# 1962 Violet Schwinn Superior



## Schwinn499

Well, what can I say...

Just look..




















Has an incorrect rear freewheel but now has the correct pie plate. Needs a couple little detail fixed or replaced. The chrome and paint on the bike, including the fork is about as good as you could hope to find. A big thanks again to schwinnman67 for playing interference on another bike for me. I cant imagine finding another this nice in this lifetime. Cant wait to work and ride it..


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## Schwinn499

P.s. There are a couple little oddities I noticed, curious to see if anyone else notices them..


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## island schwinn

cable covering and loose nut behind the handlebars?

SHOW OFF.


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## Metacortex

OMG that thing is beautiful! That is a major score, a grail bike for sure.



Schwinn499 said:


> P.s. There are a couple little oddities I noticed, curious to see if anyone else notices them..




Colored handlebar tape (original was white), clear chainstay protector (later add-on), funky cable coverings, Weinmann shorty fenders (later add-on) and Huret shift lever covers?


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## momo608

Even the balloon tire snobs should like this one.


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## Eric Amlie

Oh man, is that ever in nice condition!
The shift lever booties are correct if they are Huret.


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## GTs58

Congrats! You're killing me with all these beautiful finds lately. Hope you're insured! 

So what's up the bar shim?


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## Schwinn499

Check out these dropouts, I vaguely remember seeing this on another Superior somewhere..


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## Schwinn499

....


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## rustjunkie

...that color!


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## Metacortex

Schwinn499 said:


> Check out these dropouts, I vaguely remember seeing this on another Superior somewhere..




I've seen those solid Huret dropouts on several Superiors. So far it seems to be an early '62 feature:









Please post a close-up pic of your LH dropout for the record. Thanks!


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## Schwinn499

A little cruise through google images and it looks like there are a few out there with these drops, and another one with the same little odd details as mine...

...notice anything missing?


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## GTs58

I've looked for more pictures of the stem and bar shim and no luck. In your picture, upside down, it sure looks the Sport is spelled Short. Is that how all the engravings look? Never seen a P in cursive or otherwise that looks like that.


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## fordmike65

momo608 said:


> Even the balloon tire snobs should like this one.


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## Metacortex

Schwinn499 said:


> ...notice anything missing?




Well that '62 Terra Cotta Superior appears to be missing the original freewheel, front derailleur and brake levers/hoods. But another thing you can see is that the solid Huret dropouts didn't have provisions for screw-in adjusters (axle spacers) and Huret had not yet developed the fixed bolt-in type spacer that were used in '67 and later.


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## Metacortex

GTs58 said:


> I've looked for more pictures of the stem and bar shim and no luck.




The Titan "Super" stem and "Sport" handlebars were used on the '62-'63 Superior and '64-'65 Super Sport: 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/41856906@N02/sets/72157629348794407/
http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/owner-submitted/julie-s-s-1964-schwinn-super-sport/
http://www.pastorbobnlnh.com/1965-super-sport-for-sale.html
http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/1965-schwinn-super-sport-in-coppertone.8975/

I think the "Super" engraving may have later changed to "Titan": http://www.bikerecyclery.com/titan-luxe-quill-stem-belgian-1964-chrome-track-drop-rare/


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## Schwinn499

....no CroMo decal, no seat tube decal, no "15 speed" on the top tube...


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## Metacortex

I definitely noticed the 15-speed "decal", but that wasn't a decal, it was either screened or hand painted and it practically wiped off so it is rare to see that one intact. The others can also come off, but in the case of your bike it just seems too clean and original for that to have happened so they might not have been used yet? Maybe it was an early '62 thing?


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## fattyre

That is a great bike.  One of my favorite Schwinn colors.  Enjoy!


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## momo608

Are those big foil seat tube decals the vinyl type? Not waterslide


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## Schwinn499

momo608 said:


> Are those big foil seat tube decals the vinyl type? Not waterslide



Water slide.


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## Eric Amlie

That's not a decal. That section of the seat tube is chrome plated.


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## Schwinn499

Schwinn499 said:


> Water slide.



Oh? Thats when you meant.


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## Metacortex

I think he meant the demarkation decals between the chrome and the paint and not the chrome itself?

