# 63 Schwinn American



## marching_out (Jun 18, 2017)

Finally finished this weekend. Started last fall and worked on it off and on throughout the winter. Just picked up the rear rack last week from a girls Schwinn and decided to clean it up and put it on last minute. It adds quite a bit to the look of the bike. This is my first middle weight build. I've done a few lightweights from the early 80's and a muscle bike. This one came with it own issues. Lots to learn.


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## GTs58 (Jun 18, 2017)

Very nice looking example. Fenders look immaculate.


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## bobdenver1961 (Jun 21, 2017)

Great looking bike! I like the rear rack. I think I'm going to have to try one on my King Size


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## REC (Jun 21, 2017)

Nice job! I agree the fenders look perfect. Mine on the 26" are close but not as nice as those, the 20" one doesn't have fenders, and the jury is still deliberating on the 24".  
The 24 & 26 I have are both '65 models. The 20" one is a '61. I went with the rack on the 26", and have one here for the 24".  Gotta see if I can straighten the fenders on the 24 before committing to the rack I think.
REC


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## marching_out (Jun 21, 2017)

Thanks for the compliments. The fenders turned out pretty well. I didn't worry about dents and the rear actually has a 1/2" tear in it. The stays were in great shape but the undersides were a mess. I debated what to do with them, then decided to go with a citric acid bath scrubbing with a wire brush and aluminum foil. I got most of the rust off but there were a few large patches of rust on the underside the were really thick. I got them as smooth as I could and ended up spraying the undersides with rust reformer, chrome paint, then clear.

After finishing this project, I thought about the different difficulties I encountered. The pedals were a pain because they couldn't be disassembled. Cleaning up the rims was not much fun either. I estimated I spent around four hours on each rim. The paint on this bike was really thin in some spots and I probably took off more than I expected. Overall, it was a great learning experience compared to the newer lightweights I've finished. Now, with all my new found knowledge, I just need to decide what bike to work on next!


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