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So my coworker came up to me and said his brother was in the process of cleaning some stuff out and he had a couple old bikes. He showed me a couple pictures that peaked my interest so today we went up and I came home with 3 of the 5 bikes he had.

One was an unknown road bike, probably early 1980's, no ID left on the thing anywhere - I passed that one up.

The second was an Elgin, girls bike, looked complete. There was no way to get to it though, it was buried in the back of an Astro Van destined for the shredder. I wanted to dig it out and snag it, but there was just no way to get it out without taking out a ton and a half of other scrap metal (which included lots of other bike parts... :( ) so I had to pass up the Elgin as well.

Here's what I did come home with:

2012-11-02_15-03-59_136.jpg


An incomplete New Departure rear hub:

2012-11-02_15-09-09_80.jpg


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A skiptooth crank/chainring, with bearings but no cups:

2012-11-02_15-08-47_41.jpg


This Ross Armstrong:

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2012-11-02_15-06-30_209.jpg


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It's got a Schwinn Messinger seat on it:

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Nice front rack:

2012-11-02_15-07-07_18.jpg


Sturmey Archer 3 speed:

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2012-11-02_15-19-27_194.jpg




Also this Schwinn:

2012-11-02_15-10-56_697.jpg


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2012-11-02_15-11-27_814.jpg


2012-11-02_15-11-45_504.jpg


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And also this unknown girls bike:

2012-11-02_15-12-54_381.jpg


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2012-11-02_15-13-26_660.jpg


Pretty thick repaint:

2012-11-02_15-13-33_439.jpg


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Front blackout hub:

2012-11-02_15-15-37_136.jpg
 
And the shifter works smoothly, too!

My buddy said the bikes were (as far as he knows) never left completely exposed outside, they were always under a leanto of a shed as best he remembers. Seems to be right, everything turns freely on all the bikes. The Elgin looked to be much cleaner than these 3, and the road bike was as well.

There were a couple more skiptooth chainrings, cranks, fenders and at least one other old bike buried in the van as well, and dozens of rims. If I had a whole day to take everything out of the van and take all that I wanted, I'd come home with a hundred pounds of parts, easy.
 
I probably would have dug everything out and hauled it home, if you dont believe me check out my haul from my friends farm yesterday lol the thorns was so thick I had to put my mechanix gloves on to keep from getting cut
 
ratina said:
The skip tooth sprocket is Cleveland welding

The whole bike or just the separate crank & sprocket?

Thank you, BTW!

dragnusa said:
I probably would have dug everything out and hauled it home, if you dont believe me check out my haul from my friends farm yesterday lol the thorns was so thick I had to put my mechanix gloves on to keep from getting cut

Haha, I believe it! If I had room at home to store it I would've happily taken a lot of the junk he had, both bicycle-related and non-bicycle-related.


FWIW, everybody keep an eye out for a FS listing over the next couple of days, I have a feeling I won't be keeping much of this.
 
The Sturmey Archer hubs should be stamped with a year indicating date of manufacture.
 
Looks like both SA 3 speeds are 64's. Also pulled a serial from the Schwinn - H492450. I guess that means that if I looked it up right, and the listing I used is accurate, it was built 08-28-1964?

Both the Schwinn and the Armstrong test ride nicely, brakes work and the 3 speed on the Armstrong works nicely as well. No cable on the Schwinn.

I'll get more pics up later, I'm out cleaning up the dirt to see what I missed yesterday.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
 
Nice finds, I'd try soaking the girl's skip tooth down with oven cleaner to remove the re-paint. Many times the re-paint preserves what is underneath and with a little patience and persistence you will have a nice looking survivor.
 
outskirtscustoms said:
Nice finds, I'd try soaking the girl's skip tooth down with oven cleaner to remove the re-paint. Many times the re-paint preserves what is underneath and with a little patience and persistence you will have a nice looking survivor.

Thanks for the tip! I may try that if I decide to keep it. I mentioned the two ladies' frames to my wife but she is less than interested. Ah well.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
 
kchurch86 said:
outskirtscustoms said:
Nice finds, I'd try soaking the girl's skip tooth down with oven cleaner to remove the re-paint. Many times the re-paint preserves what is underneath and with a little patience and persistence you will have a nice looking survivor.

