# dressing up a '41 (?) frame - decal suggestions?



## massaloch (Mar 1, 2007)

Hi,

New member and new owner of a couple of old bikes - a '41 Excelsior and a repainted frame/fork which from the serial # I assume is also a '41 - photos below. Excelsior has # F4xxxx and the repainted one (call it the 'black one') is F36xxx.  The frames are otherwise identical.  In the mail is coming what I'm pretty sure is the correct fork for the Excelsior, whose fenders and chainguard have been removed for safekeeping (as will the wheels & tires) until such time as I scrounge up original parts to dress her up nice and proper 

I have no idea if the guy I got the black bike from painted it as it had been - black/creme - nor if the forks match the frame.  I'm still coming up to speed on the history of these bikes, and am curious if the paint matches the frame matches the fork (I realize the truss rods dont - where to find the right ones?)  If they're not mismatched, what year(s) would this be?

I'm not too concerned with accuracy on this bike - I'm putting modern components on it (no brazing! - nexus 8 w/roller brake, S/A drum in front).  As a finishing touch I want to put reasonably appropriate decals on it, as well as a head badge, and I'm looking for suggestions.  I like some of the "private label" badges that I understand some retailers routinely swapped onto bikes they sold, but wonder what Schwinn badges would be appropriate, too.

I'm also considering a tank, fenders, etc, though I cant seem to find one-stop-shopping for repro parts.

Any suggestions appreciated!

Mark


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## J.E (Mar 1, 2007)

Nice start for a project.They are both DX Model schwinns.


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## JAcycle (Mar 2, 2007)

*Nexus hub*

THe Nexus hub is a wonderful idea but..................It is too wide for the rear dropout. Im just telling you this from my experience.You must modify the frame.Good luck w/ the project though


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## massaloch (Mar 3, 2007)

JAcycle said:


> THe Nexus hub is a wonderful idea but..................It is too wide for the rear dropout. Im just telling you this from my experience.You must modify the frame.Good luck w/ the project though




By chance the rear has been spread to 124mm already - the OLD on the Nexus is 133mm. If need be I can have it spread another 9mm.  In the short term I was going to put a pair of repro wheels on it - I'm stuck with two front wheels at the moment, and I have an ND Model D I could lace onto one; that's when I discovered it was too wide for the ND.

 Thanks for the tip, though!  You just reminded me that the other bike might need to be spread to take the bendix manual 2 speed that's on it's way.

Mark


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