HARPO
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Another Craigslist find, but not what I expected when I got there. 
Photos of the bike were not good, and when I spoke to the gentleman, he said his neighbors house was being cleaned out and the bike was going to be tossed. It belonged to the 90 year old man who had lived there (original owner), and the bike he said was covered in dust, etc. when he saw it. So, he took it and placed it on Craigslist for "$100 or best offer".
I asked if he had the lights for it when I saw the Dynohbub, and he said yes. They were in a box. He said he cleaned the bike up, but really didn't know anything about bikes, but couldn't see it being tossed. So, after getting directions to his house (45 minutes from mine) off I went.
Upon seeing it, I was very disappointed in the overall condition from a distance. And then to make it worse, the gears wouldn't shift. Crank just kept spinning around. Cables were all cracked. Light was in pieces in a plastic container. Tires were shot. Saddle dried out. So I told him it would be way to much time and money to put into in on top of what he wanted.
I did show him though how to date the hub (which is July 1953), what the hand on the crank meant and how it was also on the logo, etc. He said make an offer, and I said I couldn't.
And then I saw the bent fork! He said I was right and he didn't see it. I thanked him and was about to leave when he said he was going to toss it then and asked if I would I just want to take it for parts. He'd be happy doing that he said, and was thankful for me giving him info on the bike overall and what to look for in the future.
Maybe I'll find a fork and complete it at some point...maybe it will be parts. Anyway, a worthwhile trip not far from home!
Oh, and I just HAD to remove the basket that you'll see in one of the photos!!
Photos of the bike were not good, and when I spoke to the gentleman, he said his neighbors house was being cleaned out and the bike was going to be tossed. It belonged to the 90 year old man who had lived there (original owner), and the bike he said was covered in dust, etc. when he saw it. So, he took it and placed it on Craigslist for "$100 or best offer".
I asked if he had the lights for it when I saw the Dynohbub, and he said yes. They were in a box. He said he cleaned the bike up, but really didn't know anything about bikes, but couldn't see it being tossed. So, after getting directions to his house (45 minutes from mine) off I went.
Upon seeing it, I was very disappointed in the overall condition from a distance. And then to make it worse, the gears wouldn't shift. Crank just kept spinning around. Cables were all cracked. Light was in pieces in a plastic container. Tires were shot. Saddle dried out. So I told him it would be way to much time and money to put into in on top of what he wanted.
I did show him though how to date the hub (which is July 1953), what the hand on the crank meant and how it was also on the logo, etc. He said make an offer, and I said I couldn't.
And then I saw the bent fork! He said I was right and he didn't see it. I thanked him and was about to leave when he said he was going to toss it then and asked if I would I just want to take it for parts. He'd be happy doing that he said, and was thankful for me giving him info on the bike overall and what to look for in the future.
Maybe I'll find a fork and complete it at some point...maybe it will be parts. Anyway, a worthwhile trip not far from home!
Oh, and I just HAD to remove the basket that you'll see in one of the photos!!
) and wasn't tossed years ago. I'll also see about working some magic on the paint soon to begin with just to get more into the project. 
