# Help Identify Two Barn Schwinns



## lambo (Dec 28, 2011)

All -

First post, hopefully not the last though.  I've been browsing and this looks like a fantastic forum!

I was hoping you all could help me answer two basic questions:

1.  What are these two bicycles?

2.  Would they be worth restoring?

I'm a big fan of older 'stuff.'  Lately I've been big on old tools and have spent some time in my grandpa's barn picking out random pieces from the 20's on up to the 60's and 70's.  I'm handy with an electrolysis tank, vinegar, and all other forms of rust removal.  Here is an example of something I've done lately.  The bottom wrench looked exactly like the top when I first found it:






I post the above picture just to demonstrate that although I'm still very much a beginner in all things related to restoration, I do have at least some experience with rust removal, which will be a primary challenge with the bicycles as you'll see below.

So as I browsed around my grandpa's barn looking for old tools, I took some photos.  I posted them on a tool forum where a couple people saw two bicycles in the background and suggested I grab them to restore next time I was there.  Well today I went back to take a closer look, and although I didn't bring them home, I took some pics.

And so without further ado, I present the two barn bicycles that are currently tempting me with their classic lines and beautiful potential:

*Bicycle Number One*
With my extensive experience searching Google for similar bicycles for 10 minutes, it seems to resemble a Schwinn Panther?












*Bicycle Number Two*
This one is less appealing to me visually as it looks more like a bicycle from the 70's perhaps.  I don't know the story on either one as my grandpa can't recall if they came with the farm when he bought it in the '70s or if they belonged to his wife or daughter (my grandma and mom respectively).




So can anyone help me identify either or both?  And would either be worth restoring?  I have no interest in selling either one, so I care less about monetary value (though it'd be neat if they were worth something).  Instead I'm more interested in whether they would be worth the time to restore for fun or if in fact they are actually really common bicycles from the '80s or something that somehow snuck their way in the barn and are only valuable as scrap metal.

Thanks in advance for the time and help!


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## oempartsman (Dec 28, 2011)

*I.D.*

Hi, and welcome. The first bike looks to be late 40's to mid 50's. The second one looks like late 50's to mid 60's, but on the left rear drop-out where the axle nut is, You should find the serial numbers. Post them here and the experts will be along shortly. Nice bikes.

                 Pat


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## Dave K (Dec 28, 2011)

I don't think the boys bike needs to be restored hopefully just cleaned.  I would start out with a good wash with soap and water and see what you have.


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## robertc (Dec 28, 2011)

*Honey Hole*

Looks like Grandpa's barn was a honey hole. If I was you the next trip to the barn would be to pick up those bikes. I would love to have my Grandmother's or mother's bike. Get them before they are gone. With the cost of metal, nothing is safe no matter where it is. Good luck and keep us posted. Oh also, good job on the pipe wrench.


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## lambo (Dec 28, 2011)

oempartsman said:


> Hi, and welcome. The first bike looks to be late 40's to mid 50's. The second one looks like late 50's to mid 60's, but on the left rear drop-out where the axle nut is, You should find the serial numbers. Post them here and the experts will be along shortly. Nice bikes.
> 
> Pat




Drat!  SNs... should have looked more closely.  I'll definitely get those next time I'm out that way.  The bikes won't be going anywhere.


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## lambo (Dec 28, 2011)

Dave K said:


> I don't think the boys bike needs to be restored hopefully just cleaned.  I would start out with a good wash with soap and water and see what you have.




I'm man enough to admit that I have no idea which one is the boy's bike.  Probably not a good start for my road to restoration!


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## lambo (Dec 28, 2011)

robertc said:


> Looks like Grandpa's barn was a honey hole. If I was you the next trip to the barn would be to pick up those bikes. I would love to have my Grandmother's or mother's bike. Get them before they are gone. With the cost of metal, nothing is safe no matter where it is. Good luck and keep us posted. Oh also, good job on the pipe wrench.




I think I will grab them next time.  I'm hoping to find a picture of someone in the family riding one of them.

We live in Virginia Beach and beach cruiser bicycles are super popular.  Would be awesome to restore one of these to use around here.


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## OldRider (Dec 28, 2011)

I know you're not looking to sell and whatever you do with them will be just for you. But please think twice before you start restoring the boys bike( thats the first one posted)........a bicycle is only shiny and new once, and a nice patina on a bike is like heaven to most of us here.   Beautiful bikes and welcome to the "OBA  Club"............old bike addiction


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## kccomet (Dec 29, 2011)

i agree think twice about restoration a good cleaning first then some wd 40 and fine steel wool, also try after cleaning some s o s pads. wet one then scrub first easy then a little more. if theres any paint left  it will bring the color back. you can find some new wheels if your not happy with those. then you have a nice patina bike with original paint. not nice and shiny but with lots of character showing its years proudly like it should. if you want to try your hand on the resto game play with the second bike, the girls bike. good luck and have fun


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## snickle (Dec 29, 2011)

Girls bikes are less valuable and can be identified by their downward sloped center bars. My guess is that the women and girls mostly wore dresses and wearing a dress and lifting your leg over a mens center bar wouldn't be very "lady like" so their bikes are designed so that they can just modestly step into them and sit down.

That first one is bad ass!


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## Rear Facing Drop Out (Dec 29, 2011)

*Barn bikes*

First off GRAB that railing!!! Thats looks like the gold nugget in the rafters! 
On to the bikes. I doubt either will clean up. It looks like the major temp and humidity changes have rusted most of the finishes away but ya never know. Both look straight and to be easy restos, relitively speeking. Mens mid 50's ladies late 50's middle weight. Mens $250-$400 ladies $100-175?


