Swedish Barn Find! 1924 Indian Big Chief
This amazing 1924 Indian Big Chief is an unrestored barn find! Originally sold new in Sweden, it is up for auction at Mecum Las Vegas on Friday, January 25th. The amazing bike can be found here on Hemmings.com and on the Mecum website here. It is lot F104 and has a pre-auction estimate of $38,000 to $50,000! If you’ve been looking for a really cool original vintage bike, this may be the one for you.
One of the key factors in valuing a bike like this is the amount of original paint that is left. Some bikes of this era have been exposed to such harsh elements that there is little to no original finish left. As you can see with this bike, there is a ton of original paint and you can also still make out the “Indian” script on the sides of the gas tank.
The engine is No. 91X755 which is a 74 cubic inch twin and has been “overhauled in-house by the MC Collection (85 hours) overseen by Jörgen Sundberg of Grevbo Engineering.” Mysteriously, the ad states the engine hasn’t been started since it was overhauled.
The profile of this bike is awesome. From this shot, it looks like it’s going 80mph standing still. The sweep of the handlebars along with the shape of the gas tank and seat make for a great design. So, what do you think of this bike? Will you be a bidder? If so, would you restore it or leave it as-is?
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Comments
This thing could come right to my place. I would fix it up completely and ride it as long as my knee holds up. It’s nice to see original paint/logo but this is too far gone, not to redo it completely. Of course that’s just my opinion but I tend to get panicky when the bare metal comes through.
shoot it with clear and leave it be, Sweet bike!
I hope Wheels thru Time by’s her for the museum.
Get Mike & Frank from American Pickers!
Where is this Sweeden you speak of ?
Next to Fiinland!
I think maybe it’s next to Norweigh… :-)
Drop an LS in it!
I really like the fact that the rear muffler nut is not even attached to the engine….makes me wonder what kind of rebuild it got???maybe thats why they did no want to start it….
Chief? Looks like a 101 Scout to me. Saddle’s a bit low, too.
My Grandparents had an early Indian, older than this one.Dad says we have a picture of it somewhere. Dad was born in 1924, and he says the bike was sold before he was born. I think it was sold before my Aunt was born, she was born in 1919.
Bee aaa u ti ful.
Good eyes Sebastien – that loose exhaust nut sure detracts from the 85 hrs of rebuild time. It’s hard to tell if the threads on the head spigot are ok, but even then, if you’re charging big bucks to overhaul an engine, how can you sink 85 hrs into a simple two-banger flathead and NOT fix that exhaust connection?? That sure makes me think there may be some alternative facts here…..I’d like to see the invoice for that 85 hrs.
10 hours of rebuild time 75 hours of staring at it to figure out how. I’d restore it to new condition JMHO.
The heck with mike and frank. They have more than their fair share. Lol
if it was Mike, he would offer them 150 K out the gate. for the guys wanting to “restore” this bike, the rarity of originality on vintage motorcycles makes them much more valuable than the equivalent on cars. I’d tighten the exhaust nut, but first I would make them start the engine before I bid a cent on it.85 hours of work on the engine/transmission carb, wiring, etc. is a lot of hours,
Sold for $55K.