Apparently, from the info I found on the internet about it's serial number- it's a 1969 model- the first number before a couple of letters is the year- and that first number is a '9"
so it's probably not a '59- I think they may have stilll been importing higher quality Raleighs for Huffy then, like this one with a lugged frame and smaller tree piece crank bottom bracket
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-195...-Mens-3-Speed-Complete-Bicycle-/390559974367?
and it's definitely not a '79- I had estimated it late '60-s myself.
The fork is slightly bent and I've got a replacement coming- bummer- and after querying the man twice before driving over a hundred miles to get it- it's hard to see without putting a straightedge up to it- although the first photo seems to show it- and so I e-mailed him before I bought it and then called before I picked it up and asked him again- very hard to see- so "caveat emptor" : Let The Buyer Beware! Puts close to another $20 on the cost, but I'm still happy with it.
It's cleaning up very nicely- the chrome surprisingly well- and the paint is actually really more of a cherry red that matches my transparent anno sprayed into the cap and brushed on-
it's really about the same color as the '58 in the ad above once the grime is off.
Tried a spare alloy 700c wheel on the front and there's lots of clearance- I may eventually replace the steel back rim with an alloy 700- lighter and I can use a narrower tire for a better roll- at that point I can replace the heavy steel brakes with a shorter reach alloy I just happen to already have. I may eventallly get some alloy touring bars and stem, could even get an alloy snowflake chainwheel, or convert to an alloy crank- but not worrying about that yet.
I'd also got the saddle below on ebay, because the Huffy's looked like it had tears- and glad I did! It's in MUCH better shape and also cleaned up much nicer than these ebay photos- and I sparyed the underside with chrome paint (Red Devil from Big Lots is the shiniest I've found) and it looks like a million bucks- the bright red actually now matches the bike better than the original.