# 1950 Schwinn Phantom



## jacob9795 (Jun 1, 2016)

I picked this bike recently. The seller told me that it belonged to a relative and had been in the family for as long as he could remember. The bike was born September 12, 1950. I'm not sure which route I'm going to take with this bike as of right now. I'm leaning towards preserving what finish it has left. Then I may apply a new tank and chain guard decal but scrape them up a bit to blend in with the rest of the bike. The lamp housing will probably be touched up.
JG


----------



## Freqman1 (Jun 1, 2016)

Curious what badge is on it? V/r Shawn


----------



## jacob9795 (Jun 1, 2016)

Just the standard black SCHWINN badge.


----------



## Freqman1 (Jun 1, 2016)

This being an early bike I thought it might have something a little more exotic! I'd try to give it a good cleaning and preserve it as much as possible. V/r Shawn


----------



## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Jun 1, 2016)

jacob9795 said:


> I picked this bike recently. The seller told me that it belonged to a relative and had been in the family for as long as he could remember. The bike was born September 12, 1950. I'm not sure which route I'm going to take with this bike as of right now. I'm leaning towards preserving what finish it has left. Then I may apply a new tank and chain guard decal but scrape them up a bit to blend in with the rest of the bike. The lamp housing will probably be touched up.
> JG
> 
> View attachment 323552



I'd just leave it as is...decals n all... show its history... 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


----------



## SJ_BIKER (Jun 1, 2016)

Looks like a great candidate for a re-rustification project.....looks to be really dirty....I bet once cleaned with some aged whitewalls and this Bebeh would gleam like a pretty peach.....


----------



## SJ_BIKER (Jun 1, 2016)

or leave it as is....schwinnobi might agree that once anything is changed then its no longer original


----------



## Freqman1 (Jun 1, 2016)

Obi-Wan Schwinnobi said:


> I'd just leave it as is...decals n all... show its history...
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk



I'm digg'n your new avatar. Is that man love or what! V/r Shawn


----------



## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Jun 1, 2016)

Freqman1 said:


> I'm digg'n your new avatar. Is that man love or what! V/r Shawn



It's some weird computer virus 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


----------



## Kickstand3 (Jun 1, 2016)

Freqman1 said:


> This being an early bike I thought it might have something a little more exotic! I'd try to give it a good cleaning and preserve it as much as possible. V/r Shawn





Freqman1 said:


> This being an early bike I thought it might have something a little more exotic! I'd try to give it a good cleaning and preserve it as much as possible. V/r Shawn



i agree with freqman , don't under estimate that chain guard or tank . Out of all my bikes my phantom cruises the best . Good find
Peace


----------



## jacob9795 (Jun 1, 2016)

Thanks for all of the great responses everyone. I will give it a good cleaning and will not put any decals on the bike. 
JG


----------



## Jeff54 (Jun 2, 2016)

jacob9795 said:


> Then I may apply a new tank and chain guard decal but scrape them up a bit to blend in with the rest of the bike. The lamp housing will probably be touched up.
> JG





Providing you're careful and meticulous as to how you'll go about it,, I Think you're going to be surprised, how well that bike is going to clean up. That tank looks good and those rims are better than these were before dipping in oleic acid. :


----------



## jacob9795 (Jun 2, 2016)

Wow! Good job on your rims! I can't wait to get started on my bike and I'll definitely take my time. As of right now I'm still trying to figure out if my saddle is correct for the bike. I think it's a Mesinger B1 Deluxe. It's not like the common Phantom saddles. I think 1949 models had them but I'm not sure about 1950 models.


----------



## jacob9795 (Jun 27, 2016)

SJ_BIKER said:


> Looks like a great candidate for a re-rustification project.....looks to be really dirty....I bet once cleaned with some aged whitewalls and this Bebeh would gleam like a pretty peach.....



