PROJECT SIMPLEX

[cotton]

Will, here is a picture of a 1941 seat and a 1955 seat.  The pan of the smaller seat is just like the one you showed. It has no oblong hole for the bolts. The only way you can get the bolts in is from the top before covering the seat.  Mike, if Paul Treen traced his rump to get the size of the seat, his butt must have grown a lot between 1941 and 1955 - haha   

[Ricks]

Nice Cotton.  Did you get the 1941 finished yet?

[Mike Sal]

From what I've been reading, the early years had a standard seat, plus an oversize optional seat.  I think the tank & seat he has are from earlier bikes (the first across the board bigger seat came with the G models).  So with multiple sized seats available over the years, it can be hard to nail them down.  I do believe this bike originally had a vinyl covered seat like Pete's.

According to Bob Kerrs records, the frame number says the bike is an early '59 model.  
Mike Sal

[cotton]

No, Rick, I'm no where close yet.  I live about 4 1/2 hours from Portland and hope to have it there this summer. We can always dream....

[Mike Sal]

Which direction would you be coming from cotton?  I'm also about 4.5 hours away in southern Illinois.
Mike Sal

[Gramps]

With all this discussion about seats I had to dig mine out.
It looks different underneath than the ones posted so I assume it has been recovered. It is fastened down with pop rivets. Were pop rivets around in 1956?
It measures 14” wide and 15” long.

[pd]

"Were pop rivets around in 1956?"

 "In 1916 Royal Navy reservist and engineer Hamilton Neil Wylie filed a patent for an "improved means of closing tubular rivets" (granted May 1917).[3] In 1922 Wylie joined the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong-Whitworth Ltd to advise on metal construction techniques; here he continued to develop his rivet design with a further 1927 patent[4] that incorporated the pull through mandrel, and allowed the rivet to be used blind. By 1928, the George Tucker Eyelet company produced a 'cup' rivet based on the design. It required a separate GKN mandrel and the rivet body to be hand assembled prior to use for the building of the Siskin III aircraft. Together with Armstrong-Whitworth, the Geo. Tucker Co. further modified the rivet design to produce a one piece unit incorporating mandrel and rivet.[5] This product was later developed in Aluminium and trademarked as the 'POP' rivet."

That^ from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivet

So , yes they were around in 1956 . Probably not very widely used .

I think your seat cover is a more recent addition , as it seems to have a draw string perimeter .
As far as I know , Simplex never used that type of cover .

Pete .

[Gramps]

Very interesting about the pop rivets, thanks. Also you picked up on the drawstring that I hadn’t thought about. With the condition of the material I figured it had been recovered. The seat size 15 long X 14 wide, would that be the largest? In some pictures I have seen there looks to be much larger seats than mine.

[Ricks]

Very interesting about the pop rivets, thanks. Also you picked up on the drawstring that I hadn’t thought about. With the condition of the material I figured it had been recovered. The seat size 15 long X 14 wide, would that be the largest? In some pictures I have seen there looks to be much larger seats than mine.

Yes, that is the large size.

[WillH]

Ok; I have found a better frame for my project; number is 12912. Can someone tell me the year on this one? Thanks so much.

Will

[admin]

1956

[WillH]

Thanks Rick..................

Will

[Mike Sal]

Will, is it just a bare frame or did it come with other parts too?  Does it have the brake lite switch on top of the right rear lower bar?
Mike Sal

[WillH]

 Bike was a mostly complete roller. Brake light switch bracket on top of right lower frame tube; clip-on sheave; straight side handlebar riser; dual fill tank; no retainer nuts on front spring rods; rib type footboard covers.

Frame has some damage to left crash bar but otherwise, a very good frame with lots of original paint; minimal rust inside tubes.

It's amazing how much rust is inside the lower tubes on most frames. They weren't oiled or sealed from the factory (which I will do); of course, they didn't expect the bikes to still be around 50+ years down the road.

Will

[Mike Sal]

I can remember seeing a couple of frames in the pile at Gary Wollard's house that had the lower bars rusted completely in half, right behind the motor plate. 
Mike Sal