AlmostTrick

Since diving deep back into the aquarium hobby a while back I've not been doing much with bikes. (even some of my tanks are vintage 70's steel!)



But then my sister and brother in law recently dropped off these two AMF's for free and I feel like even though they are low end bikes, they deserve the once over.





Both are in nice shape, in working order and almost no scratches or dents on the frame or fenders. Even all original reflectors are there and intact. Obviously they had low use and clean dry storage. Both have vintage generator sets and there is a third set still in the box.


Plus they have these two interesting vintage accessories. The man got the speedometer and the lady got the Archer Road Patrol AM/FM radio!


I wasn't looking for any bike projects so these may sit awhile. Then again maybe posting them here will help get me excited and going! Thanks for reading.

tricky 

Cool! These would be great neighborhood bikes for someone. Well, maybe after swapping out the plastic saddles. Is that 3 speed hub a Shimano?

juvela

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congratulations on these two creampuffs; they certainly appear to be in showroom condition

you should be able to read a date on their respective rear hubs

this serial chart for Cleveland Welding Co. / American Machine & Foundry goes up to 1969 but your examples appear to be a bit later...


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1971 was about the end of metal framed aquaria for consumers

that is the time when the "all-glass" construction came in and hit big

between that and plexiglass the market for metal frame aquaria became pretty much limited to laboratory/institutional use

Akva-Stabil (later Dan-Sea) in Denmark continued to offer them into the 1980's with powder coated frames done in an assortment of bright colours

great to read you have returned to aquarium keeping, have been in and out several times over the decades meself


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Chuck M 

Survivors. I love them. And the accessories make them even cooler.

Velo Mule

Nice looking bikes @AlmostTrick. While we don't get too worked up over low end bikes like these AMF's, they are good usable bikes. Yes, the "men's" bike is Shimano 333 three speed hub. The step through frame looks like a coaster brake single speed. My experience with them has been good. They apparently improved over the time they were in production, so the later ones were better. You probably want to clean and grease all the bearings and disconnect the speedometer cable at the top and put a few drops of oil into it to keep it happy, if you didn't do it already when you put a few drops into the rear hub.

I like the accessories, especially the Radio Shack Archer radio. AM and FM. These are great bikes to get somewhere without feeling like you need to get your heart rate up. Enjoy the ride.

Post more pictures out and about when you have a chance.

Vintage Schwinn

Those are both very nice colors.
They have the ONE Piece Crank which is GREAT! You also have the 650a wheel size which is the common 590mm 26 x 1 3/8 which has a nice tire selection, though you will have to use the Web to source them online.
The 3 speed should be great. Likewise for the coaster brake roadmaster.
Somebody garaged them and/or kept them indoors. The 3 speed "Caravan" model has at least 735 miles on it yet it looks new. The tires on both models look great too.
Somebody took care of those bicycles.
They should be fantastic comfortable riders. That front chainring design looks kinda neat because you don't see them that much anymore. ...Is it 44 teeth on that?
Just a guess but from the reflector style seen attached to the spokes, I'm thinking somewhere in the 1970 through 1974 era.
That Archer AM-FM bike radio is the deluxe bicycle radio that RADIO SHACK sold. It probably is newer than the bikes, but if you wanna find out you can view the radio shack catalogs in pdf form , online, year by year to find when that ARCHER am/fm radio became available. Here is a tip for you on dating most Radio Shack product offerings.....most became available between Sept 15th and early October of the YEAR preceeding the COVER DATE OF THE Radio Shack Catalog......meaning that for example any product....say something like a STA-52 stereo receiver that was new for 1977 catalog , became available after Sept 15, 1976 for the '76 X-mas season. That was typical of most all Radio Shack merchandise.

