WW2 1943 Military Columbia Westfield Bicycle

[Clark58mx]

I’m selling this WW2 1943 Military Columbia Westfield men’s bicycle for a friend. This is the real deal and not a tribute bike. The serial number is MG151647. Hand stamped and staggered. And the frame welds are not perfect. The story behind the bike is that it was used On a military base by a mailman, and he was able to bring it home after the war where he lived in Niles OH. It was bought from his sister, after he passed away. The bike has been repainted. There is a couple touch ups that are a different shade of green. The wheels are the original heavy duty style with Eclipse hubs. Original grips and wooden block pedals. Check out the photos. My friend is asking $3200.00 The bike can be shipped. Any questions please ask.

 

[mre straightbar]

Freshly sprayed no scatches sure its the real deal

 

[Clark58mx]

Freshly sprayed no scatches sure its the real deal

It’s been repainted as mentioned above. I was referring to the serial number, which indicates it as a 1943

 

[mre straightbar]

5000?
Not even worth 500

 

[OldSkipTooth]

5000?
Not even worth 500

I hope your trying to be funny here, because if not, you are infringing on this gentleman’s sale, and your comments are a detriment to the CABE!

 

[DaGasMan]

I wish I could afford it. It’s got a lot going for it. GLWTS

 

[Mercian]

Hi All,

just to confirm that MG151647 is overcoded K8, and is a genuine August 1943 G519 frame with the correct 'Sweetheart' chainring for this time.

Best Regards,

Adrian

 

[jimbo53]

Any reason why there is a kick stand when there are drop stand tabs on the frame?

 

[Major Taylor Archive]

My guess is the 40's was a transitional time when side stands were becoming more popular. It maybe never had a drop stand when it left the factory but they had a ton of the older style dropouts and used them up until they were gone. Common manufacturing process. Maybe Mercian can shed some light on accessories of the period.

 

[Mercian]

Hi Jimbo53,

66Tigercat pretty well has it. the frame was not designed for the application, a suitable pre-existing civilian frame was modified instead.

See the very similar 1941Columbia "Miami" in this link:

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/my-42-westfield-fb-marketplace-find.149992/

Early military frames also have the curved bottom bar, but this was changed early in production to simplify construction.

The US Army specified a side stand for all their bikes. both Huffman and Columbia used different side stands.

At the end of production for Army G519 bikes in early 1944, there were one or two small orders of similar bikes for the USMC. These had detail differences, such as the tyres, colour, and were fitted with drop stands.

http://www.bergerwerke.com/images/519images/original519history/USMCbk2.jpg

Photo credit; Bergerwerke

Best Regards,

Adrian