Thanks for the tip! I may try that if I decide to keep it. I mentioned the two ladies' frames to my wife but she is less than interested. Ah well.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
Just wait till you get it cleaned up and back to original paint. She will come around. If not you could part them out and the skiptooth chain alone will fetch some coin.
 
outskirtscustoms said:
kchurch86 said:
outskirtscustoms said:
Nice finds, I'd try soaking the girl's skip tooth down with oven cleaner to remove the re-paint. Many times the re-paint preserves what is underneath and with a little patience and persistence you will have a nice looking survivor.

Thanks for the tip! I may try that if I decide to keep it. I mentioned the two ladies' frames to my wife but she is less than interested. Ah well.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
Just wait till you get it cleaned up and back to original paint. She will come around. If not you could part them out and the skiptooth chain alone will fetch some coin.

If only there WAS a chain, haha. That bike is very incomplete. No pedals, chain, fenders, seat, grips, guard, or anything else that may have been on it. Just a frame, fork, stem, bars, post, crank, and wheels.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
 
I'm about to rattle off as much as I can about these bikes, much of it has been said, just want a place to type it all up for future reference. Feel free to read or just skip this post. :)


All tires are junky beyond junk.

Schwinn wheels are S-5's, have rust but remaining chrome is nice. I can't tell what the front hub is. Rear hub is a SA 3 speed, has "64 12" on it. Serial number is H492450, left rear dropout. Frame has been painted goldish-brown, original color looks to be sort of a burnt orange. Yard rides nicely, bearings are free and smooth. Front and rear brakes work. Seat is white and orange, dirty but only one small tear on left side, no major rust on springs or frame. Frame has some rust on chain stays and BB shell, guard is rusted but not bad. White fenders that weren't on the bike when I got it, but line up too well to be from a different bike, are in very nice shape. No bends, cracks, or major defects, only light rust on edges. Forks are very slim blade style and are very straight. I find no dents anywhere on the frame or fork. Has kickstand, integrated into frame, works nicely. Has rust on arm. Pedals ok, left is worst of two with rust. Crank has rust but not terrible. 4 circle style chain ring.

Unknown girls frame, painted teal, darker blue and also silver showing underneath. New Departure front blackout hub, New Departure Model C skiptooth rear. All bearings free. Crank rusty but not terrible, has gray paint. Bars have rust and pitting but overall not bad. No dents, bends, or broken welds. Light rust throughout frame, nothing major showing. Wheels are low-profile, in that they have low, rounded sides. Have gray paint. Seatpost appears frozen, though I've loosened the bolt (clamp is integrated into the frame) and sprayed it with PB Blaster. No chain, guard, fenders, seat, grips, pedals, or anything else that may have been on it. Serial is: W178153, BB shell.

Armstrong girls bike: No visible serial? Schwinn Messinger seat, black and white with "S". Bars have moderate rust. Frame solid, no bad rust, no bends, breaks, dents. SA 3 speed works nicely, reads "64 10". John Bull on brake pads, no name on brakes or levers. Brakes work. Wheels have pitting and rust in chrome but very solid. Chrome fenders have pitting, light rust, dent on front fender. 3 piece crank. Pedals decent/good. Fender struts straight. Very nice pair of racks, with pitting and some rust showing. Kickstand works great, clamp-on. Badge in nice condition. Grips decent. Shifter works smoothly. Chainguard nice, light rust spots. Rear reflector loose on fender but not broken, white plastic body.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
 
Oh, and the incomplete New Departure hub is single speed, coaster brake, skip tooth. Not sure what's missing other than the shell. Seems clean, no major rust anywhere.

The skiptooth crank/chain ring is missing the bearing cups but the rest is there. Bearings seem pretty rusty but may clean up? Rust throughout but still solid. 26 tooth, about 8 3/4" diameter on the outside of the teeth. Cool chaining design. Green paint on arms and some on ring, with splashes of red. Remaining chrome is pitted but what's left (not much) shines.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
 
My bad I was looking at the wrong picture, still the skiptooth hub and sprocket are worth some coin and if you part out that Ross I'd be interested in the rear fender reflector.
 
outskirtscustoms said:
My bad I was looking at the wrong picture, still the skiptooth hub and sprocket are worth some coin and if you part out that Ross I'd be interested in the rear fender reflector.

A part out is likely. If/when I list them, it's yours.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2
 
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