1930 Hartford by Westfield - Finally on the Road!!!!!!!!

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Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

3 wheeled wolfy said:
Those rims are classy! It's interesting that they have mtb rims and bars!

Agree on classy, they are supposed to be "sturdy" and have quite the variety with MTBs, racers, cruisers, so we'll see. I do like the concept of a carbon fiber lined one for strength. Still waiting to hear on that front.
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

Awesome Bike,hope you get all the parts you need for this build :D
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

Cherryboxx said:
Awesome Bike,hope you get all the parts you need for this build :D

Thanks Cherryboxx, I am down to just needing the Delta light & speedometer cable/drive & ordering rims. Still waiting to hear from Wheel Fanatyk.
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

Excellent build and equally excellent write-up! Look forward to seeing the completed project. 8)
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

sleepy said:
Excellent build and equally excellent write-up! Look forward to seeing the completed project. 8)

THANKS SLEEPY!!!!!!
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

The Hartford re-assembly is finally in progress:

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Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

Bought this Persons Model 219 rear reflector about a year ago for the Hartford. After I received it I realized the glass was in pieces in the housing. Looked pretty good & would probably have never been a problem but I decided to go ahead & do a mild restoration on it too.

Here’s before:
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Here are the parts after disassembly. As you can see the glass is 10 separate parts. I am going to show the reassembly steps. Disassembly would just be in reverse but let me give some tips here first. During disassembly when you get down to just the actual reflector housing, determine where you want the bottom to be and at that point gently pry out the back in that location. Bend the back as you pull it out being very careful to not distort the housing is key to this process. You only want to have to repair this one area. If the glass were intact in one piece you would have to pry up all edges which would make getting it back together a little more difficult. Had my glass been in one piece I probably would have just tried to polish it up without removing it.
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Next step was cleaning all the glass with Windex & then puzzling the glass back together using superglue gel going from 10 to 3 total pieces. I stopped at 3 so I could get them back in without distorting the housing further.
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Next step is polishing the 2 housings. I used a buffing pad in my bench grinder trying both a Porter Cable fine metal polishing stick & Meguiar’s Boat/RV metal cleaner polish. I like the Meguiar’s much better and used it mostly. This is my go to product on chrome, nickel, & aluminum. I love it and always get great results. Key is to put product on the metal, buff on the grinder, and wipe off product repeating these steps over & over until you get the results you desire. Keep in mind I was not looking for perfection just mild restoration, I wanted them to shine but was not looking to get rid of the scratches, just minimize them somewhat & eliminate the ozidation that had occurred over 80 years.
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Next step was reassembling the now 3 glass pieces into the housing insuring a good fit on both sides remembering you need room in the housing for the back. Keep in mind this is a puzzle and there will be a natural fit to which glass part needs to go first, second, third, etc. Just keep trialing until it fits and remember to check the side that will show to insure the glass balls are correctly positioned. Do not try to superglue the edges, instead use the gel superglue on the back side a little heavy but not enough to go through to the housing or glass balls. Put aside until it dries.
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Next step is cleaning up the back of the reflector housing & attachment that fits in the back of the larger housing. After a distilled white vinegar soak to remove the rust I used a wire wheel in my bench grinder to clean these up and remove all the rust.
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The next step after the superglue dries is to put the back of the reflector housing on covering the glass reflector. Gently pry it in place with a small screwdriver. Next I use my small auto body hammer with the entire reflector in my hand to gently tap around the edges until the back is completely enclosed. This hammer works great for this application. It is small & light. Key here is to do this with the reflector in your palm & use very gentle taps. Keep working it around the back edges until complete. Again, be gentle as you do not want to break the glass again.
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Now that the actual reflector housing is reassembled, full is assembly is next. Slide the reflector housing onto the larger housing that fits against the rear fender carefully getting the tabs & bolt through the large housing. Next place the small flat part into the back of the larger housing again lining up the bolt & tabs. Then bend the tabs inward with a small screwdriver and replace the nut/washer & tighten it. At this point gently using the small end of the auto body hammer with the entire assembly in your palm, tap down the tabs good. Again use great care & be gentle. Last, just screw on the nut & washer that attaches the unit to the rear fender to attach it to the bike for safe keeping until it goes on the bike.
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After Restoration:
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That was about all it appears I’ll get done this weekend. Total restoration time was about 3 hours on the reflector. Hope this helps somebody else & good luck with your restorations or builds!!!!!!!

Thanks – Gary Mc
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

Here's the seat post I'm using after I got it cleaned up. It's a pretty hard to find "collared" version.

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Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

Just got this from Ric at Wheel Fanatyk on the Ghisallo wood rims:

Hi Gary,

All our Balloon 700 rims will be carbon lined in the next order. Hope to see them in late Oct, early Nov.

Best to correspond via [email protected]

Cheers,
Ric

- wheelsmitty

I have asked him to hold out the first pair for me so hopefully I'll have this bike on the road in November!!!!!!
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

This bike is going to be a gem! 8)

Is that a Bing Crosby Oldsmobile promo on the bookshelf (left side)?
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

sleepy said:
This bike is going to be a gem! 8)

Is that a Bing Crosby Oldsmobile promo on the bookshelf (left side)?

Thanks Sleepy!!!! No on Bing Crosby Oldsmobile book, those are all golf books (my other passion) and all on the left side are Bobby Jones & Augusta National Golf Club/Masters Tournament books. I do have a great Bing Crosby book though that covers his history with the Pebble Beach Pro-Am Golf Tournament. It's actually on a shelf above just out of view that can't be seen in the pic. He and Bob Hope were instrumental in bringing golf to view for the masses and are 2 of my heroes of a great bygone era.
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

Here's the Delta light I am looking for if anyone has one they will part with. I am really looking for the version that attaches to the front of the handlebar stem bolt but would take either. This one sold on ebay last week for $480 & it was a cleaned up gem. Still sick I missed out.

Thanks - Gary

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Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

cman said:
Nice resto work on the reflector.

Thanks Clancy!!!!!!!!
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

s1b said:
Very cool build

THanks s1b!!!!!!
 
Re: 1930 Hartford by Westfield Mfg/Pope

highship said:
Lovin' it! PM sent.

Highship, Thank you & just replied to your PM!!!!! - Gary
 

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