Sort of a barn find Murray

Bike Wall
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
blacksheep

blacksheep

Joined
Aug 12, 2008
Messages
440
Reaction score
2
Location
Western Slope of CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Saw this pic in a CL ad:
tcoiid0a.jpg



I e-mailed asking about a price and what brand the bike was. Got a decent price quoted to me, but the seller didn't know what the bike was. I could tell from the spoke reflectors that it was at least a '70s or newer and I guessed it was probably a department/hardware store bike.

When we arrived at the farm to get the bike, the seller informed us that she had owned the farm for the past 20 years and the owners before that for at least as many. The bike had been hanging up on the barn wall ever since she owned the place. I pulled the bike down off the wall, and that was the first time in more than 20 years that anyone had touched this thing.

My Suburban was loaded with my wife, kids, and my folks so there wasn't room in the back of the truck for the bike. I mounted it up on the bike carrier and proceeded to drive the 60 or so miles home in the blowing snow and slush-covered roads. Great way to treat an old bike that has been hidden from the outdoor elements for 20 years, huh?

Here's the bike. It's a 1979 Murray Monterey. It is very dirty and has some spots of surface rust. On the positive side, the fenders are completely dent-free and it's riding on Carlisle Lightning Darts.
sxpoqrzf.jpg


sqn4iprc.jpg




And here's what it looks like after a quick wipe-down, handle bar adustment, tire inflation, and reflector removal/replacement.
3vpv5xwx.jpg


akndlwzx.Large.jpg


updtwwh4.jpg



It still needs a ton of detailing, but I really like the looks of it already.
 
Re: Sort of a bard find Murray

Dude how are the tires? looks like you goy one with the repop carlisle tires on it. Nice! You could probably get a decent price for the tires alone! Some of the montereys had tho carliles on them. Mostly the ones that are the color of your bike...
 
Re: Sort of a bard find Murray

Those are real nice looking bikes for the time! Very simple but beautiful at the same time.
 
Re: Sort of a bard find Murray

Nice. It looks like it was hardly ridden at all, judging from the handlegrips, seat, and pedals.
 
Re: Sort of a bard find Murray

I dig the way it looks right now, nice to see that there are still some good old iron hanging up in the proverbial barn. I was given a woman's version of this bike same color and all last year,but it only had one Carslisle on it. Nice stuff. Cheers
 
Re: Sort of a bard find Murray

Nice find,...you probly need to remove that rear reflector also...Have you ridden it yet?...bet it rides nice as it looks.
 
Re: Sort of a bard find Murray

Thanks for the nice replies, guys. It looks to me like this bike was hardly used. The Carlisle Lightning Darts are in great shape, the pedals show no wear, same thing with the seat and hand grips. I pumped up the tires and the tubes are holding air. I've ridden several laps around the basement and it rides and stops great.

The biggest thing to do is detail it. It's got lots of small rust spots through the paint. With some chrome polish/rust remover those spots basically disappear. Is there some trick to cleaning up rust over paint that would be quicker? The chrome wheels are also going to need some major cleaning. Anyone ever try CLR on rusty chrome?

I took off the reflectors, but replaced the HUGE square rear reflector with the small round one. The only reason I put that one on is because of a very noticeable welded-on reflector bracket. Small reflector or ugly bracket? I guess a small reflector looks better.
 
For rust on paint, I use rubbing compound, then go to polishing compund(or maybe it's the other way around... I go coarse to fine, however it works...). Seems to work well for me anyways. For real thinck rust, I use some real fine scotchbrite-type pads soaked with wd-40. Isn't too rough on paint, but kicks the rust's butt. Then you can use a wax or polish after that...
 
For those of you who doubt the "Barn find" story, I've included some pictorial testimony to back up the afore-mentioned claim.
100E4902_6fbb7.JPG

Notice the barn, and a big one at that.
100_4888_cbbcd.JPG

Notice Blacksheep entering the barn behind the owner. "Twas a slippery walk up the hill behind him.
100_4893_1615a.JPG

The Murray squints in the bright snow after so many years in the dark loft of the old barn.
It was great getting a real "barn find", almost as cool as finding the Fat Tire Electra. :lol:
 
Man I'm going to have to watch the weather... I didnt know anybody was still getting snow. I thought that was over. Cool find . Really was a heck of a barn. :shock: :shock:
 
I'm confused here...(nothing new!) Are the tires repop or are they original Carlisle Lightning Darts? The new owner is saying original (I think) and RatRod and another are saying repop. Which is it? B607
 
From what I understand...they made a repop version of this tire design to go on these Murray bikes that were made in the late 70s.
 
I just went downstairs and checked the tires. Here's what they say:

LIGHTNING
DART


Carlisle Tire & Rubber Division
Carlisle, PA


Made in USA


So I'd say they were repops by the original manufacturer.
 
blacksheep said:
I just went downstairs and checked the tires. Here's what they say:

LIGHTNING
DART


Carlisle Tire & Rubber Division
Carlisle, PA


Made in USA


So I'd say they were repops by the original manufacturer.
Click to expand...

what bikes did those tires come on originally, before they were reproduced for the murrays ?
 

Latest posts

Back
Top