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WOO HOO! This weekend was a BLAST!

-

partsguy

Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Well, I went to the Daddykatz show yesterday and had a great time. I met a guy from BMXMuseum, but NO CABE or Musclebikeforums members-hmm... My dad I packed up the car and headed out to the show at around 9:40-ish as I was going to set up a booth to sell a few parts outside. Sadly, cramming things into my dad's Taurus is no easy task and two trips had to be made (one reason I want a Classic Truck). I couldn't take ALL my stuff to sell, which was sad, but I still had some buyers. Met a lot of nice guys and 2-3 guys I talked with, well, we started talking about old cars and we didn't shut up! hehe. I entered the Teens category and around 10:30 or 11:00, Another kid finally showed up and he had some nice bikes, girls ones, but were very cool anyway. He even had the RARE HUFFY BANDIT COUNTERPART, THE GYPSY! I couldn't believe it, he said some fellow had it in his garage and was hardly ever riden! The original, Bandit Tread tires were almost like new! He also scored an awsome Shelby MEN'S bicycle in decent shape for 5.00! :eek: The amount of Classics was incredible and the elusive Donald Duck Special was also featured a few rows in front of me. It was nicely restored by a father and his son.

Anyway, on to my entry, I took 3rd place in my category and I entered my black, all original, decal badged, 1963 Huffy. Here is the story behind this simple, but cool peice Classic American Bicycle History.

I am the second owner of this Classic Bicycle. It was 2006 and it was time yet again for town's Spring Community Garage Sale. It was supposed to be rainy that day, but the sun was shining and there were deals to be had. I was almost 13 at the time, and I was with my dad and we were following the garage sale map. We then came to a house with a sale in a metal shed or barn area. My dad saw everything as junk, I did too. Until the look of a dirty fender caught my eye. As I inspected closer and started to look at it, I saw it was an old Huffy. I was still working on a rare Columbia at the time but wanted this as a parts bike as it had lots of common parts it shared with the Columbia. I asked the girls running sale, who appeared to be in their 20s, about the bike. Here is what they told me:

"Their grandpa got this bike new several years ago and he used to ride it all the time. He took very good care of it and when the arthritis and old age hit him, he parked the bike in that old shed and it sat there until he passed away. It's been covered in that oil for probably over 25 years"

"How much?" I asked and one of the girls said, "Well, originally it wasn't for sale...but how about I ask and see?" I wait, and she comes out again and says "a couple of bucks and you could take it away". Two bucks was good for me and as we began to pull it out, we realized it was, "the world's dirtiest, oiliest bicycle". I asked if I could leave it there until 5:00 or 5:30 and I could pick it up as that was when the sales end, they said yes and I paid for it. They told me to try to not be late as they have to leave around that time. My dad and I continued our rounds and we came back to the place. By this time, the rain had hit and I thought I could ride it down the long driveway-BAD MOVE! The chain's masterlink snapped and I picked up the parts and pushed it to the car. My dad's face showed disgust and he didn't hide it as he saw how dirty the bike was. He helped put it in the car nonetheless. We got home and my neighbor thought it looked like the bike from the Wizard of Oz. I put the bike in the garage and began to dismantle it. Over the course of a few months, the oil covered bicycle got some of it's parts removed and cleaned. FAST FORWARD a couple of years and the Columbia is on the back burner as I need parts and the remains of the still oil covered bike are sitting in the attic. By this time, I have joined a bicycle forum, www.thecabe.com and I have started to have a change of heart. I changed my minde to clean up the whole bike, because I became more knowledgeable, and found out how stupid it would be to part out the Huffy. I'm also a HUGE ZZ Top fan, and I saw a very similar bike in the music video for "Sleeping Bag". I decided to clean up the WHOLE Huffy and I started to run it's numbers, do research and as it turns out, the only major flaw on it is the rear reflector lens is broken out. This summer, the tear down began where I left off the previous summer. Last summer (2008), the rims were dismantled and EVERY spoke and spoke nipple was painstakingly cleaned, polished and re-assembled. Very early, 2010, the bike was to be finished and making an appearance at the 2010 Winter Bike Show in Indianapolis-that got canceled for me, and the Daddykatz show was delayed. It made it's debut yesterday at the rescheduled Daddykatz Classic Bike show.

Sadly, no pics exist of when it was first dragged in all it's filthy glory, these pics were taken today out in the nice sun. I wish I could have got pics of it at the show and of the other bikes, but I forgot my camera-grr! Also, the bad thing about it being covered in oil in the late 70s or early 80s is that, that oil ate away at the decal head badge and seat tube decal and only some of the decals remain.

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When I got back, I took it out for a run-it's first real ride in almost 30 years (unless you count that mechanical test with my Boy Scout Troop last spring). I didn't put a nut on the coaster brake screw and I should have-learned the hard way AGAIN. simple fix, put the original screw back on today and fixed it with a nut. Rides GREAT, you don't feel athing when you ride this, it rides like a Cadilliac.
 
Also, I bought two things at the show, and a nice guy gave me a neat Street Rodder Magazine from 1989! I bought the Spaceliner for 15.00 and the tank for 10.00. The tank is not right for my bike-I don't think it's the right gender either. Oh well, I knew if it didn't fit, I could easily resell it. The Spaceliner will serve as a parts donor for my project-its a shame and I regret having to do, it is beautiful and ride good-except the rims need retrued-BAD! When I bought it, it was in peices, I put it together with some random, but fitting, hardware I had lying around.

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CLEAN battery tray!
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Sweet bikes I wish I could of made it to the show. I had to go to birthing classes instead I guess family is more important. Im glad you found some good bikes there I had fun last year at the show. Im thinking of having a bicycle cruise in at the New Bremen Bicycle Museum early summer I will let you know when it is.
 
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