BTW, speaking of the chromed seat tube, that must have been done before the frame was fully brazed, at least I don't know how they could have chromed just that part of the frame once it was assembled. They must have had extra chromed tubes leftover after Superior production ended as here is one on a '64 Super Sport frame: http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1046896-1964-schwinn-super-sport-project.html#post18499137


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## schwinnman67

Glad it made to you ok! That is a sweet bike, too bad it wasn't a 22" frame...


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## momo608

Metacortex said:


> I think he meant the demarkation decals between the chrome and the paint and not the chrome itself?




If your talking about me I thought it was a big shiny decal! Never seen one of these outside of pictures. Never occurred to me they would chrome the frame like that.

Chrome decals


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## Metacortex

Besides the chromed seat tube (even if painted over) and the solid Huret dropouts on the early '62 models, are there any differences between the frames/forks of the '62-'63 Superior vs. the '64-'66 Super Sport? I don't think there are any but I want to be sure...


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## Eric Amlie

None that I can think of other than the '63 Superior had chrome "sox" front & back, and the '62 had them in back.


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## Metacortex

Thanks, that's what I was thinking but I forgot about the "socks". So other than certain chrome treatments (and serial number dates) they were essentially the same. In other words 1967 was the first big change for the fillet-brazed frames.


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## Schwinn499

Not to be ungrateful but i wish this bike was a 63...love that fork


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## Eric Amlie

Schwinn499 said:


> Not to be ungrateful but i wish this bike was a 63...love that fork



For some reason that I don't yet understand, the '63s seem to be much more rare than the '62s.


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## Schwinn499

Eric Amlie said:


> For some reason that I don't yet understand, the '63s seem to be much more rare than the '62s.



I agree...maybe it wasnt as popular in 62 as they thought it was gonna be so they cut production the next year.

Also there were alot of changes to the lightweight lineup in 63 so maybe thats a factor was well.


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## Schwinn499

Finally some progress on this project. Moving along quickly, not much other than dust and light grime to clean up. Chrome and paint are in really great shape..


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## Schwinn499

Home stretch.


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## GTs58

Jeez! I just went blind from all that shiny. Here on the Cabe bikes are supposed to be all rusted up!


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## Dale Alan

Looking good,shining up nicely.


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## Sigh1961

Looking nice, Cody. Is that one a keeper?


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## momo608

GTs58 said:


> Jeez! I just went blind from all that shiny. Here on the Cabe bikes are supposed to be all rusted up!




That is interesting. Guys with the ballooners and the like, are much more accepting of rusty looking bikes. Seems lightweight guys must make them sparkle top to bottom.


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## Schwinn499

Looking good but not quite done...


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## fordmike65

When you riding it to work?


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## Eric Amlie

Looks great!
I chose to run my rear brake cable over the back of the handlebar.


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## Schwinn499

Eric Amlie said:


> Looks great!
> I chose to run my rear brake cable over the back of the handlebar.
> 
> View attachment 359692



Yeah, thats how it is in the catalog photo iirc. The bike has wear marks on the head tube from both ways, I just like under cause it seems to keep the cable out of the way more for me.


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## momo608

It is? Like you I examine these terrible catalog pictures until my eyes hurt, but I'm not seeing it. The natural routing for it seems to be in front of the bars like what is seen on the later Superior.


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## Schwinn499

Pretty sure its over the bars on the early ones. You can tell by the angle it enters the cable stop.


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## Schwinn499

Another keeper.


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## 72ChromeP15

Schwinn499 said:


> Another keeper.




They're coming out of the woodwork.....


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## Schwinn499

72ChromeP15 said:


> They're coming out of the woodwork.....
> 
> View attachment 412243



Very nice! I see yours has the top tube 15 speed and seat tube quality and cromo decals. Im still curious as to why some are sans them.


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## 72ChromeP15

Schwinn499 said:


> Very nice! I see yours has the top tube 15 speed and seat tube quality and cromo decals. Im still curious as to why some are sans them.



Not sure. Got this one from a guy in Richardson Texas. I think he may have been the original owner. It came in a zillion pieces in a big box via UPS. I think he took it apart and was going to restore it "one day." 
I think maybe Schwinn had those top tube "15 speed" logos hand-painted. Looks that way to me at least.
I eventually hand-wound lighter tension front and rear derailleur springs and went to the older style
Simplex bar-cons with the ends dipped in a white pearl vinyl drum stick coating. 
Works like a charm.


