# Schwinn serial number help



## ratina (Jan 1, 2012)

Need help figuring if this is a 1954 or 1956 Spitfire. The serial numbers seem to overlap? It has a bolt on kickstand. Any help would be appreciated

Also looking for an approximate value. I just rebuilt and cleaned the entire bike including hubs. 


Serial number L98xxx on rear dropout


08/11 to 08/12 ------- L97651 ------------------ L99999 1954

08/28 ------------------ L94223 ------------------- L99999 1956


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## Talewinds (Jan 1, 2012)

Hey Ratina, wish I could help on the serial number, I'm having the same issue with several 50's Schwinns, I'm finding overlapping serial sequences for several years so you may have to go fishing around the old Schwinn catalogs and see if your bike was possibly NOT produced in some of the years, this might help eliminate some of the serials as a date possibility.

BTW, I serviced/refreshed the sister to your bike this summer. This was a customer bike, she had received the bike for her 11th birthday and has taken pretty good care of it ever since.

1958 Spitfire...





Edit: Totally a guess but if I had to choose between the '54 date or the '56 date I would presume the latter because of the stamped-strap style stem. The seat is much later and not correct for either vintage. I just looked at the catalogs on TRFindley and the spitfires for both 54 and 56 are identical so that might be a dead end.


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## ratina (Jan 1, 2012)

I checked catalog pictures for both years and they look identical except for the sprockets. Neither sprocket is the same as mine actually. 

Nice job on that bike, almost looks identical to mine, but in nicer shape!


I don't understand why they would overlap the numbers


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## Talewinds (Jan 1, 2012)

I should have noted the sprockets also, especially the one for the '56 catalog. The advert shows the Phantom style sprocket on all three bikes illustrated on that page, HOWEVER, I think the illustrations are now unintentionally very misleading. I believe all the spitfires would have come from the factory with the clover style sprocket like the one on your bike.


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## ratina (Jan 1, 2012)

Talewinds said:


> I should have noted the sprockets also, especially the one for the '56 catalog. The advert shows the Phantom style sprocket on all three bikes illustrated on that page, HOWEVER, I think the illustrations are now unintentionally very misleading. I believe all the spitfires would have come from the factory with the clover style sprocket like the one on your bike.




I agree, most of the ones I've found in my research had the clover sprocket. The 54 ad almost looks like a skiptooth sweetheart but its hard to tell.


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## Talewinds (Jan 1, 2012)

ratina said:


> The 54 ad almost looks like a skiptooth sweetheart but its hard to tell.




I think you're exactly right. Although we see Schwinn using both skiptooth AND 1/2 pitch equipment simultaneously on their bikes from the late 30's through the early 50's, I have not seen skiptooth anything on a Schwinn as late as '54, I would assume the illustrations were not 100% accurate in the catalogs.

The bike I worked on started out quite orange, similar to your chainguard. I worked it over with some rubbing compound and elbow grease, the red really revealed itself then.


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## ratina (Jan 1, 2012)

My paint is faded. I did wax it a couple of times, brought a nice shine to it. All I have at the moment are the crappy cell phone pics because it was raining when I finished it. I'm going to try and get nice pics tomorrow


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## skydog (Jan 2, 2012)

...............


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## greenephantom (Jan 2, 2012)

Middleweights weren't introduced until '55, Spitfire didn't switch from Heavyweight to Middleweight until '56.  Your bike is a '56.  And a pretty nice one at that.

Cheers, Geoff


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## cyclebuster (Jan 2, 2012)

your bike has a ladies sprocket on it. look at the diameter of the sprocket in relation to the chainguard on the red ladies compared to yours. Male sprockerts are larger. I have the almost same exact bike, i think mine is a hornet though, it is a ballooner


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## jpromo (Jan 2, 2012)

Meh, I have this same problem too with a Corvette which either dates from November of '54 which would have made it a Christmas '55 bicycle, when the Corvette debuted, making it one of the earliest. Or it dates fall of '56 which would be slightly less neat.


