# La Salle badged Phantom



## jd56 (Sep 16, 2012)

So the 49 Black Phantom I just aquired doesn't have a Schwinn badge but a La Salle badge..I was told today that Schwinn made bikes that were badged other than Schwinn...what's taht all about?







The seat tube does have tell tale Scwhinn white medalion sticker. But there is no "Black Phantom" script on the chainguard. If not for the color pattern I would have guessed this was not a Phantom.
Is it possible someone changed the badge? But, I honestly doubt it.

Your thoughts and therories please.
JD


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## WES PINCHOT (Sep 17, 2012)

*Schwinn hollywood*

Schwinn made bikes that were also badged by the schwinn 
distributors,such as chicago cycle, until they got there 
dealer set ups finalized.
So, to make a long story short, it could easily be an 
original phantom made by schwinn and the phantom decals 
sometimes fell off.
Wes


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## greenephantom (Sep 17, 2012)

Up into the early or mid 1950s Schwinn bikes were sold both through Schwinn dealers and other outlets like hardware stores and department stores and independent dealers.  LOTS of different badges were used, some common, some quite rare.  By the mid 1950s this practice had largely ended with Goodrich being the main exception.  So yes, it's certainly a Schwinn Black Phantom.  And the La Salle badge is a nice bonus.

Shameless plug:  If you're heading down the slippery slope into Schwinn obsession (welcome, by the way) I have a fairly popular book that covers just Schwinn's Heavyweights that I can guarantee you will find extremely useful and enlightening.  

Cheers, Geoff


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## jd56 (Sep 17, 2012)

interesting...just thought all schwinns would have been badged Schwinn other than the small decal on the chainguard and seat tube.

Geoff, I haven't decided how far down this slippery slope I'm heading, but feel l am free falling at the moment. But, there is a great singled out schwinn following and it's great to not be an outsider completely, anymore.


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## Larmo63 (Sep 17, 2012)

I think that having a LaSalle badged Phantom IS indeed rare. 

I've never seen one.


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## spoker (Sep 18, 2012)

*LaSalle Badge*

just bought a 1950 green and lavendr starlett,with a LaSalle badge and f course no  guard decal as they all came later,bike had allstate tires on it,hard to tell if they had been there since the beginning


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## rebirthbikes (Sep 18, 2012)

*I prefer the different badges...*

Actually you'll find something like a few hundred different badges and style of badges from the Schwinn Co. I love the extra character it provides the bicycles. Sort of gives them a life of their own. In fact, my favorite is also my profile picture. I found that badge on a prewar schwinn 20" DX. It was a Toledo, OH based manufacturer that sold schwinn bikes for a little over a year. Being from a small town near Toledo, I had to have it. The frame was broken and there was nothing on it that was useable, but I still bought it for the badge alone. Actually, the badge sits on my desk not a foot away from me right now. 
-judd


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## 37schwinn (Sep 18, 2012)

*Pullman badged 51 Phantom*

Here's one you don't see too often. A Pullman badge Phantom from '51.


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## silvercreek (Sep 19, 2012)

jd56 said:


> So the 49 Black Phantom I just aquired doesn't have a Schwinn badge but a La Salle badge..I was told today that Schwinn made bikes that were badged other than Schwinn...what's taht all about?
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I'm curious about something. What is the mounting hole spacing on the head badge?


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## jd56 (Sep 19, 2012)

silvercreek said:


> I'm curious about something. What is the mounting hole spacing on the head badge?




Center to center of the screws is   2 3/16"


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## jd56 (Sep 29, 2012)

*Schwinn with a Wald Crank??*

So, am trying to clean the Phantom today, lots of rain outside so I have snuck the phantom into the spare bedroom and have started dismantling to service the bearings. clean the chrome (as poor as the fenders are, good luck with that) etc...

I found that the crank is a Wald stamped crank. Shouldn't this be a Schwinn stamped crank? Or is this crank used because it is a La Salle badged Schwinn?
Somewhere I read that Schwinns were equiped with Schwinn stamped / dated cranks. Am I wrong?






Also are all New Departure rear hubs "smooth shell" or did they also produce chromed N/Departure single speed hubs? Can this "smooth Hub" hub be dated?





Finally the picture of the La Salle badge is depicted in the beginning of this thread. Is this how they looked new or is there cleaning to do to this as well?
And how would one do that to avoid scratching or maring the badge? Buffer wheel?

