Saturday Night Estate Auction Find

[robertc]

Hey guys,
I haven’t been on the cabe lately mainly because of work and the lack of finding anything to speak of. Saturday night I went to an estate auction to try to purchase a Schwinn wall clock. The price jumped to $160 which was way more than I wanted to put into it. That was in the first 20 minutes of the sale.

I was ready to leave when I spied a bicycle against the wall. I couldn’t get close enough to it to be able to tell much about it. It looked pre-war so I was interested in it. I was able to win the bid on the bike at what I thought was a reasonable price. I have been researching it on and off all weekend. I could use some help from some of you folks.

The bike has a Morrow hub marked with a 36. I know the seat is wrong and the rear fender is possibly not original. Not sure about the chain guard. The bike has been repainted years ago. The original paint was reddish in color. I have look at the crank sprocket of several manufactures. I have found that it matches those found on the Hawthorns. Haven’t found any serial numbers as of the present but I’m sure they are under the paint somewhere. Oh by the way, I pumped up the tires, raised the seat and road her around the block this afternoon. See photos attached. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jpromo]

Sweet find indeed! The chainring and fork do point to Hawthorne. It looks to be from the Moto-balloon era of the mid thirties. The 36 on the Morrow hub indicated 36 spokes but if you look at it again, you should see a two character designation with a letter and a number 1-4. This will tell us the age of the hub and, if it's original to the bike, the age of the bike. I suspect you'll see something like E2.

 

[robertc]

jpromo,

I can see a 3 but the first letter looks like a "l" It could be a "I" which would date the hub as a 1939. I am guessing that the bike would be from around that time frame even if the hub is not original to the bike? One other item of interest, the head badge screw holes on the front tube are horizontal across instead of vertical. This would be the same configurations as a Hawthorne badge. I’m sure there are others that would match also. Thanks for the help so far.
Robert

 

[jpromo]

'39 would be really late for a moto frame like this. The moto-balloon era was primarily '33-37. I've seen Westfield products in this style into early '38 but no later that I know of. I'd put this bike around '35-'36 judging by the pictures.

 

[robertc]

It looks like a stright mark besides the 3 but there is a little rust there. It could be a "E" or "F" and just not stamped hard enough. E would put it in 1935 and F in 1936. That would be more in line with the frame style that you refered too. Thank for the comments, you have been a great help.

 

[Steve K]

Nice score

Robert:
Very nice find!!!
Hope to see it in person when we all get together again in February or March for our 2nd annual Cabin Fever event.
Heading to the meeting Sunday with Richie and the gang in Eden to discuss.
Steve K - Greensboro

 

[ejlwheels]

It is a Hawthorne from about 1935.
It would have had rain gutter fenders.
I think the frame was manufactured by D.P.Harris/Snyder.

 

[robertc]

Steve K, I hope to see you Sunday. I’m looking forward to another winter swap meet. ejlwheels, your information was outstanding. I have been searching for Montgomery Ward catalogs on the web with no luck. This ad was great. Thanks to everyone.

 

[Adamtinkerer]

Great find! I picked up a ladies version from around the same year last fall.

 

[robertc]

Adamtinkerer,
Mighty fine old girl you have there. I really love the old pre-war rides. What area of Western N.C. are you from?
Robert