1950's J.C. Higgins help needed.

I've built that same bike. The wheels will fit. The seat tube and down tube is 1" and the seat post is a 5/8 solid bar (sometimes bent in a 7 shape "Lucky 7") The seat post clamp is probably welded into or part of the frame.

I put Bontrager Hank tires on it....26 X 2.3 Dual Compound.
Bontrager Hank Tire - revolutioncycles.com (Not the Ebay dealer)

Nice bike! It should make a great build with all that you've described. Don't just dump those wheels that are on it... relist them on ebay. Same with anything else you swap out with your modifications. Somebody will appreciate their being available for their restoration and you can recoup some of your build expenses. I look forward to seeing the finished bike. I'm sure partial to these older American made bikes. Old Elgins make great candidates for a motor bike, but are on the pricey side. On many of these the frames are rock solid. I'm impressed with the one on my old 34 Elgin and on the 63 Schwinn Americans. The Americans are middleweights, but you wouldn't know it from the frames. Good luck with your classy ride!
Silverbear

Hi, I got a beach cruiser at a yard sale for 20 dollars .I could tell it was old cause of the weight and the way it was geared ( high) After I got it home and striped off many many coats of old paint I found the serial numbers and in the end it turned out to be a 1953 Columbia - tri - star. All I really have it the seat ,H bars ,frame and rear wheel that are original. All I use is the frame . I swaped out the forks for a set of Monarch springer remakes. They look good but the springs are wound too close to really function properly. They collapsed and the company that made them won't replace them without more money. The bike runs an 80cc from Chris Hill in Canada that runs fine and is only just broke in. I did have trouble pulling away from stop signs with the gears on that old thing . Man it was hard to pedal so I put a 22 tooth on the rear hub and a 36 tooth front gear and now its easy as pie and much better.If the engine was to fail you could actually ride the thing home. I'll try and get a picture up .....Tom in West Virginia

brax_1 said:

Hi, I bought an old JC Higgins off of Ebay that I am going to motorize. I bought it because I wanted an old bike with some character. It is on it's way but I want to get a head start and buy some parts (already bought the 68.5cc engine).

What I need to know to get things going is:

The O.D. of the seat tube and the O.D. of the down tube.

Also, does anyone know if a 26" x 1.75" rim front and back fits my bike?

Build details:

1950's JC Higgins (model and exact year unknown)
PowerKing 80cc slant head engine kit
SBP shift kit (this is why I need the O.D. #'s)
Sun Rhyno Lite XL rims 26" x 1.75" 12 gauge spokes
Nuvinci hub
Sturmey-Archer front drum brake with dynamo
Shimano rear roller brake
SBP HD freewheel conversion kit
SBP Expansion chamber
Manic Mechanic Clutch adapter
Biggest road wheels that will fit (suggestions much appreciated
Brooks B135 saddle
All new bearings and parts.
I will decide whether to change the color of it when it get's here.

Thanks to everyone in advance for the help.

Click to expand...

That's a real nice bike, just as it is. It's going to be a real head turner with what you have in mind to do with it.
Since it does not look at all abused I would think your bearings would be fine with an inspection to be sure, of course, but just leaning and repacking with a good quality grease. New ones may be of poorer quality than the ones in it. As for the wheels, what do you mean by "bigger"? Taller, or fatter or more heavy duty? If it were me and I had an unlimited budget, I would put worksman wheels on it, the front one with the drum brake. Second choice would be a heavy duty Huffy with drum brake up front and a bikeworldusa rear coaster brake wheel. Third choice would be a set front and rear from bikeworldusa with no drum brake up front, but at least a front cantilever brake added. Any of these would work. I don't see any advantage to a narrower wheel than 2.125 on a cruiser motorbicycle.
If you remove that seat for a brooks, put it up for sale on swap and shop and someone may be able to use it on their build, like me for instance. New leather and it is like a new seat. Or sell it on ebay and someone will appreciate having the original. Congratulations on your "new" bike.... gonna be nice, for sure!
SB

brax_1 said:

Hi, I bought an old JC Higgins off of Ebay that I am going to motorize. I bought it because I wanted an old bike with some character. It is on it's way but I want to get a head start and buy some parts (already bought the 68.5cc engine).

What I need to know to get things going is:

The O.D. of the seat tube and the O.D. of the down tube.

Also, does anyone know if a 26" x 1.75" rim front and back fits my bike?

Build details:

1950's JC Higgins (model and exact year unknown)
PowerKing 80cc slant head engine kit
SBP shift kit (this is why I need the O.D. #'s)
Sun Rhyno Lite XL rims 26" x 1.75" 12 gauge spokes
Nuvinci hub
Sturmey-Archer front drum brake with dynamo
Shimano rear roller brake
SBP HD freewheel conversion kit
SBP Expansion chamber
Manic Mechanic Clutch adapter
Biggest road wheels that will fit (suggestions much appreciated
Brooks B135 saddle
All new bearings and parts.
I will decide whether to change the color of it when it get's here.

Thanks to everyone in advance for the help.

Click to expand...

I dont think i can help but................
NICE RIDE