Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The Wacky Purchase


Let me just start by saying this is NOT my bicycle.  I am simply the enabler who convinced the husband he should restore it and then sweetened the pot by offering to pay for it.  I ask you, is this not the most beautiful bicycle you have ever seen??   It is a late 1970s vintage Murry with one speed and coaster brakes.  Love that creamy mocha color with the butter-soft butterscotch seat and hand grips. The tires are even original and still have the little nubs down the center.  My photo doesn't do the colors justice. The tires are called "skin wall" because they are off-white, not whitewalls.  They say "Lightening Dart" on the side and have an embossed picture of an Indian Chief.   If a bicycle can be elegant, this one is. 
It is in excellent condition so mostly just needs to be cleaned up which is all a good thing because I paid way too much.  I'm trying to spin that as an excuse for me to get a fancy phone so I can check prices on the fly.  Lost my mind. 
Didn't lose it the way I did that time I got it into my head that I could restore a 1952 Chevy pickup truck that the poor husband had to pull home on a trailer with the extra cab piled in the bed of the pickup.  I took it completely apart.  Every piece.  I had pieces of truck in both sheds and in the garage and under the apple tree and even in the attic.  I even sand blasted one of the cabs.  It took me 5 years to get THAT mistake out of my backyard, and attic, and I had to give it away to make it go away.  I hope I don't ever lose my mind like that again, although a vintage Airstream trailer at the right price would be pretty tempting....
Don't you think this would look great with a wicker picnic basket attached to the back like a "trunk".  That is, if it was my project, which it is not.  But I'm going to stop at GW tomorrow and see if they have one just in case he might want to see what that would look like...  


5 comments:

oldgreymare said...

it is primo for sure <3

xx
z

Diane said...

Oh--love it--just to see this brings back sooooo many childhood memories....
Do you watch American Pickers? He just found his dream Airstream on the show that I just watched.

Kathy said...

Kathy, that bike is adorable. Although, the words "skin wall" tires makes me shudder, just a little bit. You do need the wicker basket for it!! Love it. - Kathy

Annette said...

This is just awesome and you made me laugh! But what will happen to it since it's NOT your bike??! I think you're my hero for tackling a pickup truck!

karlascottage.typepad.com said...

I used to be that way with furniture, and would buy some beyond repair projects just because I thought they could really be cool, even though they were beyond my skill levels.

But sand blasting and taking apart a truck? You've got a much more serious case of the "I can do it's" than I ever did! Wow, that is a major project to take on