Rusty, Crusty, Cool

[scrubbinrims]

Thanks for the comments guys.
This thread has a decent amount of views and I thought an original Fleetwood Supreme would have drawn more feedback...maybe Huffman mania has reached its peak and on the decline.
I should have created a new user account and launched this as a fresh barn find outside of the hobby, woulda been fun.

Cleanup is revealing respectable frame/fork paint, the fenders don't have a dent or tear in them (neither does the tank) but only a little greater than 50% paint.

This bike is calling out for whitewall tires, but I only have one set available...do I break the seal...are they too nice?
Probably best for a shiny Spangler type of bicycle, but it's what I got.

Chris

 

[kingfish254]

That tank (and the whole bike) are sweet!
Nice score!

 

[ZOOK]

Those bikes do have some clean lines.

 

[ZOOK]

I too can hear those whitewalls crying out!

 

[scrubbinrims]

Updated pics all cleaned up attached.
Most likely will keep and appreciate it as is...maybe more Firestone 37-38 streamline frames/paint pattern than any other in this class of Huffmans, yet few and far between unrestored copies around.
Chris

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[slick]

The bike came out great Chris. I love it as is. Original is better in my opinion. Great job.

 

[RJWess]

Wow the bike came out great. What did you use to remove the surface rust?

 

[scrubbinrims]

Wow the bike came out great. What did you use to remove the surface rust?

This bike was barn fresh so I went over it with a finishing scuff pad initially so not to have ferrous slop, then 0000 steel wool and a rust remover called whink (not at big home improvement stores, but local hardware), finished with a couple of gun oil rubs.
Chris

 

[fatbike]

That is a nice find. Sure looks really close to this find in 2007 but with stainless fenders.http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...leetwood&highlight=1937+Firestone+streamliner

 

[cyclingday]

That's a super nice find Chris.
It's pretty ironic, that after all of the dealing we did over that 3 rib chainguard last Spring, that you would end up with a similar patina bike that just happened to be missing the chainguard.
I picked up an original paint 39 Firestone Twin Flex awhile back, and guess what? It's also missing the 3 rib chainguard.
There must be a bicycle graveyard somewhere, and it's full of Firestone 3 rib chainguards. Those things must have sucked bad, because almost every og. Firestone is missing its chainguard.
If someone out there in TV land has one of those guards to sell, do yourself a huge favor and throw it on e-bay and let it ride, because there's a bunch of us out here, that are desperately looking for them.

I've almost come to the conclusion, that since it is so common for those bikes to be missing their chainguards, that an original patina bike looks better without the guard, than to put an aftermarket place holder on it.
Afterall, the early Bluebirds never had a guard, and nobody misses them on those bikes.