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'46 Higgins

Before:

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After:

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rms37 said:
EJ599, check your serial number against the list here at Mr Columbia:

http://www.vintagecolumbiabikes.com/id70.html

The Westfield sourced frame you have was not put into production until 1948 so I magine that is the actual year of your JCH.


You could be right, the guy I bought it from listed it as a '46. I'll have to check the # and if it's not a '46 I guess I'll have to throw it away...... :lol:
 
Yes, definately throw that bike away!...

The majority of Sears J.C. Higgins Balloon line was produced for them by Murray. There are many exceptions to this rule though and especially in the period between 1946 and 1950, several suppliers were used to meet the immediate postwar demand for new bicycles. While Murray produced the lion’s share of the bicycles examples from that time period have turned up that were made by Monark, Westfield, and Shelby but none of those variants appear in the standard Sears Consumer Catalog.

An interesting side note is that the earliest postwar Sears’ bikes that were likely available in 1945 and early 1946 were still badged as Elgins before the J.C. Higgins name was applied to the Sears Bicycle line. Both Murray and Westfield postwar Elgins are known to exist in the hobby today.

Also, on frame dates, I find the process of decoding serial numbers and divining the actual production dates for bicycles to be more fun than actually riding them. Peculiar perhaps, but I guess everyone needs a hobby….Since I have the knowledge I generally share it when an impossible or unlikely date for a bike is posted. This is not to make anyone wrong but for mainly two reasons; the primary reason is in case the owner would like the additional information about their bike, and secondly; many people reference the posts and photos on this site to date their own bicycles. If they are searching for photographic references and production date information, the added information will be useful to them.
 
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Changed out the seat with a Brooks Saddle and added a headlight that i found on Ebay.
Will be getting the front fender and rack repainted (acid from old batteries leaked onto paint and removed it to the metal) and destressed to match the rest of the bike. The person who did the Cheese Cake Factory will be doing the repainting.
8)
 
-HotRodJen- Clean it up and see how it looks before you do anything. I am just getting the front fender and rear rack redone because half of it did not have paint (battery acid leaked from the previous owner leaving them in) and they will be destressed to look like the rest of the bike. Then i will have it clear coated.
 
zathondo said:
-HotRodJen- Clean it up and see how it looks before you do anything. I am just getting the front fender and rear rack redone because half of it did not have paint (battery acid leaked from the previous owner leaving them in) and they will be destressed to look like the rest of the bike. Then i will have it clear coated.
ive been thinking about leaving it for awhile more like a "barn find" , my friend does glass work and will be makine me all the jewls for it.
 
HotRodJen said:
ive been thinking about leaving it for awhile more like a "barn find" , my friend does glass work and will be makine me all the jewls for it.

OK, I'm going to give you my secret vendor for cool stuff. Check out NightProwler, you may have seen them at some of the bigger custom car shows. Check out their web site thenightprowler. com.
They sell jewels in 7 colors, they're glass and they're cheap.
Here a pic of Crazy Mae's 'Monark 13', with a couple of reds.
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Now lets keep this between you and me, haha.
 
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