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## lambo (Dec 29, 2011)

OldRider/kccomet:  I don't mind a bit of patina!  My '53 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup in the garage has PLENTY of that!  I may try a non-destructive restoration and see where that gets me.

snickle:  Thanks for the lesson on bikes!  Why is it that girls bikes are less valuable?  Seems odd.

Rear Facing Drop Out:  Railing is off limits!  My grandpa's house is on the National Register of Historic Homes (built in 1870 - it's seriously old and seriously amazing, though slowly falling apart).  The railing is an original piece of the house from either the porch or the balcony, so it has to stay with the house   You may be right about the condition of the bikes though.  I honestly didn't spend a great deal of time checking them out as my grandpa had a small electrical fire while I was visiting so I was a bit distracted.  Next time I'm up there I'll bring them home and see if it is more dirt or more rust.  If the former, I'll do a light restoration, if the latter, I'll probably strip them to bare metal and repaint.  I have two little girls and it'd be cool to have some old bikes for them to ride when they are older, even if they aren't worth a whole lot!

Thanks all for the input!


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## greenephantom (Dec 29, 2011)

The first bike could be a couple of things, hard to tell with all the dirt and rust.  Could be a Panther with the springer fork replaced with a standard fork, not too likely, but parts get switched around.  Panther will have a distinctive paint scheme and chrome fendrs.  Could also be a late 40's Autocycle Standard, or whatever they were calling the equipped straightbars in that particular year.  Likely with "spears" style paint scheme and painted fenders.  Either way it's a sweet bike.

A quick word on 'restoration'.  A real restoration involves making the bike show-room time-capsule new again, automotive quality repaint with correct striping and paint breaks - rechrome or NOS parts all around - etc, which is typically a money-intensive endeavor and generally not advisable until you're more familiar with the hobby. 

 I'm guessing what you're really going to want to do with the bike is to refurbish it, make it a safe and solid rider.  A mechanical overhaul (or mechanical restoration) would be much more manageable and much less expensive.  This is something any half-way competent bike shop can do for you, or you can take a hack at it yourself.  In a nutshell, you'll want to clean out and regrease the hub bearings, the fork (headset) bearings, and the crank (bottom bracket) bearings.  New tires are also advisable, Schwinn Typhoon blackwall tires are decent, as are the Grand Tycoon blackwalls.  Pedals may or may not be rebuildable.  The skiptooth chain will be expensive to replace, but if it's badly rusted you might as well throw down for a fresh chain.   Also:  If the rear hub is a New Departure, you might want to consider replacing it with a Bendix of the same era, the New Dep hubs just don't stop all that well.  Or if the wheels are toast you can just toss a new set of 26" wheels on it and call it good.

  I have a page or two of Schwinn FAQ and basic how-to on my site that you may or may not find helpful.

The girl's bike is a 1960s era Schwinn middleweight.  The chainguard style was introduced in '62 (iirc) and it's chrome, so that narrows it down to a Starlet III or a Deluxe American, both tank bikes (check under the curved top tube for a pair of tabs, these used to hold the tank in place).  Both of these bikes had a fair amount of exta equipment and are somewhat valuable if found in excellent original condition with the equipment intact.  Yours is missing pretty much everything and looks rusty as all heck.  If it's as rusty as it looks, then it's honestly not worth much at all, unless it has something cool like a Bendix Automatic 2 speed hub that can be pulled off.  I've seen really nice complete examples of these bikes sell for under $200.  

Cheers, Geoff


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## lambo (Dec 29, 2011)

greenephantom said:


> The first bike could be a couple of things, hard to tell with all the dirt and rust...




greenephantom - You are quite right, I would intend to do a refurb, not a restoration.  I have enough hobbies and rusty metal sitting in my garage and simply don't have the time to do a big expensive, time consuming restoration.  Instead, like you mentioned, I'd like to get them working well, hopefully looking decent, and actually ride them around.

You started throwing around words that are foreign to me, so it looks like I need to spend more time on this forum and possibly your site as well (great resource from my quick glance at it!).

Thanks for the renovation snapshot you provided.  Gives me a bit of direction as it is a bit overwhelming to think about everything it'll need!  It's one thing to clean up a tool, but a bike is another thing altogether.


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## snickle (Dec 30, 2011)

lambo said:


> OldRider/kccomet:  I don't mind a bit of patina!  My '53 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup in the garage has PLENTY of that!  I may try a non-destructive restoration and see where that gets me.
> 
> snickle:  Thanks for the lesson on bikes!  Why is it that girls bikes are less valuable?  Seems odd.
> 
> ...




Girls bikes, for the most part, are more common due to the fact that boys beat the crap out of their bikes and played "mechanic" on them. Losing valuable tanks, reflectors, and bolts along the way. Girls just parked them and left them alone.  Fix them both up and give the girls bike to your oldest daughter, she will love it! I have 3 daughters, but the oldest wants a "boys" bike due to hearing Dad talk about the boys bikes and the fact that when people look at the girls bikes they say "cool", but when they look at the boys bikes, they say "WOW"


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## vintage2wheel (Dec 30, 2011)

lambo said:


> All -
> 
> First post, hopefully not the last though.  I've been browsing and this looks like a fantastic forum!
> 
> ...




1st one is 50's panther


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