1972 Montgomery Wards XE424 ??
- Thread starter Scumbag
- Start date
Hi,
its been awhile since i've been on the forum, alway dig the great knowledge here, thank you.
My sickness("love") for mini's is still strong.
Anyway,
My gal & ! have a 'survivor' we're getting around to respectfully restoring to its original running order.
I'm not the most knowledgeable with Montgomery Wards, Allis, Gilson's , so anything you can add to these pictures will help us do it justice. (thanks in advance)
What i got so far, to the best of my knowledge is:
The engine is mid 1972, and the bike looks like a Montgomery Wards XE424. (missing lights) If the motor is correct(?).
But, i read in the 1972 MWards catolog that the 1972 verson was a V424, "V" for variable speed (torque Converter).
But, i know, in minibikes, most of the year lines are blurred and catalogs are only sometimes what was in stores.
So I'm pretty close,
but, still, there is sooo many here, who know soo much more,
i Still need to ask:
What is it?
AND,
to do this MiNi justice, does anyone have a nice front fender, and a nice front rim that you would be willing to part with ??
(photos above)
its been awhile since i've been on the forum, alway dig the great knowledge here, thank you.
My sickness("love") for mini's is still strong.
Anyway,
My gal & ! have a 'survivor' we're getting around to respectfully restoring to its original running order.
I'm not the most knowledgeable with Montgomery Wards, Allis, Gilson's , so anything you can add to these pictures will help us do it justice. (thanks in advance)
What i got so far, to the best of my knowledge is:
The engine is mid 1972, and the bike looks like a Montgomery Wards XE424. (missing lights) If the motor is correct(?).
But, i read in the 1972 MWards catolog that the 1972 verson was a V424, "V" for variable speed (torque Converter).
But, i know, in minibikes, most of the year lines are blurred and catalogs are only sometimes what was in stores.
So I'm pretty close,
but, still, there is sooo many here, who know soo much more,
i Still need to ask:
What is it?
AND,
to do this MiNi justice, does anyone have a nice front fender, and a nice front rim that you would be willing to part with ??
(photos above)
Last edited:
The engine is a 1982, and not original to the bike. Looks like a recreation spec one, so that's a bonus. You can see the single speed set up, and the narrow clutch cover bracket so no Variable speed. Bonus the cover is still there!
That bike has no shocks/lights so it was likely a 323 or a plane jane 424 but without the tag behind the forks or original decals/engine it'd be hard to tell.
Almost all of those fenders get bent like yours as the mounting design is less than stellar, they are surprisingly easy to bend back into shape, then buzz the crack back up from the bottom.
looks pretty complete so I would just redo it as you wish and enjoy it. Those Gilsons make excellent riders for an adult, and are a fantastic platform for all kinds of builds as they are a bit larger and were designed with both big blocks and small block Tecs.
That bike has no shocks/lights so it was likely a 323 or a plane jane 424 but without the tag behind the forks or original decals/engine it'd be hard to tell.
Almost all of those fenders get bent like yours as the mounting design is less than stellar, they are surprisingly easy to bend back into shape, then buzz the crack back up from the bottom.
looks pretty complete so I would just redo it as you wish and enjoy it. Those Gilsons make excellent riders for an adult, and are a fantastic platform for all kinds of builds as they are a bit larger and were designed with both big blocks and small block Tecs.