Where To Purchase Early Postwar Lightweight Parts?

[mbstude]

Bear with me guys, it's been a few years since I dig unto an old Schwinn and replaced everything.. This is also my first lightweight.

I just purchased a nice original '47 Continental with S/A hub that hasn't been ridden in several years. Where can I purchase new, quality bearings for the BB, headset, hub, etc?

I'd also like to replace the shifter cable with new/NOS. It appears to have a black sheathing over it.

Thanks in advance!

 

[rustystone2112]

best to post some pics. here and also in the" wanted to buy " section

 

[greenephantom]

Unless the original bearings are roached, there's really no point in replacing them. I'd stick with the original American made bearings instead of taking the time to replace them with what will almost surely be Chinese balls. That said, if they're roached, your LBS will have loose bearings in stock, just take a couple of original ones in for size reference.
Cheers, Geoff

 

[mbstude]

I agree Geoff.. The '51 Phantom I restored a few years ago ended up with all original Schwinn bearings, and it rode like a dream when I was done.. At a minimum, I'm going to need new front hub cones for this lightweight.. Just starting to tear into the bike today, and both front cones are badly scored/corroded. I see some NOS ones on ebay.. I'll measure the thread size and see what I can scrape up. The headset is also "notchy", though I've not removed the stem and fork yet to see what I have.

Being a Schwinn, I was hoping there'd be an easy source for the wear parts. Or at least a vendor with stockpiles of NOS.

 

[SirMike1983]

Is this an AW hub?

For the usual AW:

The inner ball ring takes 24 3/16" loose balls. There actually will be a fair sized space with 24 in there. That is by design. These balls in the ball ring need to move freely and not bind.

The driver takes a seven ball cage (I think it's 7 1/4" balls, if I recall correctly) (Sturmey part HSA284). Non-drive side ball cup/cone should take the same type cage.

I buy the loose balls in bulk on Amazon (lots of Sturmey hubs here to fix). I buy the cages and any cones from Harris Cyclery online with other Sturmey-specific parts. I've had a couple times I bought them from SJS Cycles in England when Harris said they did not have any. The axle is a special thread, so I just buy Sturmey branded cones. I've bought loose balls for headsets off Amazon as well. The balls are of serviceable quality, but still beat damaged examples. If you have race pitting/etching, replace all balls and the worn cone/race.