Yard sale find

[Bodecci]

Stumbled upon this Hawthorne bike, which were sold by Montgomery Wards way back.

AND it has the Bendix Red Band 2 sp hub on it.

I left it upside down just because you guys need to stand on yer heads once in awhile

It was dirt cheap. Nearest I can figure it was built between '62-64? That's the closest I can find given one reference for the Bendix hubs of this type being only built during those years. However I may be wrong. Doesn't matter, it's in fairly decent overall condition needing tires, new bearings, fresh lube and a whole lot of grease of the 'elbow' variety. Something to do this spring.

 

[velofrog]

Re:

will fitting new tyres change it's c of g and flip it the right way up?!

 

[Bodecci]

Re: Re:

will fitting new tyres change it's c of g and flip it the right way up?!

I'm hoping so. I overhauled the front hub since my last visit. Maybe the fresh grease will help? :?
BTW looked so good I didn't even use new bearings. Just put the old cages in the same place. Adjusted up fine.

 

[Bodecci]

Last nite I'd cleaned up the inside of the rims and gave the spoke nipples a shot of good old WD40. Today after overhauling the front hub, I decided to true it up. Loosened all the spokes, got tension even and found a good wheel! After not much work I have almost no side to side, about 1mm max. It does have a flat spot, but it's a long one, 10 adjacent spokes and it's around 3mm at the lowest point. With nice, even spoke tension and a fairly tight wheel, I quit!

 

[RickTheUncivil]

thats a nice find. lets see how she looks after all the elbow grease.
Whats your plan for the main frame, clean up and see or strip back and refresh?

 

[Bodecci]

thats a nice find. lets see how she looks after all the elbow grease.
Whats your plan for the main frame, clean up and see or strip back and refresh?

I'm just gonna clean it up. Paint on the top tube is mostly gone, but the primer is still there, so overall corrosion protection is adequate. I don't think these have any collector value, other than just being old. And decals? For this? Be easier to find a 5 legged dog. So a full on restoration is out of the question. Custom paint? Sorry, I know myself too well. I'll end up building the stock hubs up in alloy rims, alloy bars, stem, seat post, 3 piece crank conversion....................what happened to my bank account?
BTW I'm sure you all know this trick. Those fine brass wire wheels? You know, the ones you can put in your old electric drill. Makes quick work of chrome cleaning. Still have to get out the Simichrome, but a whole lot less is needed. You priced that stuff lately? 8 bucks a tube?
http://simichrome-polish.com/

I still have some left I bought 20 years ago. I'll have enough for this project.

 

[Bodecci]

B/B is junque. Parts are cheap and plentiful. Did verify it's 24 TPI big.
Rear hub adjusted up fine, but I plan on doing an overhaul as the RB2's are getting valuable. Rear wheel trued up fine using the previous method. Less than 1mm out of round and side to side with even spoke tension. I like that. I just can't figure out why most of these finds for me end up with more front wheel than rear wheel problems. Is it a Bodecci curse?

 

[Bodecci]

Yup, basket and horn. I'd built up a Takara last year for my father. Too upright and too quick steering. He's gonna be 89 this year. This bike is more his style. He uses it to get the newspaper in the morning and the mail in the afternoon. Basket time.
Horn to keep his puppies close. And it just fits this thing

 

[Bodecci]

Came out purty nice when you consider the low expenditure. Rides real good. I do want to shorten the lower bracket I made up for the basket, but I just HAD to take it for a spin. Brings back memories of a simpler time.