# 1955 BFG DeLuxe Hornet and a question



## nateyboy (Feb 16, 2014)

I picked this BF Goodrich Hornet up recently and was hoping some of the Schwenlightened Ones could lend their expertise. The first three characters of the serial are "T63" which I believe makes this a mid-October of '55 build. I've researched accordingly, but I'm having difficulty determining which pedals and chainring would have been correct for this bike. It came without pedals altogether so no help there, and I've seen both the cloverleaf and the "Phantom" ring used on some of the Deluxe Hornets. Any thoughts? This one is staying as original as possible and I believe everything else to be correct down to the S2 wheelset. I've also got an extra Delta Rocket Ray that I'm planning to paint (the lighter blue) to finish it off.

As found:





Detailing the detailing:




Any help would be much appreciated!


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## kos22us (Feb 16, 2014)

i dont have the time to look the serial # up right now but i can tell you this particular model was made for 55' & 56" as a straightbar ballooner, however the serial # could easily be dated to 54' like mine is, the catalog shows this to have the phantom ring, mine came with the phantom ring & although i've seen others with it too the majority of them i've seen over the years has had the clover


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## kos22us (Feb 16, 2014)

ive also seen a variety of pedals come on these models, alot of them being newer pedals that had replaced the originals, it also wouldnt be unheard of for schwinn to have pumped this model out with a couple different style of pedals, i bought mine from the original owner and they had the AS small cap pedals on it which is what i believe most of them probably came with


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## Larmo63 (Feb 16, 2014)

The Phantom ring would fit and be fine on it. It may have come with the clover

that is on it though. I prefer the sweetheart ring and you could do that too with

a skip tooth change out. Any Torrington 10 pedals would work and be appropriate

on it. Are the stickers going to stay or go?


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## nateyboy (Feb 16, 2014)

Thank you both for the information. I'll probably stick with the cloverleaf since that's how I got it, and it sounds like I have some options as far as pedals. The stickers on the fenders will definitely stay; they are these amazing vintage baseball stickers that have probably been on there since the '60s. I've got plans for the stickers on the tank so they will stay for now. It's been a great project so far for a non-Schwinn guy such as myself. I'm learning more about them every day.


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## Ozark Flyer (Feb 16, 2014)

Great bike!  I really like the two tone blue!  Deluxe Hornet models would have the Tor10's. I'm surprised it didn't have the Phantom chainring but you will appreciate the clover when you pedal it.


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## kos22us (Feb 16, 2014)

in my opinion if you want to keep it close to original as possible you want a set of AS small cap schwinn approved pedals, not torrington 10's

i bought mine from the original owner and these are what came on mine, at one time i was thinking about trying to get a deluxe hornet in all 3 two tone colors so i looked at every deluxe hornet on the internet for about 2 to 3 years wether it be ebay c-list the cabe schwinnbikeforum random searches for them and i have seen a handful of them with these pedals as well, i havent see any ever with torringtons 

just my 2 cents


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## kos22us (Feb 16, 2014)

fyi thats tailholes hand and pedal in the pic


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## Ozark Flyer (Feb 16, 2014)

Just looked at a blue all original Deluxe today with T10's.  I have seen them with the AS caps too but not the first original Hornet with Torringtons (when I looked at it) I've seen.  What ever that means.


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## Wayne Adam (Feb 18, 2014)

*1955 Deluxe Hornet*

Here are some pictures of my '55 Deluxe Hornet. These are the pictures of the bike as I bought it from the original owner.
 I am in the process of restoring it, all of the parts are original.
   The '55 Deluxe Hornet came with the less expensive pedals that you have. They also came with the cheaper "
Open" type stem, a bolt on kick stand ( not the typical built-in type), and the standard clover sprocket.
  The only thing missing is the Delta Rocket Ray light.

     I hope this info helps..................Wayne


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## DonChristie (Feb 18, 2014)

Nice Bike(s)! 
Here's my bible,
http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1951_1960/1955_14.html
Didn't see anything specifically about Pedals. Plus this year they offered the "Guarantee for life"


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## Rivnut (Feb 18, 2014)

My '52 Hornet was guaranteed "for as long as you own it" as well.  It's fun to look through the catalogs over the years to see how the bikes didn't change, but the names of the bikes did.  What was sold as a Hornet Deluxe in '55 was sold as a Panther in '52.  

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1951_1960/1952_05.html

Here's another link from Findley's website that shows a '55 Deluxe Hornet.  It shows it with the Phantom style chain ring.  Any possibility that when Schwinn built a bike for BFG, they changed a couple of things?

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1951_1960/1955_14.html

Wayne,

Why does your Hornet have a Spitfire head badge?


Ed


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## kos22us (Feb 18, 2014)

Rivnut said:


> My '52 Hornet was guaranteed "for as long as you own it" as well.  It's fun to look through the catalogs over the years to see how the bikes didn't change, but the names of the bikes did.  What was sold as a Hornet Deluxe in '55 was sold as a Panther in '52.
> 
> http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1951_1960/1952_05.html
> 
> ...





most bikes did change with names, while the panther & deluxe hornet both were available in the same two-tone colors one came w/ chrome fenders & the other enameled, i see them as two different models

the catalogs are not exact just illustrations, both the 55' & 56' catalog pages show the deluxe hornet to have the phantom ring, although mine came with it & ive seen others with it the majority ive seen over the years has had the clover so if he wants to keep it original its really up to him w/ what he wants to go with, my opinion is either are original & correct, in regards to this being a BFG, other than the headbadge & chainguard decal this particular model would have been the same as one going to a schwinn dealer

as far as the spitfire badge goes, i've had four of these now 2 boys 2 girls all 2tone blue, two of them had the standard schwinn badge of this time period and the other two had the spitfire badge, im sure its possible that a few of the 1st run produced came w/ the earlier style spitfire badge that has the propeller


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## spoker (Feb 18, 2014)

not 100% positive but i think hornets had bolt on kickdtands vs weld on fpr panther,bfg anyway


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## Wayne Adam (Feb 19, 2014)

*ED...Rivnut*

Hi Ed,
    I don't know why the headbadge is a Schwinn Spitfire, but it is original to the bike, and I have seen other
'55 Deluxe Hornets badged this way.
     And to address another issue, through research, I have determined that the '55 Deluxe Hornets were sold with both the Clover
and the Phantom Chainring.
     I know this is off the subject at hand, and I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I had to post a couple of pictures of the
original owner, unrestored '51 Hornet that I picked up this past summer, it is in great original condition with the Rocket ray, excellent seat and nice chrome on the "Sweetheart" sprocket. 
 Not too bad for the $325.00 I paid for it................Wayne


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## Rivnut (Feb 19, 2014)

Wayne Adam said:


> Hi Ed,
> 
> Not too bad for the $325.00 I paid for it................Wayne




Money well spent.


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## jd56 (Feb 20, 2014)

Rivnut said:


> Money well spent.




Daggum...Wayne....I sure do love green!!!

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