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## WVBicycles

I am not a big fan of purple but this these purple superiors are very nice looking. Great score


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## Schwinn499

WVBicycles said:


> I am not a big fan of purple but this these purple superiors are very nice looking. Great score



Im not either but I cant take my eyes off this bike when im in the garage. It pops so much. I cant imagine many of these sold in this color. I doubt Violet was a popular choice in '62, especially among the other colors available at the time.


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## Eric Amlie

I've seen more violet ones than blue ones.


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## indycycling

Thought I'd share my '62 Terra Cotta Superior.........needed a TON of cleaning, but I kept it original including the paint and decals.  Cables had been replaced already along with tires, I added the cotton white tape.  Disassembled the bottom bracket and crank to clean it all.  Came from grandson of original owner with the original invoice.


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## schwinnbikebobb

I was curious so ran $140 1963 dollars to todays value.   $1111.86


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## indycycling

I really like this about these bikes......Super and Sport engraved in bars and stem - classy touch


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## Schwinn499

indycycling said:


> Thought I'd share my '62 Terra Cotta Superior.........needed a TON of cleaning, but I kept it original including the paint and decals.  Cables had been replaced already along with tires, I added the cotton white tape.  Disassembled the bottom bracket and crank to clean it all.  Came from grandson of original owner with the original invoice.
> 
> View attachment 488766
> 
> View attachment 488776
> 
> View attachment 488777
> 
> View attachment 488778



Nice bike! I have a 62 TC also! Can't wait to get my hands on a 63 superior with the painted fork, they seem to be less common than the 62s.


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## Schwinn499

indycycling said:


> I really like this about these bikes......Super and Sport engraved in bars and stem - classy touch
> 
> View attachment 488793



Indeed! And the lettering was originally pained red on bar section. A very cool touch.


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## momo608

Schwinn499 said:


> Indeed! And the lettering was originally pained red on bar section. A very cool touch.




Is that true for the later Super Sports as well?


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## Eric Amlie

Schwinn499 said:


> Can't wait to get my hands on a 63 superior with the painted fork, they seem to be less common than the 62s.




The '63 models seem to be like hen's teeth. I don't understand why. That 15 speed gearing was still useful in '63 before Schwinn changed the gearing on the 10 speed bikes in '64.


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## Schwinn499

momo608 said:


> Is that true for the later Super Sports as well?



No first hand experience with this, my 64 SS didnt have the original bars, but I found and identical set of titan/maes bars for it off an early paramount, but I wanna say so. If my memory serves me well at this hour, I wanna say 64 65 SSs used this stem and bar combo? I'd assume the red paint was applied from the manufacturer and was done all the years, but again, only assuming. I've seen very few superiors with the red paint still on them, but enough to know it's orig.


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## Schwinn499

Eric Amlie said:


> The '63 models seem to be like hen's teeth. I don't understand why. That 15 speed gearing was still useful in '63 before Schwinn changed the gearing on the 10 speed bikes in '64.



Indycyclings sale receipt is dated 7/25/63 and it's a 62 model, maybe they did not sell fast enough off the sales floor in 62 and most dealers had carry over to 63, so less 63s were ordered. Again only speculation, I'm no expert.


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## Eric Amlie

That makes sense.
They were so expensive, and in a sort of "in between" market, that probably not a lot of them were sold.
Too bad. Like you, I would love to have a '63 model with the painted fork with chrome "socks". 22" blue of course.


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## Schwinn499

Eric Amlie said:


> That makes sense.
> They were so expensive, and in a sort of "in between" market, that probably not a lot of them were sold.
> Too bad. Like you, I would love to have a '63 model with the painted fork with chrome "socks". 22" blue of course.



I feel that's the case with the 70s sports tourers as well. They were an in between model of the conti/SS and the paramount, they weren't cheap either. I'd love to find a radiant gold in either year, but a 63 would be ideal. A 65 and 66 SS are on my want list as well. In fact before I go 6ft under I'd like to have a minty example of a fillet brazed model for every year 62-78. A nice original S/S tourer would be a gem to find.


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## cyclingday

This 1962 Radiant Gold model Superior just found its way home.
It even has a license sticker from my home town.
I guess it was meant to be.
My only wish, was that it was the taller frame option.


