Prewar War Time Columbia 26" mens balloon bike

[stingrayjoe]

Another collector showed me an original paint, red bike over the weekend with a Columbia decal for head badge. "De Luxe" decal on down tube and the serial # on bottom of hanger 1M2355.

The bike has black out hubs (ND front, Morrow rear) and a blacked out crank. Chainring appears to have been replaced with a Hawthorne. The bike has a black leather Mesinger sliding rail saddle. No photos sorry.

Any ideas on a date?

 

[Mercian]

Hi, @stingrayjoe

Sorry, it's not possible to date it from the information given. 1M2355 is not a prewar or wartime Westfield format number (LXXXXX to LXXXXXX where L is a letter from A to N and X is a number starting at 5000).

Either it's badly stamped/misread/covered in paint, or it's not a Westfield.

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[stingrayjoe]

He sent me this

 

[Mercian]

Hi @stingrayjoe

Thanks for the picture.

It's a nice clear stamping, so we can rule out my first three options, which leaves us with 'it's not a Westfield Columbia'.

Aside from the format being wrong, the letter font and size are also wrong for a pre or wartime Westfield. The 1 normall has a flat top to it, for example. Here's more examples:

Westfield Frame Numbers 1933 - 1945 | Classic Balloon Tire Bicycles 1933-1965

Dear All, I have posted a Westfield frame number/date list from 1939 to 1945 in the Military Bicycles section: http://thecabe.com/forum/threads/westfield-frame-numbers-1939-1945.100742/ This is just a first draft, so I would welcome any further Westfield frame types/codes/numbers that expand...

thecabe.com

Having had a quick look here, it doesn't appear to be a Schwinn, Huffman, Hawthorn or CWC either.

Serial Number And Date Code Information | Bicycle Restoration Tips

Non-discussion thread for information and links for serial number and date code information for bicycles and parts. If you like a post please give a "thumbs up". Send suggestions, questions, comments, or corrections to OP (original poster) or a moderator. Would be great if anyone would like to...

thecabe.com

Sorry,

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[stingrayjoe]

He sent me more photos today.

 

[tryder]

My guess based on the frame, chain ring, headset, and general configuration of the bike (assuming that no parts have been changed) is that its a '42 Huffman. Someone must have put the Columbia decals on later.

Perhaps the wheels were added later as well.

Can you get the date code on the rear morrow hub?

Safe to assume that the bike is a Huffman made between 1941 and 1946.

I have a very similar bike. I would venture to say that this is an earlier photo of my bike but my bike has no serial numbers on it whatsoever.

Perhaps they are from the same bike shop.

I am interested in the bike. Please let me know if it becomes available.
Thanks.

 

[Mercian]

Hi @Stingray Joe

I agree with @tryder .

There ar many features of the bike that look like a 1940's Huffman. The frame, headset, chainwheel are all Huffman style, the wheels have WW2 blackout hubs. The font of the serial number looks like Huffman, but it is the only one I've seen with 1M at the start. Huffman numbers can be a little ideosyncratic though.

If there ar no holes for a badge, then it is most likely 1943 since they werent being fitted at this point (and also wouldn't have had a tank/chainguard when built). That shade of red is also typically WW2 civilian.

tryder has sugged looking at the Morrow hub for a date. It is also possible that there is a date on the rear of the fork. Look at post 14 here for an example.

A Newbie here with an Oldie (Shapleigh) | Classic Balloon Tire Bicycles 1933-1965

Hello... I'm new... here's how I got here... was given this bike years ago.. a friend was help cleaning up some family farm property.. They had thrown this into a rented dumpster over the weekend... He, knowing I love old stuff, told me about a bike with a tank and I told him I would take it if...

thecabe.com

I think we'd be interested to know what you find.

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[newstreeter]

Thanks to all for your interest in this bike and to StingrayJoe for starting the thread for me. Here is some additional information that I can offer in response to your questions.

The stamping on the rear hub is as follows;
01 36 13
Eclipse Machine Division
Made in Elmira, NY

There does appear to be holes for the head badge which are pictured above. There also is a stamp on the rear of the fork which I attempted to photograph that appears to be a single character "5".



The rest of the bike came to me about 15 years ago as you see it rolling on these same wheels and tires that are pictured. I did replace the hand grips with the closest thing I had to something that was correct because one of the originals was altogether missing. Other than that, I tried not to mess with it.

Thanks again for your interest

 

[Krakatoa]

Fork is Huffman. Wartime Civilian model? 1945?

 

[tryder]

Your Morrow hub date is 1945.

I wonder where the Columbia stickers came from.