# Help I.D. year and info on this Schwinn "The World"



## nwcudaman (May 14, 2011)

Hi all. Ok, I'll try to keep this short to be polite!

I'm about to pull my hair out on this one. Parts on it point to pre war, others post war. Serial number is too early to nail down with the data base. So I'll give the basics.

Locking forks
New departure rear hub
Front drum 
Springer
Head tube badge says "The World"
Tube going down from head tube says what I believe is "World Imperial"
Sprocket looks to be pre war
Front fender has been I.D. as something other than Schwinn
Has glass Schwinn reflector on rear fender
Rear wheel enters from the front and not back like I'd think a post war would. 

One guy seems to think it's both. By that he is saying the frame was made AFTER they started production again after the war, but parts were left over from pre war

Colors are 

Prime  "Blue With white and red pin striping between the blue and white.

I've started cleaning and polishing it up, these pictures were taken as I found it. It's cleaning up fairly well so far. Rear fender I've gotten most of the dings out of now and there was one screw that was wrong so I've replaced that with the correct one now. Long way to go. Also, I need to get a correct master link as the one on it gets stuck and pops when coming off of the rear end. But it's riding nice. Also noted is that the front truss rods are missing. Broken pieces are still in the springer. The key is not the stock one, but works fine. Any info or pics of what this bike looked like when new would be nice. I'm on the fence about restoring it. It kinda looks cool as is now that It's getting cleaned up some. It's near impossible to search for the strut rods, fender and stuff without knowing what I've got. All the searching I've been doing has gotten me only fairly close, but have not been able to nail this one. 

Im located in Oregon and would love to talk to someone who knows these old springers. I've spent my life doing Sting Rays, and this is my first springer I've ever had the chance to get my hands on. I'm feeling pretty lucky to have it. 

I've also got another old Schwinn with a head tube badge I've not been able to find another like. The badge is made of plastic!. And is an odd shape. I think it's from the 50's if I recall right. It's sitting in the barn waiting for me to decide what to do with it.


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## then8j (May 14, 2011)

On a post war frame IF THE SERIAL NUMBERS ARE FOUND UNDER BOTTOM BRACKET 
(On The Bottom Of The Frame, Under The Pedal Crank Housing) then its 1948-1952
IF THE SERIAL NUMBERS ARE FOUND ON THE LEFT REAR DROPOUT 
(By The Left Rear Axle Mount) then its 1952 and older

post war bikes have the welded on kickstand, welded on brackets for the chainguard 
what is the serial number?


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## nwcudaman (May 14, 2011)

Thats what I understand alright. The frame I've been told is a post war frame. Serial number is on the bottom bracket and welded kick stand alright. Any info about the name "The World" or World Imperial?  The serial number is  B69226


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## Larmo63 (May 14, 2011)

Cool bike to start out with. Springer struts are easy to find. A rack, correct front fender, and tank would be cool. Seat is from the 60's or 70's and not original. Schwinn grips would be nice. Relax and do some research, it is a worthy project.....


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## elginkid (May 15, 2011)

Looks like a nice beginning for a B-6.  The dropouts are correct postwar style.  Before the war, the wheels went in from the back, which was more of a hassle when dealing with the chain.  I'd definitely pull the crank to check, but with the drop center rims, I would think that it might date to 46 or 47, just before they switched to the S-2 Rims.  All the parts should be easy to find since they're in reproduction, except for the 6 hole rack.  But put a phantom rack on and you get a tail light anyway.  

Wes


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## nwcudaman (May 15, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the help thus far. 
 As to the tank and rack, I'm not able to find any marks on the paint to indicate it ever had a tank. Such as fading, wear marks and the like. The rack, hard to say on that given how they mount. 
 I've heard the term drop center rims, but I'm not clear on exactly what that is. I know what S2 Rims look like from my other bikes, and I know these are not like them. But exactly what does the term refer to on the rim just so I know. I've heard other things like dog leg crank as well. 
 As to the repro truss rods, I'd rather find a used set as I'm not sure I want a super new looking part on it. I feel it would stand out like crazy and not blend in well so I'll be replacing them with a used set from someone who is doing a full on resto.


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## nwcudaman (May 17, 2011)

By the way, any idea why I'm having such a hard time finding any pictures of this head tube badge and another bike with the words  "World Imperial" printed on the lower tube?

Dana


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## PCHiggin (May 17, 2011)

The "Drop Out" style rear forks say it's  a '46 or newer.

Pat


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## then8j (May 17, 2011)

Did you search all the Cabe archives? I would have sworn that I read something about that head badge. There are so many different badges that were put on schwinns, I believe in the hundreds, brass and aluminum, and for different stores that they were sold in.


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## hzqw2l (May 17, 2011)

B69226 could be late 1946 or early 1947.

I have a 1946 B6 with an IXXXXX serial number.  I and J is where the pre-war SN's ended.  The theory is they used some Pre-war parts early in 1946 and started the SN sequence from AXXXXX.

Does your bike have a Tapered Kickstand?  Thats another characteristic of 1946 Schwinn bikes.


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## nwcudaman (May 18, 2011)

Im not sure I understand what the tapered kickstand is to be straight with ya. 
 As to the badge, I've been looking all over and nothing. I've also got that Corvette with an odd plastic badge I'd like to replace as it's broken and missing a piece, but no luck finding another like it. I'm sure it's nothing special, it's just the only plastic badge I've ever ran across on a real Schwinn.


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## PCHiggin (May 18, 2011)

nwcudaman said:


> Im not sure I understand what the tapered kickstand is to be straight with ya.
> As to the badge, I've been looking all over and nothing. I've also got that Corvette with an odd plastic badge I'd like to replace as it's broken and missing a piece, but no luck finding another like it. I'm sure it's nothing special, it's just the only plastic badge I've ever ran across on a real Schwinn.




That's called a "Starburst" badge,They are available. Check on schwinnbikeforum.com and e-bay

Pat


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## nwcudaman (May 19, 2011)

Thanks Pat. I'll do that.


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## RMS37 (May 23, 2011)

I have a copy of a list of serial numbers of Schwinn bicycles that were sold by a “bicycle shop in a small town in Oregon” between the late 1920’s and the end of 1949. I received the list from a friend years ago and have no more information about where the shop was or who compiled the data from their sales invoices…

Never the less, your inquiry had me look to see if your bike might actually be on this list. The closest number I found was the following entry:

B69292   -  10/24/47   -  LB507  -   73.95   -  Boys   -  Black

Other B----- serial numbers were sold from that shop from early 1944 through September of 1948. The sales of B serial numbered bikes from those years were interspersed with many other letters including A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I and J.


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