Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Hi Folks
My brother in law has a farm in central Victoria and in the shed is his fathers 1940 Malvern Star " Oppy Special " it was his christmas gift for 1940 when he was 17. Cost the equivalent of 4 weeks wages
Here's a couple of pix

I turned the bars down for this shot

Your got a great restoration project there.

Are the tyres 28" ? if so, how hard is it to get them?

Looks like this 3 Star has had a few changes through the years, being emasculated into a Roadster with spring seat, rubber pedals, & mudguards, but it looks like it can be saved & made into a real bike again.
What is in the rear wheel, a coaster brake, or single speed hub [fixed or free]?

I'd like to get a better look at that lower head lug if possible as well as the full serial number. It would also be good to get some good shots of the decals too, particularly the seat tube ones as I didn't know that the Oppy name was directly linked to the 3 Star & if there is an original decal with the Oppy name on it I will have learned something new.
4 Star track bike & 5 Star track & road bikes, ... yes, but I'd not before with the 3 Star model
The 3 Star was more your club racer/training bike kind of machine.

It looks to be a great restoration proposition & it reminds me that I need to re-restore ny 3 Star.

EDIT
I just saw the BSA chainwheel. If they are BSA cranks, then they would be the original & are probably the middle level of the BSA range. BSA had the 'name' & BSA components were like the English Campagnolo of the 30's & 40's. Well, a 'bit' like it.

Mike
My 1947 Three Star used 27" wheels so I presume that this one did too.

Would the oppy also have been fitted with the cyclo rear drops?
as in RIDE a couple of issues ago?

Kid_Carbine wrote:Looks like this 3 Star has had a few changes through the years, being emasculated into a Roadster with spring seat, rubber pedals, & mudguards, but it looks like it can be saved & made into a real bike again.
What is in the rear wheel, a coaster brake, or single speed hub [fixed or free]?

I'd like to get a better look at that lower head lug if possible as well as the full serial number. It would also be good to get some good shots of the decals too, particularly the seat tube ones as I didn't know that the Oppy name was directly linked to the 3 Star & if there is an original decal with the Oppy name on it I will have learned something new.
4 Star track bike & 5 Star track & road bikes, ... yes, but I'd not before with the 3 Star model
The 3 Star was more your club racer/training bike kind of machine.

EDIT
I just saw the BSA chainwheel. If they are BSA cranks, then they would be the original & are probably the middle level of the BSA range. BSA had the 'name' & BSA components were like the English Campagnolo of the 30's & 40's. Well, a 'bit' like it.

Mike
My 1947 Three Star used 27" wheels so I presume that this one did too.

In the house is a photo of Alan sitting on the bike on Christmas day 1940, it had guards but they were shorter, there is not much left of the original paint or decals, I took a photo of the pic so will see how that comes up.
Still its amazing to think it's a one owner!
Also it the house is a Master Sports catalogue for 1938 with lots of bike stuff, will post pix of that too
Cheers, Phil

I'd be interested in that saddle for one of my 'project' bikes if you are looking at getting rid of it? I live in the next suburb!

here's a pic of the cycle catalogue

Hmmmm, that Centenary Racing Special looks the goods but the price has me rethinking what my 1937 Carbine must have cost when new as it came with the Ocgear 3 speed derailleur which wasn't cheap & it was the top end, built to order road model back then.
Thats a LOT of money

1938 was the sesqui centenary of Australian settlement/invasion [opinions vary] & of NSW, but I wonder what event of significance happened in 1838.
This is a grear score from a historic cycling perspective, congratulations.

I don't suppose you could let me have that image in an e-mail could you? I'd dearly love to be able to read the text.

EDIT
I can make out the words Chater Lea, which was as good as it got & their components were almost always more costly than the premium offering of their nearest competitor, yet they stayed in business for many decades, such was their reputation & quality.

stevendavid75 wrote:Would the oppy also have been fitted with the cyclo rear drops?
as in RIDE a couple of issues ago?

It's hard to tell from the pictures just what this one has, but my 1947 example has them & I also cut up a crushed & rotted 3 Star that had them. I kept these rear fork tips & still have them but I have also seen this 3 Star model, in post war versions, with conventional rear facing tips for use with single speed hubs, either fixed or freewheel, the most recent sighting was only a few weeks back.

Interestingly, both of my Malvern Star 'Coronation' models are 3 Star bikes. These were a bizarre looking ladies bike built to celebrate the crowning or 'Coronation' of Elizabeth in 1953[?] & they were offered for a while in the years that followed.

Very strange.

here's the front page of the catalogue, I have more pix, but I wasn't allowed to posr more than one last time

rear shot