It's a small step from fighter-planes over Germany to Harleys in America.
There's something very special about war-year vehicles like the 1938 Harley. Partly, it's because they're so rare; most potential buyers were off fighting for freedom overseas. Part of it is due to the fact that these same manufacturers, fresh off the Great Depression, simultaneously produced the vehicles those soldiers used. Mostly, though, it's because the soldiers who made it home quickly bought up America's supply of like-new Harleys -- often-times, from the families of those who never came back to ride them. And that's a special thing indeed.
Bikes
The 1930s started out with over-the-top Art Deco styling, and ended up in bare-bones functionality. Its was the strange juxtaposition of the two that gave us beautiful but purposeful machines like the Depression Era Knucklehead Harley. The W-Series Harley was the entry-level bike with a 45-cubic-inch engine, and the E-Series had 61-cubic-inch powerplants. The U-Series was the sporty middle class, with several trim levels: the U and UL had a 74-cubic-inch engine, and the UH, UHS and ULH had 80-cubic-inchers.
Values
E-Series bikes are the most valuable: NADA guides lists them from $8,335 to $39,715 for a non-running parts bike to a perfectly preserved original. A non-original restoration E-series is worth about $22,600, and the EL is worth about $2,000 more than a base E-Series. The WL is the cheapest, at $4,200 to $19,400, and the other W-series are only slightly more. The base U-Series runs about $5,200 to $22,000, and the UL costs a little more. A parts bike will run about $5,700, a preserved original $23,300, and a non-original driver will sell for about $14,500.
Tags: 1938 Harley, original non-original, parts bike, preserved original, preserved original non-original