# Just picked up a pre-war? BF goodrich-rough- parts or restore?



## Nickinator (Dec 17, 2011)

This one had been advertised in Des Moines for a while ( some of you have surely seen it), and we decided to make the 11 hr. RT drive because we also had a boys Colorflow to look at in Des Moines (see that bike under Balloon Tire forum), ended up buying it. This is the first bike I've ever seen that I actually felt sorry for!

Owner said it's a 40/41-? Also said that the BF Goodrich badge with no mention of Schwinn on it was pre-war, then Nick found the bike (we think) in a book that shows it as a one or two year only production? Is it a B6? A Panther?

Still have lots to learn about Schwinn's, especially pre-war, can you Schwinn folks clue us in on this bike? Don't know if it's worth restoring or should be parted?

Thanks!
Darcie


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## ohdeebee (Dec 17, 2011)

It's prewar Schwinn. You could restore it but don't expect it to be cheap. You're missing just about everything. I would part it out since its basically a pile of parts now anyway. Just my 2 cents.


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## Dave K (Dec 17, 2011)

It is a 1941.   I don't think I would restore it but a tank and some upgraded parts could make it into a cool beater bike.


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## greenephantom (Dec 17, 2011)

I'd see how decent it cleans up.  Looks like you still have original paint and all the original painted parts, which is more than can be said for many bikes out there.  Maybe the rust is too much in person, but in the pictures it looks like this would make a nice rider with honest patina.  

Restoration would be prohibitively expensive.  Parting out (while understandable) would be somewhat of a shame.  

Would also be a neat platform for someone to toss modern wheels onto and make a rat-rod-mod bike out of it.  Which would both preserve it and make it useful again.

Cheers, Geoff


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## Nickinator (Dec 17, 2011)

I would say we won't be taking on the resto of this one, but maybe someone else would, otherwise yes, it may be a parts bike  

It does have a locking fork too, with key in it, but may be frozen up. Is that rack wrong? What would that be off of? Sure looks pre-war too.

Does this bike have a model name? Should it have a tank? (I'm guessing yes)


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## OldRider (Dec 17, 2011)

I believe that rack is a Wald aftermarket rack, they first appeared in catalogues in the early 30s and went unchanged till the late 50s. These racks came in 3 different styles( that I know of), two with spring arms and one without arms.It looks like yours has the rounded ends on the arms whereas mine is square edged. If I recall correctly one sold here on the CABE a few months ago for 50 dollars. Here is a picture of mine.


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## Nickinator (Dec 17, 2011)

OldRider said:


> I believe that rack is a Wald aftermarket rack,  Here is a picture of mine.View attachment 34797




Oh yeah, that looks very much like it! Thanks!

Model of bike anyone?


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## robertc (Dec 17, 2011)

Hey Darcie,

Just taking off the ape hanger bar will improve your bike. I have had a 1947 Schwinn Majestic that was originally in that kind of condition restored by tpender3 (Tony) It turned out beautiful but overall expensive. Good luck.


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## Nickinator (Dec 17, 2011)

robertc said:


> Hey Darcie,
> 
> Just taking off the ape hanger bar will improve your bike. I have had a 1947 Schwinn Majestic that was originally in that kind of condition restored by tpender3 (Tony) It turned out beautiful but overall expensive. Good luck.




First thing- they are driving me crazy just looking at them- yeesh!


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## greenephantom (Dec 18, 2011)

The apes look like early ones, butterfly bars perhaps.  If they're in halfway decent shape they should be worth a decent chunk of change to someone into Sting-Rays.

As to the model.  Looks like a Standard Auto-Cycle.  Two models it could be:  BA107-1 missing tank and rack with optional spring fork added.  Or a BA97-1 with added Fenderlite & fender and optional spring fork, though not sure the Fenderlite would have been an upgradeable option.

