I've been working on bikes for quite a while. I have a compatriot, James, and while we have very different approaches the partnership works.
Me: ummmm bike - get it - fix it - flog it or leave in the garden. Make pennies take way too much time.

James: ummmm bike - wash and flip.

He is profit oriented, I am waste my own time oriented.

Somehow I've got it into my head that we can amalgamate this by flipping modern bikes while I do a bit of a restoration on a vintage bike. I came across an ebay advert:

RARE! Vintage Black Delivery Style Raleigh Bike for restoration

"It’s very old, possibly pre war. I’ve taken a picture of the hub head made by Sturmey Archer which gives some indication. The gear shift is not connected and I do not know if the gears operate or not. Everything else on the bicycle operates but needs a good clean up. It is a while since I tested it so the brakes might be less than roadworthy."

Well. I did a little bit of research, primarily based on the Sturmey-Archer hub, which has "AB-8" on it. From what I understand, the "AB" means it is a 3-speed hub with integrated brake. The -8 took a little more reading but it seems that a single-digit suffix was only used for a 9-year period. According to colwoodwheelworks this means what we have here is a 1938 hub. And it's fair to assume the bike therefore is a 1938 model.

I then managed to find a 1938 Raleigh catalogue online and only two models had the top bar mounted shifter, the Dawn Safety Tourist Model 20 and the Sports 'C' Tourist Model 38. The primary difference seems to be frame size, the Dawn being 22" and the Sports 'C' being 21". A quick measure and it seems ours is 21".

The only confusion being ours seems to have the Sturmey-Archer brake on the back like the 38X but the rim brakes on the front like the model 38. Perhaps the front wheel was changed, maybe it's a special build, it could even be a completely different model and I've got it all wrong!

After entering some discussion with Peter the lovely previous owner with a true gift for showing an interest in people, I mounted the bike into the rear seat of my wife's A5 cabrio (her having taken my estate car for the week) and brought it home in bits.

And that's how it is now. In bits, with some obvious first work to do:
- Remove the tinware for straightening
- Remove the chain for cleaning
- A general de-grease
- Replace the Sturmey-Archer gear cable.

Then I'll reassemble (probably sans the tinware for now) and see if it rides!