Local Bone Yard Score(s), The END

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Walker

Walker

Joined
Jan 21, 2009
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New Hampshire Lakes Region
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Stopped at the local junkyard this morning and asked about old bikes "just for the steel tubing for a project". At first they said there weren't any but i could check a couple of places. Now this yard is just about one of the oldest in the area so i knew there would have to be something...

I pulled 5 bikes out in varying states of decay and disrepair. 2 convertables (one looks like 20" wheels the other is smaller but no wheels), a Shelby Traveler, a Challenger (just for the headbadge although the skip tooth chainring had an integrated chain guard, and another pre-war something. The old bikes are super rusty. i saw a tricycle frame with a skip tooth chainring. and a more bikes under a pile of snow mobiles and lawn mowers.

It will probably take an hour just to dig them out to see if there are any treasures but my time was up so i paid the man and loaded up the Jetta. I didn't have time to really explore and they aren't open weekends so it's going to be a bit of a challenge to find the time but we'll see.

There were a couple of rusty wagon bodies around too, might need to investigate that further.

Of course i'll post up some photos when the camera is handy.
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), or maybe not

"Of course i'll post up some photos when the camera is handy."

....put the camera in your pocket now..... :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), or maybe not

Ok Ok. here's your photos. Anyone knowing something about the Challenger or the mystery bike with the truss rod fork feel free to comment. Mystery bike has the letter "H" on the chainring Higgins? Hercules? Haro?

Shelby Traveller badge the fine print reads Hercules cycle and Motorcar..
DSCN0661.jpg


The "big" kids bike
DSCN0660.jpg


Its little brother
DSCN0659.jpg


Challenger badge.
DSCN0657.jpg


Challenger cranks with pie pan (antique rock ring?). chainring is standard pitch
DSCN0656.jpg


Unknown middleweight with potentially saveable truss rod fork.
DSCN0658.jpg
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

Wow, that's cool! Never seen an older sprocket with a ring like that...

DSCN0656.jpg


As for the motobike type frame- The fork crown looks Westfield or Columbia to me... Elgin possibly? (Some Elgins of that period were made by Westfield...) The chainring is odd in that it has those H's.... that makes me think of Hawthorne; I don't know why an Elgin or other bicycle would have a chainring with H's but I suppose it could have been changed. Great scores!
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

Walker said:
I'll probably need to soak it for a week in Mystery Oil to get that crank out :!:
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I think you're right. :lol: That's what happens when nature tries to reclaim its iron. :roll: Killer finds... wish we had an old scrap yard like that in the area.
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

hmm... im thinkin an elgin, too. of course if its postwar, it could be a jc higgins. whatever it is, its cool and i like it. i dig all those different old chainrings back then cuz they really had character in some of the cool designs.
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

Good lord that Challenger head badge is awesome.
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

roadmaster said:
hmm... im thinkin an elgin, too. of course if its postwar, it could be a jc higgins. whatever it is, its cool and i like it. i dig all those different old chainrings back then cuz they really had character in some of the cool designs.
Click to expand...

Jc Higgins as a name was not used by Sears untill just after WWII from what I have read. Elgin was the name of the line of sporting goods at Sears starting the turn of the century (very early 1900's), and when bicycles were available, it was the name for those as well. Very shortly after the WWII, Sears, Roebuck, and CO. decided that the long running Elgin name (almost 50 years then) was to be retired, and the replacement name was to be in memory of a former high ranking employee. John Higgins had a lot to do with the business records of the company, and at the time of the name change of the sporting goods and bicycle lineup, he had just recently passed away. In his honor, they named the new line of sporting goods J.C. Higgins; (John had no middle name and no middle initial, the "C" was added to make the name sound nicer).
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

I think the chainrng with the attached guard is off of an early Monark silverking. The chainring with the H is a D. P. Harris made part. Could be either a prewar Rollfast or Hawthorne. Either way a pretty cool find.
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

The "H" sprocket is for D.P. Harris, distributor of bikes from the H.P. Snyder co. They built Rollfasts and Hawthornes, among others. Here's my mid 30s Rollfast w/same sprocket.
adamtinkererscollection007.jpg
Nice find from a pile of scrap! ~Adam
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

i love the big kids bike i wish i could find one of those they are the bomb i love the fork on it :shock:
 
Re: Local Bone Yard Score(s), Photos Loaded

The ChaLLenger was really toast. The head tube with badge attached is sitting on a shelf now. The bottom bracket has been cut out and is soaking in a Mystery Oil & WD-40 Cocktail. Hopefully i can salvage the ring and pie pan. crank arms are bent. :( . If nothing else, I've got some wall decor.

Adam, thanks for the info on the Mystery bike. Now dubbed The Harris. Unfortunately one of the rear stays must have had some water in it that froze and the tube is bulged a bit and has a crack in it. The whole rear triangle could probably be replaced as the rest of the frame is sound. After a bit of wire brushing some paint was just barely visible. I was able to get some movement out of the BB lock nut but I don't want to rush it. Stem bolt came right out but stem is not cooperating, not surprising. One thing i noticed on my chain ring is that on the big "H" in the center, somene drilled a 4 holes at each corner of the H, i wonder what that was about. Nothing i cant plug weld though....

:!: BTW: just a side note. If you source a bike that has been on the ground for a while, check it for ants before you bring it into the house and start banging on it and applying heat. The ChaLLenger was full of nasty little red buggers. :!:

Not sure what to do with the convertables...
 
With an hour to kill yesterday afternoon. i revisited the bone yard to dig to the bottom of the lawnmower & snowmobile tanglement to potentially extract some treasures. What a headache! Basicilly i think i got the best they had. I found only one Hawthorne with slightly damaged badge and bent rear triangle. There was a CMC kids bmx looking frame with "CMC on the chainring but otherwise all small kids frames or bent 70's &*0's 10speeds. a couple of the kids frames looked like mini spaceliners. I figured i've got too many projects going already so i let them lie.

then i thought i would take a walk around the backside of the yard to go way back in time and see if there was anything to be found.

This is a very unorganized yard that is probably 3 generation old. the "roads" are blocked by junk cars and on each side of you are piles of stuff that has been pushed back and piled up by machinery. There were lots of neat old cars 1930's on up. I saw a pair of FJ40's a crew cab international pick up truck and some of those old "mystery machine" looking chevy and ford vans. Some of these rigs had no floor left at all, grass and moss for carpet!

I left emptyhanded. The End.
 

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