Cheers, Geoff


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## cyclebuster (Dec 18, 2011)

man with a even half azzed paint job, and a set of wheels off a 90 dollar clearance walmart cruiser that bike would be awesome. The wally world beach cruiser with the huge mustache bars, alloy coaster wheels and ballooon white walls represents a huge portion of the cost to fix that bike up, and it would look awesome while oem parts are located. And better yet, the sprocket comes off with the standard snap ring, and is a standard 3 nib mount, so there are scads of skip tooth sprockets that will drop onto the wally wheels. the one on it may even fit. you can get those beach bikes at yard sales for $35 bucks easy, or if you calculate the cost of 2 riims, the bars, 2 tubes and 2 tires, heck just pick up a brand new bike in the box at an even greater discount, and get to painting. dont wanna paint it? scrub it up real careful with 0000 steel wool and lots of wd40. then wash it clean with prep solvent, or alcohol, wash again with soap and water and spray it with a coat of clear paint. that old paint will look good even if its only half there.


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## Pauliemon (Dec 18, 2011)

*Yeah!!!!*



cyclebuster said:


> man with a even half azzed paint job, and a set of wheels off a 90 dollar clearance walmart cruiser that bike would be awesome. The wally world beach cruiser with the huge mustache bars, alloy coaster wheels and ballooon white walls represents a huge portion of the cost to fix that bike up, and it would look awesome while oem parts are located. And better yet, the sprocket comes off with the standard snap ring, and is a standard 3 nib mount, so there are scads of skip tooth sprockets that will drop onto the wally wheels. the one on it may even fit. you can get those beach bikes at yard sales for $35 bucks easy, or if you calculate the cost of 2 riims, the bars, 2 tubes and 2 tires, heck just pick up a brand new bike in the box at an even greater discount, and get to painting. dont wanna paint it? scrub it up real careful with 0000 steel wool and lots of wd40. then wash it clean with prep solvent, or alcohol, wash again with soap and water and spray it with a coat of clear paint. that old paint will look good even if its only half there.




Then ride that baby!!!! That's a sweet ride. To nice to part out.


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## ohdeebee (Dec 18, 2011)

It really boils down to what the owner wants from a bike. If you want a muddled up rat covered in clear coat with wal-mart parts, fine. But there are a lot more less valuable, less important bikes that are just waiting to "rescued". In my opinion, this bike should either be restored, but prepared to spend the money to do it, or parted out. Parting it out will help out other collectors finish other bikes and potentially make some money in the meantime. And seriously?! Clearcoat?!


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## cyclebuster (Dec 18, 2011)

You do what you want with your bikes. I will tell you that 99.9998 percent of the planet doesnt want to see a drab bike. that clear coat will make that bike shiny and much cooler. that paint is gone anyway, and the clear will stop rust. Its a bike. Not a religous artifact. They made more then one. for $125 and a few hours, that bike will become very very cool and rideable. OR better yet, strip it to the frame, spend 2500 restoring it into a bike nobody dares ride for fear of a scratch. Then you will have a bike that only 99.9998 percent of the world will consider spending the 3500-4500 you will want for it. While this guy has been riding his to the delight of himself and his neighbors for the year it takes you to restore yours. And really if your gonna strip it to restore whats the difference if the paint stripper has to chow an extra layer of clear in 2-3 years? Any chrome is gone, those wheels are unsalvageable. The fenders are available repop for less then the body work time to strip, roll and paint them. Doing my suggestion will instantly and cheaply make that at least a $500-800 bike to ANY MAN WOMAN OR CHILD. Whats it worth now? Why spend 2500 to make it a bike you cant sell but to maybe 1 in a million people? The bike was made to ride and enjoy. not look and dream. Ride on Brother. No offense to any purists, we all like what we like. I clear coat these old devils all the time. the difference is unreal. Try it sometime before you burst into flames.


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## ohdeebee (Dec 18, 2011)

I guess what I'm saying is, if you're going to take a classic bike and slap on some Wal-Mart crap, why not just ride the Wal-Mart bike in the first place. Repop fenders, Chinese wheels, Chinese bars, Chinese seat, Chinese tires, etc. It's a disgrace to the bike. I'm not trying to wrag on anyone for what they want to do with their bike. Personally I don't really care and really it isn't any of my business. From a collectors standpoint however, I will always try to save whats left of the original paint and another layer is just more headaches. I'd rather have spraypaint over the original paint. At least that is easy enough to remove. 

I understand your point about using the clear to protect the paint. To me it just looks so artificial and there are other more natural looking ways to prevent rust. I've used clear coat on restorations I've done for customers just to protect the color if they plan on riding the bike.


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