[CR]info on Lewis bike british?

(Example: Events:BVVW)

From: "Steve Birmingham" <sbirmingham@mindspring.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 17:20:04 -0500
In-Reply-To: <CATFOODZYNX6Mma0n7J0000072f@catfood.nt.phred.org>
Subject: [CR]info on Lewis bike british?

I unpacked my newest project today, and I need some info on it

It's a Lewis bike, marked super club on the seat tube, the head badge and a decal at the top of the downtube say chicago, and the decal also has Birmingham England.

The equipment it has now Osgear Superchampion Gmoynes? 3 speed freewheel british hub co fixed gear rear hub Utility cranks Bayliss Wiley bottom bracket Phillips pedals Garelli Baby Mosquito motor - I thought this was an add on, but the bottom bracket spindle is extra long on the left to give some clearance The bars and stem look like Schwinn Ballon tire parts(AS in the bolt) The seat and post may not be original, seat looks like its old , but the tag is gone. the covering seems like vinyl anyway. The seatpost is 2 welded together to make a really long one

My questions are, 1) about how old is this? the Osgear looks original but I dont know when they were made 2) Were these made with the motor? or did the add on kit include a longer spindle 3) What parts are correct/ appropriate for the non-original ones 4) Was it common to put a freewheel on a fixed hub back then? or is this someones quick fix 5) I need to replace the rims, the back one is missing, and the front is rusted so I can't tell who made it. What rims should I look for?

Sorry for the long list, but I'm not too familiar with stuff as old as this might be.

Thanks,
Steve Birmingham