# Testing the waters. Considering selling my 1959 White Corvette



## indiana dave (Sep 25, 2017)

One of the rarest of the Schwinn Middleweights.
One year only color, and only in the Corvette.
This is one of maybe a dozen known to exist., Search for the "registry" thread in this forum.
I rescued it out of a back yard, and have washed it, scrubbed the white, trying to get it brighter, and polished the chrome, and repacked the bearings, rebuilt the three speed rear hub, and installed new tires and tubes. I think I put new brake pads on also, and maybe shifter and brake cables.
Rides great, but wheels could be a little truer.
Has many scratches and wear on the frame. some dings in the fenders. some more surface rust on the wheels that may be able to be polished out better.
I enjoy riding it like this. With the "almost as found" look.
It is missing the original headlight, but had the generator and tail light. I installed an aftermarket headlight, and both it, and the tail light work,
It was also missing he front rack, but I now have one to put on it.
It's not going to win any bike shows on looks alone, but it is a true survivor, and a very rare bike.
I have no idea of a price I could put on it.
It's a Schwinn middleweight, which are common.
It's a rare color, but not a very pretty bike...
Any thoughts on a fair ballpark price?


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## Freqman1 (Sep 25, 2017)

I had one in a little better condition with correct rack but not correct light that went begging. I finally sold it a couple of years ago for $600 to a car guy who had one of these as a kid and restored it even though I told him he was better off leaving it as it was. V/r Shawn


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## Dave Stromberger (Sep 25, 2017)

Schwinn middleweights in general, even the best of the best of the rarest are under-appreciated and under-priced in my opinion.


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## partsguy (Sep 25, 2017)

This is one bike that I would restore, if it were mine. White just shows rust so easily that my perfectionism would take over. In my opinion, it is worth about $400-$600.


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## phantom (Sep 25, 2017)

That's a tough call. If were mine I would just put it somewhere out of the way and forget I had it. If you restore it the originality is gone forever and there is way of proving it was _ever_ white. Unless you need to sell it or are just anxious to start a project I'd say give it more time.


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## island schwinn (Sep 25, 2017)

To restore this bike would be almost impossible due to the special decals.I have one and just hang it in my bike room.seems the market is soft,although they are rare.


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## SHO2010 (Sep 25, 2017)

I would restore it other wise it's just another old bike. As for the decals if you can get some good pictures and dimensions I know a guy who might be able to help with water slide decals. If you want vinyl I know a guy for that.


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## phantom (Sep 25, 2017)

island schwinn said:


> To restore this bike would be almost impossible due to the special decals.I have one and just hang it in my bike room.seems the market is soft,although they are rare.



Could we see a picture of your bike room?  Thanks


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## fordmike65 (Sep 25, 2017)

I say leave it


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## island schwinn (Sep 25, 2017)

SHO2010 said:


> I would restore it other wise it's just another old bike. As for the decals if you can get some good pictures and dimensions I know a guy who might be able to help with water slide decals. If you want vinyl I know a guy for that.



A one year only rare color bike isn't just another old bike.I've seen two attempts at restoring them and neither came close.the decals on these were a two stage and from what I've been able to tell the gold overlay was hand done.


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## SHO2010 (Sep 25, 2017)

Like any restoration it takes time and money I know old school pin stripers that can do the lettering but is it worth it in the end. There was a white Corvette at the Indy show  last  January I believe  he was asking  $1200. No sale , just not the market for that bike at this time.


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## partsguy (Sep 25, 2017)

SHO2010 said:


> Like any restoration it takes time and money I know old school pin stripers that can do the lettering but is it worth it in the end. There was a white Corvette at the Indy show  last  January I believe  he was asking  $1200. No sale , just not the market for that bike at this time.




I came very, very close to buying that! It was very nice!


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## partsguy (Sep 25, 2017)

Ditto on the decals. Few of my bikes have repop decals available. However, with enough time and money, anything can be re-made.


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## indiana dave (Sep 25, 2017)

Looks like my initial value was about right. $600-$700. I don't have room for bikes I don't ride, and want to make room and free up some funds for a hot rod.
Anything in that range would make me a happy seller.
Instill have a 50 Colorflow, a 53 Panther, and some cool Stingrays I'm my collection.

Sent from my LG-K373 using Tapatalk


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## vincev (Sep 25, 2017)

indiana dave said:


> One of the rarest of the Schwinn Middleweights.
> One year only color, and only in the Corvette.
> This is one of maybe a dozen known to exist., Search for the "registry" thread in this forum.
> I rescued it out of a back yard, and have washed it, scrubbed the white, trying to get it brighter, and polished the chrome, and repacked the bearings, rebuilt the three speed rear hub, and installed new tires and tubes. I think I put new brake pads on also, and maybe shifter and brake cables.
> ...



@indiana dave Might be interested .I am in Indiana also so no shipping.Send me a PM if you sell


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## Dave Stromberger (Sep 25, 2017)

island schwinn said:


> ...the decals on these were a two stage and from what I've been able to tell the gold overlay was hand done.




interesting... what makes you think they are two stage, or hand done? I've got a NOS chain guard decal... looking at  it closely, I can see that the red outline was done first and was solid filled letters. Then the gold was over the top, so the red shows as an outline.  Some photos I've seen of well-aged bikes show the chain guard decal being mostly red... I think the gold was prone to oxidizing and essentially "washing away."


