# 1953 Panther Reclamation



## ballooney (Sep 20, 2015)

I had a panther locking springer hanging around that I was going to use for a straight bar project but decided the original paint was too nice to lose. Then the thought of building a bike around the springer occurred to me. Yes, somewhat irrational I know, but this was a GREEN panther (something about green bikes that just do it for me) and I was in no hurry...so let the parts hunt begin  Not long after, I picked up a frame and guard from Antney and the parts just kept coming. Before long I had what I needed. The frame is a little rougher than I like but will add character to the build...here is the start to my project...


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## ballooney (Sep 20, 2015)

With some substantial elbow grease, I got the frame polished up as well as it can be...picked up the tank from frank71 and the crank set from onecatahula (thanks Frank and Pete)...


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## mike j (Sep 20, 2015)

I like where this going, nice patina.


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## ballooney (Sep 20, 2015)

I picked up the fenders from ebay, the rear rack from a local collector, the stem from spence36 (thanks Chris), I had the bars, seat post, clamp and the springer that inspired this whole project.  I also found a schwinn scripted seat post that had fallen down into the seat tube...sweet!  Oh yeah, I sent the steer tube to Wes Pinchot and he removed the broken key and replaced it with an original and tuned up the locking mechanics.  The lock is as good as new and his turn around time was lightning fast.  Thanks Wes.


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## frank 81 (Sep 20, 2015)

Lookin Good.


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## ballooney (Sep 20, 2015)

more progress today...mounted the rocket ray I picked up from frank71.  Front wheel cleaned and re-greased and am going with the clay duro brick treads.


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## Tim the Skid (Sep 20, 2015)

nice work, looking good. I like green Panthers


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## sleepy (Sep 20, 2015)

Coming together very nicely, looks great.


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## larock65 (Sep 21, 2015)

Looking great so far!


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## L.I. Steve (Sep 25, 2015)

It looks amazing. Another bike brought back to life!


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## RustyHornet (Sep 25, 2015)

This is sweet! I'm a huge green lover and this is perfect. Love the tire choice.


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## ballooney (Sep 25, 2015)

Thanks for all of your compliments.  This has been a really fun project so far.  Speaking of which...wife is out with her friends and I put my son to bed EARLY!  Bike Time!!!  Tonight was spent on pedals, chain, and rear wheel.  I rebuilt the Bendix hub which was my first non New Departure and it was quite simple in the end.  I picked up a chain from npence a while back and it cleaned up nicely.  I soaked it in Simple Green for a day and then gave it a 24 hour bath in Evaporust.  Here is the before:





And After...





I even tore into a set of pedals for the first time...down to cleaning all 20 bearings!  By the way, Evaporust is an amazing product.  Here are the pedals that I started with:




and after...





I'm getting really close and am hoping to finish the panther up this weekend.


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## Awhipple (Sep 26, 2015)

Can't wait to see it!


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## Artifex (Sep 26, 2015)

Wow.  You made the right decision and kudos to your patience on letting it all come together.  This looks awesome.  Nice job - like everyone I am anxious to see the finished product.


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## ballooney (Sep 28, 2015)

*Finito!*

...drum roll please...the finished Panther is unveiled...













I'm really stoked with how this project turned out.  The bike came out better than I expected and not only does the bike look rad, it is the smoothest riding Schwinn I have.  Sorry about the last pic, I can't make it appear correctly on this site...super frustrating


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## RustyHornet (Sep 28, 2015)

This turned out amazing. Great work! I would agree the straight bar Schwinns ride fantastic.


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## sleepy (Sep 28, 2015)

Beautiful job, bike turned out great!


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## rollfaster (Sep 29, 2015)

I love it. Always liked the two tone green panthers. Red tires look great with the green too. Give yourself a pat on the back. Great job.


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