Dag Gum, the wife just found the bike in the house....oh well...more chores forthcoming I guess....lol:eek:


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## jd56 (Oct 3, 2012)

*New Departure Smooth Shell*

*Also are all New Departure rear hubs "smooth shell" or did they also produce chromed N/Departure single speed hubs? Can this "smooth Hub" hub be dated?* 

Still curious about the New Departure dating of the "smooth shell" rear hub??

Anybody?


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## jd56 (Dec 3, 2012)

*Which tires would you install?*

OK so I finally received 2 sets of colored tires that I wanted to try on my 49 Phantom.

Orange (thinking it would make the orange highlights of the bike frame pop), I think this shade orange is too load and needs aging, maybe some mud will help?
Clay...just because I love this color
And of course the white wall

What do you think would look best? 
Just trying to make the bike stand out a bit from all the all the other look alike Phantoms out there.





Still need a tank for this bike....black with undamaged chrome and horn button with a good tray...$100 or less....I can wish anyway.
Still waiting on the seller to locate the OG tank that is in the OG owners barn somewhere in Tenn.


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## bikeboy1340 (Dec 3, 2012)

*Phantom*

The LaSalle headbadge should have dark blue on the ribbon around LaSalle.  It is a brass headbadge and can be cleaned with Brasso or other cleaners of that type to shine it up.  The original colors on your bike are actually black/bright red w/true ivory pinstriping.  The bright red has a bad habit of fading to an orangish color.  The Wald crank may have been original to the bike or replaced at some point in time.  Wald was a large supplier of parts for Schwinn, but not sure how involved with Schwinn they were at the time your bike was built.  The ND Model D hub could have come cad, chrome or war-time black (which would not apply to your bike).  I personally like the WW tires on Phantoms, but if you are trying to get a little different look I would go with the red and age them a bit to match the patina of the bike (maybe try Westley's Bleche-wite).  I hope this info is helpful.

This may be a shameless plug for Geoff Greene (greenephantom (CABE), www.greenephantom.com), but anyway.  I have purchased every available book that he offers and I can personally say they are all well worth the money.  Each and every one of them have a wealth of information on Schwinn bicycles, parts and accessories for the period of bicycle you have or are interested in.


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## jd56 (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks BikeBoy...I appreciate the info.
I don't see any blue on the tarnished headbadge and trying to clean it up scares me. I would assume there would be some hint of the blue visible.
Does someone have a picture of this head badge with the color?


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## jd56 (Mar 30, 2013)

Finally....the 49 LaSalle is back together.
Its been along time since I brought it home from a local CL listing.
Had lots to do so I decided to get the needed parts like the tank, fender light battery tray fiber disc, rear rack and the tail light assy.
Also have decals and fenders I bought at Troxlertown. Only used the rear fender and haven't installed the chainguard decals....probably wont either.
Added the red bricks against popular demand.

Took the rear New Departure apart today....what was I thinking?
Had never attempted a rear hub before. The rear wheel barely rotated so I thought it needed servicing.
Thank god for the "Hub" thread and pictures and reassembly instructions.
Still need to figure out how to adjust the coaster brake cause you really need to mash on the pedal to stop.
Nice smooth ride but it sure is a workout. Nothing like my middleweights.

Anyway I am proud of it and Bob U did a great job on the seat.

So here he is in all his distressed unmolested  patina glory.

Thats my nephew on the bike. He loves it.....sorry dude its mine!!













Almost forgot.
Put the chain on last night and it blew up while test pedaling it on the stand...Like every fifth link had stress cracks....So a new chain was in order.






Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## spoker (Mar 30, 2013)

*phantom*

the first phantoms didnt have a chain guard decal


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## jd56 (Mar 30, 2013)

Didnt know that. It didnt have the pancake horn either but what the hey. 
Now if I can only figure out the ground issue on the fender light.
If I ground the terminal to the fender by touching both with a screw driver, it works...guess it could be the switch.
As much as I love all the lights I have a hell of a time getting them to work.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## crankman3 (Mar 31, 2013)

*LaSalle Head Badge*









 

Here's a picture of my LaSalle head badge with the blue on the ribbon.

This is my 1936 LaSalle also know as a straight back because there's
no angle on the lock.


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## Dave K (Mar 31, 2013)

Phantom looks great!!!!!!  The patina is killer.


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## jd56 (Mar 31, 2013)

Thanks Dave. It's good to see it all back together finally.


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