The cleveland was in sad shape. Painted a silvery white color with house paint and a brush. nothing was spared. Even the spokes, and chain were slathered with paint. The handlebars were a pitted rusty mess. The pedals bent out of shape. The tires didn't match, were cracked and split, but appeared to be old enough to be near original equipment. The fenders, painted, crushed and hammered back into their split, torn, crude original shape. The seat was original, but destroyed. The pan under the cover was rusted out around where the cover gets sewn on. It also had a hole in the top, and a broken spring on the back mattress. No one in their right mind would buy this thing. So I did. $3. At the very least, I figured it worth it for the coaster brake hub, or other hardware. The Head badge would also make a nice trophy although painted over. At least it was a start to a collection.
After getting it home, this gnarled beast began to grow on me. So I went to work on the wire wheel. Days of brushing away old paint, rust, caked on grease, and pure ugly. Once naked, the parts did not look so bad. A few could never be used again, but it was beginning to look possible. Since it was early spring that we acquired it, and one of the first that triggered my personal bicycle revival, I lacked the forethought of taking a before pic. So imagine the pic below of a similar bicycle with a horrible oil based (maybe even lead) brushed on paint job. In White.
a similar bike. much better seat and paint.
The one positive note, the bad paint job may have saved this bike from rotting completely away. After cleaning it up, the exposed unpainted parts were destroyed. The fork proved to be the most revealing though. Once removed, the original paint in its original luster could be seen. The color is a sage green. Slightly darker than the sage green available now, but very close. I also considered that this area of paint was also greased, so some tint may have deepened. Some of the original flyers and catalog pages that I have found on the net also seem very close. allowing for error in scanning from its originator, or my own display, I chose a color for the project that fit very close. The color schemes of this line of Cleveland's does not seem to fit the bits I have found on the bicycle itself. While the fork and frame were green, the rims where blue. The fenders where white, unless they actually spent time sanding these down, and the chain guard is chrome. All patterns, stampings and bends in the fenders and chain guard reflect that they are original for the model and style of frame. Maybe a bike shop mutt? Either way, this was going to be fun. Having such a blank slate, and without the heavy burden of making a full restoration for accuracy, this was going to be very educational anyway.
almost done
As you can see by the photo, the front fender, chain guard, and a few nuts and bolts are still missing. A temporary seat is also there. The new seat is going to match the grips, in a plain brown (not stamped with flowers or that other junk). The front fender is going through extreme body work. My first thought was to buy a new set of fenders, but there is nothing out there that matches style close enough. Used fenders on ebay have been a little too expensive. Around 20 for a brand new set of fenders that are just a rounded chrome, or over $75 for a set with the center peak but the supports are either wire or straight without the arching of the original. So sanding and filler will have to do. The rear fender needed some rework, but mostly minor reforming.
The tires were a surprise. At first I was set on whitewalls, but when the color scheme became apparent, I ran across the set of bell steamliners and thought they were a better match. With the tan striping It seams more subtle, lending to the slight custom feel. The grips were a steal from a local closeout for $3. Nice foam padding inside, I actually find them very comfortable.
The brown in the grips and future seat also match a tube bag I have found. A big chrome cruiser bell (new). The 60's era headlight and bottle generator (not mounted yet), may be replaced with a fender torpedo if I can get around to it.
It is Mostly complete though. At least the hard stuff. Mounting a seat is a pain with the extremely small seat tube or should I say bar. With a switch of the seat rail clamp from the original seat it will work.
My daughter suggested a springer fork, but I just do not think it would look right. New pics will be posted once complete. Either an amendment to this post, or I will repost and respell out the process with whatever changes are made.