Well, this bike was really rough to start with. I did a complete tear down and cleaned everything very carefully using WD-40 and OA methods (nothing extreme); then I performed re-rustification (dip in my pool while the wife was at work). The spokes were replaced with NOS Torrington 10 19/32" spokes. I'm waiting on my saddle to be finished and a few other things:


----------



## Freqman1 (Jun 27, 2016)

Looks like significant progress to me! Can't wait to see it finished. Its funny but I take a mix of bikes to car shows--restored and original. The women and a lot of the guys always go for the restored bikes while the real hard core guys barely look at those and go straight for the crusty originals! V/r Shawn


----------



## SJ_BIKER (Jun 29, 2016)

jacob9795 said:


> Well, this bike was really rough to start with. I did a complete tear down and cleaned everything very carefully using WD-40 and OA methods (nothing extreme); then I performed re-rustification (dip in my pool while the wife was at work). The spokes were replaced with NOS Torrington 10 19/32" spokes. I'm waiting on my saddle to be finished and a few other things:
> 
> View attachment 333766
> 
> ...



 Just noticing that you are in California.....was this a local find for you? or internet purchase? its looking really good.....keep up the good work


----------



## jacob9795 (Jun 29, 2016)

SJ_BIKER said:


> Just noticing that you are in California.....was this a local find for you? or internet purchase? its looking really good.....keep up the good work



King Sized HD found it on CL in the Hayward area; it was in a junk pile. I'm trying to get it ready for the SF ride.


----------



## SJ_BIKER (Jun 29, 2016)

Hayward!! about 20 years ago along a ride on Bart toward Oakland I noticed there was a bike mound in someones yard....I wonder if that still exists....and it was in the Hayward area.....hmmm???


----------



## 2jakes (Jun 29, 2016)

jacob9795 said:


> I picked this bike recently. The seller told me that it belonged to a relative and had been in   I'm not sure which route I'm going to take with this bike as of right now. I'm leaning towards preserving what finish it has left. Then I may apply a new tank and chain guard decal but scrape them up a bit to blend in with the rest of the bike. The lamp housing will probably be touched up.
> JG
> 
> View attachment 323552



It’s good that you are preserving it .
I have a similar bike from the 50s.
I cleaned it up & only replaced the tires & saddle.
I did however did a touch up paint on the tank.
The tank decals were missing so I made them up from brass.
I used brass because in time, this material will tarnish unless I polish.
And I want the decal to look old & fit the rest of the bike in looks.



Other than that, I’m keeping it original as much as possible.


----------



## jacob9795 (Jun 29, 2016)

2jakes said:


> It’s good that you are preserving it .
> I have a similar bike from the 50s.
> I cleaned it up & only replaced the tires & saddle.
> I did however did a touch up paint on the tank.
> ...



That's really cool! I like my bikes crusty. That emblem would look great as a rear fender ornament too; maybe like in a 'Schwinn Only' club. We would be the cool kids. Then everyone would want to be like the cool kids. Thanks for the comments...


----------



## jacob9795 (Jun 29, 2016)

SJ_BIKER said:


> Hayward!! about 20 years ago along a ride on Bart toward Oakland I noticed there was a bike mound in someones yard....I wonder if that still exists....and it was in the Hayward area.....hmmm???



I asked if there were anymore bikes but it was the only one there. The junk pile had some really random stuff in it (fish tanks, a Harley, Schwinn phantom, cars, painting tools, etc.)


----------



## SJ_BIKER (Jun 30, 2016)

2jakes said:


> It’s good that you are preserving it .
> I have a similar bike from the 50s.
> I cleaned it up & only replaced the tires & saddle.
> I did however did a touch up paint on the tank.
> ...



now that's crafty!!


----------



## hcdsign (Jul 13, 2016)

Jacob, great recovery!!!

It appears that your Phantom started out slightly nicer than mine.  I love these rustorations & the character left behind.  And as stated earlier, it is amazing how much you can bring back these Schwinn's.  This Phantom is the same bike before & after other than the tires, trigger 2spd Bendix, grips, & seat


----------



## jacob9795 (Jul 14, 2016)

Your Phantom cleaned up better than mine; bet the 2spd really makes for an easier ride. I really like the badge!

I just finished assembling and dialing in my 'Schwinn Rough Rider' today (haven't wiped the grease off yet). I just need to find an original front fender light lens....oh well.


----------



## Dave K (Jul 14, 2016)

Rad!!!!  Bet it ride like a dream.


----------



## jacob9795 (Jul 15, 2016)

Dave K said:


> Rad!!!!  Bet it ride like a dream.



It's rough but it rides really smooth! I'm done with this bike....
Thanks for the comments and thanks for checkin' out my thread everyone.


----------