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## island schwinn (Sep 25, 2017)

Dave Stromberger said:


> interesting... what makes you think they are two stage, or hand done? I've got a NOS chain guard decal... looking at  it closely, I can see that the red outline was done first and was solid filled letters. Then the gold was over the top, so the red shows as an outline.  Some photos I've seen of well-aged bikes show the chain guard decal being mostly red... I think the gold was prone to oxidizing and essentially "washing away."
> 
> View attachment 682461



The decal you have is an older repro.I also have one.
I also had a genuine Schwinn guard decal.the gold was an overlay as you mentioned.been a few years since these have seen the light.note the slight differences in the outline.bottom decal is the original Schwinn version.


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## indiana dave (Sep 26, 2017)

vincev said:


> @indiana dave Might be interested .I am in Indiana also so no shipping.Send me a PM if you sell



Ok. I'm pretty sure I'm going to sell it.

Sent from my LG-K373 using Tapatalk


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## Jay81 (Sep 26, 2017)

island schwinn said:


> A one year only rare color bike isn't just another old bike.I've seen two attempts at restoring them and neither came close.the decals on these were a two stage and from what I've been able to tell the gold overlay was hand done.




I agree, it's not just another old bike. There are thousands of identical corvettes out there, but only a few that are white. The saying "its only original once" really applies here.
That original white paint and decals are what makes this bike special.
Once the original paint comes off there is nothing left to distinguish it from the thousands of others. I suppose if you took tons of pics before getting started, including pics of the serial number with the original paint still there, you could prove what it was. 
Anybody could "restore" a '59 corvette and make a clone of a white one, and to me a clone and a restored original would be about the same. 

I have an original paint, coaster Grey Ghost, and just sold the Cotton Picker I had for sale. I can't understand why people pay big money for these two models when they have been restored (I do understand the 5 speeds bring much higher prices than coasters) because again, to me, they are no different than all the others once restored.

I personally have no real interest in any restored bike, but to each their own. Ultimately whoever ends up with it is free to do as they see fit, but I think it would be a shame to restore it.


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## indiana dave (Sep 26, 2017)

I struggled with the thought of at least touching it up.
It had a big lock hanging on the frame for many years, which I had to cut off. (Even hesitant to do that)
It had rubbed the paint off on the frame. The top tube also has a lot of wear.
After coming to the conclusion that the paint is what makes it what it is, I decided to just enjoy it as is.
I still get many looks, and people appreciate the story, and how rare it is.
I don't use the term "rare" easily. I have an 85 Mustang SVO. It is "uncommon", but not rare. I have some vintage Hotwheels that are hard to find, but not rare...
This bike deserves the term... A lot of people will not see one (in person) in their lifetime.
Of course, you can find pics of anything on the net, so what once was special becomes a bit less so.

Back to the condition of the bike...
I think someone with the rght tricks could still make the white brighter. I used a few different techniques, but didn't want to get any harsher than rubbing compound, and  even then I stopped for fear of rubbing thru the paint.


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## partsguy (Sep 26, 2017)

Jay81 said:


> I agree, it's not just another old bike. There are thousands of identical corvettes out there, but only a few that are white. The saying "its only original once" really applies here.
> That original white paint and decals are what makes this bike special.
> Once the original paint comes off there is nothing left to distinguish it from the thousands of others. I suppose if you took tons of pics before getting started, including pics of the serial number with the original paint still there, you could prove what it was.
> Anybody could "restore" a '59 corvette and make a clone of a white one, and to me a clone and a restored original would be about the same.
> ...




*I agree partially...
*
It is possible to restore any bike, and certain bikes will always hold value, even if restored. The trick is to always document the bike, document past owners if you can, and ADD THE SERIAL NUMBER to a registry here prior to restoration.

It is a good idea in general to document any restoration. Car, truck, bike, or motorcycle.


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## partsguy (Sep 26, 2017)

Looking at the 'foto again, I think this bike might get away with a mild restoration. Clean and polish the chrome, mechanical over haul, and a careful cleaning and buffing of paint.


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## fattyre (Sep 26, 2017)

I've always had the idea to restore another frameset and keep the original one as is.  Seems like a good approach with an uncommon color bike like this where its easy to find another frameset.  Best of both worlds.  I've yet to do that, but just a thought.


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## partsguy (Sep 26, 2017)

That seems really extreme, and it's really a clone.


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## Phattiremike (Sep 27, 2017)

Nice bike, I'd hang it up but she's a keeper!


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## indiana dave (Sep 27, 2017)

partsguy said:


> Looking at the 'foto again, I think this bike might get away with a mild restoration. Clean and polish the chrome, mechanical over haul, and a careful cleaning and buffing of paint.




That's pretty much what I've done...
It's cleaned, polished, regreased, and has new tires, tubes, etc...


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## indiana dave (Oct 19, 2018)

This bike is now for sale in the classifieds.


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## Dave Stromberger (Oct 19, 2018)

https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1959-schwinn-corvette-rare-white.141030/


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## indiana dave (Oct 22, 2018)

Bike is sold


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