Cool Bikes! I hope you and your family enjoy rolling up the miles on them.
Maybe open the bottom bracket (TO DO SO You'll need a 12" / 300mm crescent wrench......BOTH Harbor Freight & Walmart stores carry them for about ten dollars.
The least expensive twelve inch crescent wrench is fine, so don't worry about that. You need the 12" / 300mm version BECAUSE THE JAWS OPEN WIDE ENOUGH FOR THE NUT ON THE ONE PIECE CRANK. Besides that, you only need a flathead screwdriver which I am certain that you already own. Ah well, you might need pliers and wrenches to loosen the metal chainguard and swing it up and outta the way to remove the one piece crank assembly.
Cut two Coke or Beer cans in half, and use some Formula 87 from your lawnmower/chainsaw fuel can, pour a tiny amount in each of the two cut in half beer/Coke cans.......just enough to drown each caged bearing assembly......let them soak at least for half an hour.......do this outside, away from children, pets, buildings, leaves, pinestraw or anything with a potential to burn or ignite. use a four inch piece of coathanger wire in a J shape to lift the caged bearing assembly from its soak.
An old toothbrush and or wooden toothpick may also be helpful in some cases in getting them perfectly cleaned out. Longer soak is adviseable BUT YOU MUST BE CONSTANTLY MONITORING The Coke/Beer cans BECAUSE YOU DO NOT WANT CHILDREN, PETS, OR EVEN STRAY ANIMALS TO mess with the Formula 87.
Any type of fresh automotive/marine wheel bearing grease should be adequate. I do recommend synthetic waterproof GREEN Grease comes in 14oz plastic cylinder that is larger but about the diameter of the old frozen Minute Maid orange juice concentrate containers, widely popular from the 1960's through the 1980's. GREEN Grease is the brand name, but any of their direct competitors who offer synthetic and waterproof grease will be equally good. Even old timey ordinary military spec grease from 1942 or whenever...1954, 1959, the year doesn't matter, does not matter how old, JUST AS LONG AS THE GREASE IS FRESH. Waterproof synthetic grease is inexpensive, at approx $11 for a 14oz plastic cylinder cartridge meant for a grease gun........just open one end of the container and spoon out the needed grease using a plastic McDonalds/Kentucky Fried Chicken plastic spoon or plastic knife.....................then cap the container with a piece of aluminum foil and rubber bands.....I recommend then placing said container INTO AN EMPTY BREAD LOAF PLASTIC WRAPPER with a twist tie on it for storing for future use.
Wear disposable vinyl or rubber surgical gloves, because waterproof synthetic grease is difficult to wash off of your fingers. Wear disposable gloves also while cleaning your bearings with Formula 87. You may wish to have something like an empty bean can, soup can, vegetable can etc and a mound of sand.....place said gloves any paper towels/rags that became contaminated with Formula 87 etc into the empty steel can, and then cover them completely with several inches of sand as you then dispose them.
As for the wheel bearings and the chain, if you don't have a tiny oil bottle oiler.......JUST USE A nail or a golf tee and dip it into whatever fresh automotive motor oil that you have on your garage shelf. Just save a plastic cap from a two liter Coke bottle or something similar. Then just pour just enough to maybe drown a penny laying flat within the bottle top.....thats about all that you need........IF YOU DO NEED MORE then just repeat the process of pouring more from the motor oil bottle into the bottle top. Obviously using the golf tee or nail to get its tip wet with oil and then you DRIP the oil into the places that you need to on each side of each wheel axle, and the chain. Spin the wheels, maybe repeat the process if necessary. WIPE UP EXCESS DRIPS & Overruns immediately after with a paper towel. You should also consider the oild drip method of re-oiling the bearings on the pedals. Do this outside over dirt or grass, and not over your concrete driveway or brick patio.
The stem/headset bearings can be easily removed & cleaned with FORMULA 87 and regreased with waterproof synthetic GREEN GREASE.
My guess is that your 50 year old bikes pictured above, probably still have more grease where it is needed than the new bicycles at Walmart , Target, Dicks, etc which don't come with a sufficient amount of grease on the bearings, probably for the simple reason that it helps guarantee repeat bicycle sales sooner than if greased properly from the factory.
Have fun riding those neat old bikes!

Bianchigirll 

Very classy rigs! I wonder why the wife only got a single speed, Darn chauvinistic men!

the radio is a real gem!

zookster 

Really nice bikes. I had an AMF single speed growing up. I currently have a few "low end" projects in the queue, a Vista Cavalier, a K-Mart All Pro and a Schwinn Sprint. None of them are as cool as those are though!

John E

Not my kind of bikes, but the "time capsule" condition of bikes and era-appropriate accessories is awesome.

SurferRosa

That speedometer/odometer will come in real handy on that bike.

nomadmax 

The only Harleys that won't leak oil

dedhed

Probably bring $40-50 on Ebay