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1963 Imperial for my wife.
I was looking for an Imperial or a Rambler for myself and came across a fellow in Edmonton that had a couple of vintage bikes for sale this past weekend. I'm a long haul truck driver and constantly check the areas I'm traveling through. Keeps me motivated:) Unfortunately the seller was of small stature and there's no way the bike will fit me. (6'1")
It's a sweet little bike and my wife it's actually interested in it.
That isn't a 1963. It is newer, probably a 65 or 66? The serial number will give you a clue. The chrome fenders are correct - you're missing the chain guard. Likely has 26" wheels.
A 1963 would have had fenders painted to match the frame colour. Nice looking colour and a real Imperial.
The Sturmey Archer AW hub has a 63 12 stamped on it so I assumed the rest of the bike was too. I can't get the serial # right now. Nice to know the fenders are correct. The cable housings are in rough shape and I wondered if there was a source for the ribbed housing. Jagwire wouldn't look right.
Thanks for the info.
I believe the 63 12 stamped on the hub means its was manufactured in December 1963. CCM wouldn't have rec'd these hubs until some time in 1964, so a 1964 model is the earliest it should be. Even then, CCM dosen't appear to have had the best stock rotation practices, so the hubs may not have been used until much later.
As suggested by Ianjay, it does appear to be a Juvenile model with 26" wheels. The 3 speed hub indicates a Sports version. CCM dropped the Electronic Blue option for this model in in 1966, so it should be a 1964 or 1965 Boy's Juvenile Imperial MKIV Sports. As such, I would expect a G or H-code serial number.
It makes sense that it's a boys juvenile model. It does have 26" wheels. The serial # is E1662xx. I've got it at home now and am cleaning and servicing. I'm going to take the saddle to the local bootmaker and see if he can fix the seams. He's performed some majic for me before.
Thanks again.
Thank-you for providing the serial number. Typically, Imperial MK IV show up with G or H-codes. My database contains 17 examples with G-codes and 74 examples with H-codes. We know that the Imperial MK IV was catalogued only in 1964 and 1965. While an E-code would appear to be an anomaly, it has long been suspected that CCM was using multiple codes in the 1960s and we lack sufficent data to make a definite statement on the early 1960s codes. Consequently, it's still possible that it is a Imperial MK IV. It's definitely not the MK IV's successor, the Imperial 700 as, in addition to the colour discrepancy, the seat tube decal is incorrect.
The other possibility is that it is an earlier Imperial MK II, which was catalogued in 1962 and 1963. While I'm not familiar enough with the variations between the MK II and MK IV to make the distinction but, based on Ianjay's statement and the hub code, both the fenders and hub would have to be replacements in order for it to be a MK II. Pending further evidence, I'm still leaning towards it being a 1964-1965 MK IV. Good luck with the saddle repair.
It's a beautiful Imperial for sure ! :)..Where I live, all old CCM are rare, very rare...Canadian Tire sells the new models but they're too cheep..keep this bike Jason.
In case it is of any help, here is a picture of me in 1964 with my brand new CCM Imperial Mark2 single speed, the fenders look the same as yours, as well as the reflector. Note your handgrips are correct but missing the white vinyl trim around the outside, you can see they are on mine in the picture.
My bike had 26" wheels with 26x11/2" white walled tires.
The seat was the blue/white Flyte, it had the two vertical coil springs as well as a number of horizontal smaller springs under the seating surface.
Found the full image that has my brother with his 28" wheel Imperial, also a MK2.
We "grew into" our bikes as they say.