# 1961 Schwinn American



## SUX Vision R40 Rider (Mar 9, 2011)

First an introduction: 

I normally ride a 10 year old Vision R40 recumbent, some day it will be a classic bike, but not yet. Most of my riding is commuting to and from work and running errands and is for the most part urban.

Anyone on here can call me SUX for short, really it will not offend me in any way. If you want to know what SUX means, just ask.

Now for the story of my 1961 Schwinn American:

I purchased it about 5 years ago from a friend of mine who purchased it from an estate sale more than 15 years ago. It was in bad shape when I purchased it. Here was the condition is was in:
1. Both tires were cracked.
2. The spokes were very rusty and could no longer be used.
3. The chain was very rusty and seized and could no longer be used.
4. One crank arm was so corroded it was not usable.
5. Both pedals were broken.
6. Thr font hub had a bad grinding sound.
7. The front sprocket was fine, no rust, just really dirty.
8. The rear sprocket is also fine.
9. Did not know if the brake worked because the chain was siezed so bad.
10. Kick stand works fine.
11. The handle bars had some pitted rust in the chrome.
12. The rims were severely pitted with rust in the chrome.
13. Fenders have scratches and nicks in the paint, in some areas down to the bare metal.
15. The frame has worn spots in the paint, in some spots down to the bare metal as does the chain guard.
16. It has a front basket, which I thnk was added much later that had some rust.
17. It has a front head light that does work but I think was added later that had some pitting in the crome.
18. The seat had rust on the metal parts but the saddel itself is in ver good shape.

The first thing I did was take the bike to y local bike shop and consulted with them what it would take to get this bike in at least ridable condition. They advised me what needed to be replaced and what could likely be rebuilt and repacked. I took it home and took the bike apart and got rid of the spokes, pedals, chain and one crank arm. AsI took apart the rar brake assembly I discovered it is a Bendix and the internal parts looked great and still in usable condition. The rear hub did turn after I removed the wheel from the frame, but it was grinding as the front did, just needed to be repacked.

Then the bike sat in my basement for a few years. Then one day I decided to do something further with it. I used CLR and cleaned all of the rust off of the chrome and cleaned up the frame. Then took it to my bike shop to have them rebuild it for me. It has:
1. 2 new white wall tires. 
2. 2 new pedals.
3. New chain.
4. New chain.
5. Repacked hubs and rear brake.
6. New crank arm on one side.
7. Repacked bottom bracket.

Through research with the serial number I discovered the bike was built on 08/17/1961. The day after, from 08/18/1961 to 08/27/1961 the Schwinn employees went on strike at the Chicago plant.

I am trying to track down the further history of this bicycle. Mainly which dealer/bike shop/retailer it was sold to by Schwinn. Would anyone here have an idea on how to find that information? Schwinn had to have kept records by serial number, on what bicycle was sold to what dealer.

Here is a blog post about this bike:
History and Culture by Bicycle Part 216: 1960's SCHWINN AMERICAN

Thank you in advance for any help you can give.


----------



## Larmo63 (Mar 9, 2011)

How do you get rid of "one crank arm?"


----------



## SUX Vision R40 Rider (Mar 9, 2011)

Sorry, slight correction. Had to replace the crank because one side was not usable and in fact was dangerous to use because it was bent.


----------

