catfish]

60s

 

[Adamtinkerer]

They went from script to block lettering on '63 models, so that's as old as it could be. And they had several nameless base models like this.

 

[bthoff]

They went from script to block lettering on '63 models, so that's as old as it could be. And they had several nameless base models like this.

Thank you - I ended up passing on this one. I keep seeing Columbia tank bikes popping up on CL locally (I live near Boston - so they sold a bajillion around here back in the day). Seems like a buyers market with a low ceiling on prices, almost regardless of condition.