# 1957 Hornet



## Monark52 (Sep 11, 2015)

I picked up this really nice original Schwinn Hornet in Florida green. It will be taken apart, cleaned and 
re-greased. Its such a nice riding bike too. Should it have blackwall tires instead since its not a deluxe? Should they be Typhoon or Westwind tires?


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## Euphman06 (Sep 11, 2015)

Nice find! If the wheels are painted white, stay away from whitewall tires. I have a '52 straightbar hornet, just rode it the first time on labor day.


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## W2J (Sep 11, 2015)

that bike is a middleweight,therefore it should have westwind 26x1-3/4 tires on it,which show in the pics.the typhoon tires are the standard balloon size of 26x2.125 and won't fit the S7 rims.I'm sure the original owner could've had either white or blackwalls put on,but blackwalls were standard if i remember right.


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## GTs58 (Sep 11, 2015)

A 1957 model might need the Tornado tires. I'm not for sure, but I'm thinking the Westwinds first hit the asphalt in 1958.


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## Monark52 (Sep 11, 2015)

I also need a decal for the chainguard but I can't find this style. Are they being reproduced and where can I find them?


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## GTs58 (Sep 11, 2015)

I'm not sure what is on your guard now, but it doesn't look like the Hornet decal of that period. Should be like this one. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Early-NOS-Schwinn-Hornet-Bicycle-Decal-/311442108414?hash=item4883656ffe

Old original guard. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SCHWINN-HOR...-AND-DECALS-/221880438588?hash=item33a91acf3c


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## Jeff54 (Sep 11, 2015)

Monark52 said:


> I also need a decal for the chainguard but I can't find this style. Are they being reproduced and where can I find them?




nice looking bike, and it looks all original too, might not be a 'deluxe' but for the standard model, that's a heck of a lot Deluxe-y stuff, X-mas special on it, eh..

And "Florida green"". You sure it's not Coach green? looks it from here. 

You should be able to pick up the right decal at e-bay.


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## Monark52 (Sep 11, 2015)

The 57 Schwinn catalogs list it as Florida green and my bike is definitely a 57.


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## schwinnja (Sep 12, 2015)

Monark52 said:


> The 57 Schwinn catalogs list it as Florida green and my bike is definitely a 57.




Definitely Florida green in color.

I'm not sure what is on your guard now, but it doesn't look like the Hornet decal of that period. Should be like this one. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Early-NOS-Sc...item4883656ffe

The ebay listing above is not the correct decal for a 1957 Hornet.

Nice bike!!


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## Euphman06 (Sep 12, 2015)

Looks like the decal on mine










Sent from my N800 using Tapatalk


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## Euphman06 (Sep 12, 2015)

I'm guessing this is a '58 even though the serial number chart starts at J81.... instead of J80..... like mine.


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## GTs58 (Sep 12, 2015)

The Hornet chainguard decal topic has popped up quite a few times over the years and I was under the impression that the decal was changed for the 58 model year, even though the 58 catalog picture shows the older black and gold decal. This is the 58 catalog image and it's verified by the new model number for the 58 Hornet. The 57 model number was F15. 

Just curious Monark52. What is the serial number on yours, is it a late 57 number? I have not seen any of the Hornet white script decals for sale but it might be worth a call to Memory Lane Classics to see if they have what you need.


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## Monark52 (Sep 12, 2015)

Here's a pic of the decal and serial number. The paint is better under where the decal came off so that's what makes me think its original. As far as the serial number goes, ill leave that to the experts.


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## Jeff54 (Sep 12, 2015)

Monark52 said:


> Here's a pic of the decal and serial number. The paint is better under where the decal came off so that's what makes me think its original. As far as the serial number goes, ill leave that to the experts.




http://re-cycle.com/History/Schwinn/SwnB2_Serial.aspx#1957

7D31482 

1957: 08/15 to 08/16 ------- 7D30430 ----------------- 7D49811 

Aug 1957 Maybe it's  an back-to school   special


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## Rivnut (Sep 13, 2015)

Monark52 said:


> I also need a decal for the chainguard but I can't find this style. Are they being reproduced and where can I find them?




Memory Lane part #L90.  $5.00


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## GTs58 (Sep 13, 2015)

The L90 decal at MLC is the round Schwinn quality piece for the guard. 

That serial number was used at two different stamping periods. My, the 1957 serial numbers sure was a hodge podge mess not unlike a train wreck.

7D31482 

 1957: 08/15 to 08/16 ------- 7D30430 ----------------- 7D49811 
 1957: 06/19 to 06/27 ------- 7D24843 ---------------- 7D41166


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