Help Identify This Bike
Too bad the first picture is so backlit. I can't zoom in very well- amazed you have determined its a Columbia! The chain guard is by Wald, purchased sometime in the distant past from an IBD. The fork has most certainly been damaged from a frontal impact. The pedals were most likely installed after 1973; the year the CPSC mandated pedal reflectors. The frame itself is so weird- it looks as though the spot-welded dropout attachment had failed (common failure) and was repaired with bolts and nuts (common "field repair"). The rack, if "homegrown", it ingenious, if a little raw. The surviving decals, if original, suggest an homage to the popular Schwinn American of the early '60's, but also remind me of the mass market Columbia 10 speed bikes marketed about 1975. The more I look at it- the bizarre rear dropout, which stands incongruous to the rest of the bike- and the way the rear rack braces were installed (one "out", one "in")-I suspect the bike was damaged and repaired "at home" by a good lay mechanic. He did the best he could with what he had, and kudos to him. I suspect the bike may have stared life about 1973-1977 as a lifestyle model. Cool bike!