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## Schwinn499

cyclingday said:


> View attachment 812533This 1962 Radiant Gold model Superior just found its way home.
> It even has a license sticker from my home town.
> I guess it was meant to be.
> My only wish, was that it was the taller frame option.



Glad u got it! That beauty deserves it own tear down and build thread. Radiant gold is an amazing color and very uncommon it seems. I'm curious about the pedals ok it, they typically came with 440 ATOM pedals, but as with everything Schwinn substitution were made to keep production rolling along.


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## John Gialanella

Schwinn499 said:


> ....



I have always been confused with the 1962-63 Schwinn Superior bike color Terra Cotta. In the original catalog it shows the Superior in Terra Cotta, but it is orange in color. When I have viewed lucky owners of these bikes some are red in color and some more orange. Which is correct. I think the orange color is way more attractive, then the red color. Or could it be that that that color which looks orange to me is the Radiant Gold color.
Thanks John.


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## GTs58

John Gialanella said:


> I have always been confused with the 1962-63 Schwinn Superior bike color Terra Cotta. In the original catalog it shows the Superior in Terra Cotta, but it is orange in color. When I have viewed lucky owners of these bikes some are red in color and some more orange. Which is correct. I think the orange color is way more attractive, then the red color. Or could it be that that that color which looks orange to me is the Radiant Gold color.
> Thanks John.




Terra Cotta is like Tomato soup, with a little milk 😜,  and does have an orange tint to it.


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## Eric Amlie

I think the ones in the catalogs are supposed to represent the Radiant Gold color option.
They can look "orangey".


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## John Gialanella

Thank you for your reply, You are probably right. Does anybody know or are their sites where you can find out how many 1962 and 1963 Schwinn Superior bikes were made. I would lover to own one, but they are very hard to find.
Thanks again John.


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## schwinnbikebobb

There are no production records for any Schwinn's as far as I know.  You just have to be persistent in searching.  You never know when one will pop up, just be ready when it does.


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## John Gialanella

Thanks again, I will keep searching.
John.


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## ccdc.1

As stated above, there is not a reliable way to know how many Superiors were built in the 1962-63 iteration; even more difficult is to imagine how many are left. I think it is fair to say that Superiors were less precious than Paramounts, so it is fair to assume fewer of them were 'kept to keep' than Paramounts. According to the Waterford site, there were probably 300-400 Paramounts built in the 1962-63 timeframe. To try to make a comparison, one can look at the Superior serial numbers for that iteration, as they were somewhat akin to the Paramount in identifying production, it seems: First digit a letter for the month (A-M), second digit the year (2=62, 3=63), followed by monthly production run? [this is my speculation, not established fact!]. I have seen D2222 and D2233, so at least in the early days a monthly production of 200-250 units. If we guesstimate an average of 200/month, over 24 months you'd have 4800 units. No way to affirm this, but it seems a reasonable scalar relationship. (so, roughly 100 Superiors/state in the lower 48...no a needle in a haystack, but 50+years later?). Again, rampant speculation, but maybe a sense of what your challenge is.


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## GTs58

ccdc.1 said:


> As stated above, there is not a reliable way to know how many Superiors were built in the 1962-63 iteration; even more difficult is to imagine how many are left. I think it is fair to say that Superiors were less precious than Paramounts, so it is fair to assume fewer of them were 'kept to keep' than Paramounts. According to the Waterford site, there were probably 300-400 Paramounts built in the 1962-63 timeframe. To try to make a comparison, one can look at the Superior serial numbers for that iteration, as they were somewhat akin to the Paramount in identifying production, it seems: First digit a letter for the month (A-M), second digit the year (2=62, 3=63), followed by monthly production run? [this is my speculation, not established fact!]. I have seen D2222 and D2233, so at least in the early days a monthly production of 200-250 units. If we guesstimate an average of 200/month, over 24 months you'd have 4800 units. No way to affirm this, but it seems a reasonable scalar relationship. (so, roughly 100 Superiors/state in the lower 48...no a needle in a haystack, but 50+years later?). Again, rampant speculation, but maybe a sense of what your challenge is.




I've noted on my Corvette 5 Registry that model was not produced every month and production has skipped one and up to three months of production along with possibly only one batch in the one months time. This is using just the serial stamping dates which really doesn't indicate any specific build time but it indicates the models were built in batches and depending on demand the runs of a certain models was sporadic.


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## geosbike

sweet


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