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## cyclebuster (Jan 2, 2012)

exact same bike as mine. what wheels are on yours? is yours a balloon frame also? mine is a 5/55 hub dated, and has a blue S seat with a crash rail


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## Talewinds (Jan 2, 2012)

Hey I've got the girls version, a 56'. I get the girls versions of everything cuz that's the only old bikes around here....


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## frank 81 (Jan 3, 2012)

*Schwinn Skip Tooth*



Talewinds said:


> I think you're exactly right. Although we see Schwinn using both skiptooth AND 1/2 pitch equipment simultaneously on their bikes from the late 30's through the early 50's, I have not seen skiptooth anything on a Schwinn as late as '54, I would assume the illustrations were not 100% accurate in the catalogs.
> 
> The bike I worked on started out quite orange, similar to your chainguard. I worked it over with some rubbing compound and elbow grease, the red really revealed itself then.




 Schwinn used skip tooth thru 1958.


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## jpromo (Jan 3, 2012)

cyclebuster said:


> exact same bike as mine. what wheels are on yours? is yours a balloon frame also? mine is a 5/55 hub dated, and has a blue S seat with a crash rail




The Corvette was never made in a balloon frame, though the Jaguar was for its first two or three years.

My bike there is outfitted with Center stamped S-7s mounted to a Bendix Aviation manual which, unfortunately was not date coded like Sturmeys. I think the best way to determine the year on these early middleweights is to hope the bike has the original saddle. Mine does not which blows. But the seats were changed several times in these first couple years. 1959 was the first year for the classic 'S' saddle. '55 Vettes had a seat unique only to that year and maybe a little into '56 whilst the '56 bikes added the two-toned saddles. I heard somewhere that the bars are different on the first couple years from later years but I do not have original bars on my '58 to reference.

Here's a '55 catalog. Good to reference but we all know there were definitely some variations on what actually left the factory floor.
http://www.schwinncruisers.com/schwinn-catalogs/1955-schwinn-bicycle-catalog/


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## Talewinds (Jan 3, 2012)

frank 71 said:


> Schwinn used skip tooth thru 1958.




I don't doubt that, I just haven't seen anything with my own eyes that was legitimately original past '54. Do you know what was offered as late as 58"? Seems odd to have middleweight bikes w/ skip tooth....


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## Freqman1 (Jan 3, 2012)

cyclebuster said:


> your bike has a ladies sprocket on it. look at the diameter of the sprocket in relation to the chainguard on the red ladies compared to yours. Male sprockerts are larger. I have the almost same exact bike, i think mine is a hornet though, it is a ballooner




If you are referring to the 46T cloverleaf as a ladies chain ring you are incorrect. Both the 46T and 52T "Big Boy" were used on boys bikes while I don't recall seeing a 52T on a girls bike. v/r Shawn


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## ratina (Jan 4, 2012)

greenephantom said:


> Middleweights weren't introduced until '55, Spitfire didn't switch from Heavyweight to Middleweight until '56.  Your bike is a '56.  And a pretty nice one at that.
> 
> Cheers, Geoff




Thanks for the helpful info! Gonna write that down for future reference


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## cyclebuster (Jan 4, 2012)

well my 55 corvette or whatever it is has a heavy duty balloon frame. I have 3 of them. balloon wide frames with hand brake ribbons. mine is just like the blue one on top here. it has a blue and white S seat with a crash rail 3 speed and hand brakes, which is something i have yet  to see elsewhere.  I think its a corvette, it said nothing on the chainguard. I thought it was a jaguar for a long time. i still have it all but the wheels were stolen while it was being painted. it had an aluminum SA 3 speed dated 5 55. I almost think it had S2 wheels too


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## ratina (Jan 4, 2012)

Here are some new pics. Can anyone help with an approximate value?


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