Vintage Bicycle Find

[kerosene]

So, I wasn't completely sure where this thread belonged so, I am putting it here.

So, we did some garage saleing this morning and I happened across this neat old bike. I did not previously have a bicycle, so this is a new and exciting thing!

It needs a bit of TLC. Does anyone know a lot about bikes? How do I begin the process of restoring this treasure? I am having a little trouble identifying the age of this bike, too. Here are some pictures:


A bit rusty, but nothing that is unsolveable, right?


This is on the back fender. I imagine the bike was made somewhere between 1960 and 1963. But I could be wrong, so I am trying to find out as much as I can about it.


I'll bet I can clean it up a bit.


This looks like I took it upside down, because I did, but I wanted to show the crank area. It says "Hiawatha" which, I think, is a brand made in the US. Does anyone know about Hiawatha bikes?


That is the serial number, I am guessing. I found it under the crank (if you can't tell.)

It also appears that several decals or brand labels have been removed. If anyone out there has any experience restoring vintage bicycles, please let me know. I would like to bring it back as close to original state as possible. (Now, I need to figure out what its original state was!)