# Schwinn DX-13



## Geebeefan (Apr 18, 2019)

Greetings, I acquired what I believe to be a Schwinn DX-13 Leader that has been in my wife's family for as long as anyone can remember. According to the manufacturer's number located on the frame near where the rear wheel attaches, it was manufactured on November 8, 1949.

As you can see, it's in rough shape and my hope is to be able to restore the old boy. This is my first bicycle project, so I am trying to absorb as much information as I can from anyone who has insights into this bicycle.

It has definitely been painted, the blue you see is not the original color. As I disassembled it, it was clear the original base color is deep red. As I started to remove some of the old paint, it revealed a gold/yellow color with red accents (second photo below).

My goal is to restore the bike so it can once again be ridden. It will need a number of missing parts, including rear reflector, chain guard, torpedo light, truss bars, etc. 

Any and all thoughts and recommendations for the restoration are welcomed with open arms! Thanks.


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## Rivnut (Apr 18, 2019)

If your stamped serial number is on the rear drop out, then your bike is a 1953 or later model. Run the numbers again using a different data base this time.  The parts you're seeking should be easy to come by.


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## BFGforme (Apr 18, 2019)

Also the bike is a cantilever frame, not a DX frame! Would be cool if could get the original paint back, fun project!


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## Geebeefan (Apr 18, 2019)

BFGforme said:


> Also the bike is a cantilever frame, not a DX frame! Would be cool if could get the original paint back, fun project!



That's why I'm here...to keep learning! Thanks for the information.

Unlikely I'll get back to the original paint, one of the sides of the front fork is pretty messed up and down to the metal, so that original paint job is gonzo. Given the complexity of the paint job, it's also unlikely I have the talent to replicate it if we go full on restoration, but again--that's why I'm here--for ideas, suggestions, and insights from the group.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 18, 2019)

Will recheck the serial number this evening


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## Geebeefan (Apr 18, 2019)

Based on what I recall of the ID number, it started with an S, so it could be a 1955 model, not 1949. I know I had trouble identifying a 6th digit...looking at the "S" entries in 1955, those models only had 5-digit ID numbers, so that's likely the answer I was searching for. 

Question: is there a way to edit the title of this thread to better describe the bike? Thanks to your help, it's clearly not a DX model, so I'd like to update the title in order to attract as much conversation as possible about the unit, so my restoration efforts are on point. I didn't see an obvious way to edit the title. Or is the best option to simply start a new thread?

Thanks in advance for any insights or suggestions.


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## juanitasmith13 (Apr 18, 2019)

Your fork clean-up has the looks of a white/w/red pins Corvette.... Photos of close up frame segments may get you more good answers; i.e., rear frame wheel stays below seat for fender mount & possible rear brake caliper mount.


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## GTs58 (Apr 18, 2019)

juanitasmith13 said:


> Your fork clean-up has the looks of a white/w/red pins Corvette.... Photos of close up frame segments may get you more good answers; i.e., rear frame wheel stays below seat for fender mount & possible rear brake caliper mount.




The steer tube is Opal Red. The original fork pins preserved the red paint while the rest of the paint faded away leaving only the aluminum? base coat.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 19, 2019)

GTs58 said:


> The steer tube is Opal Red. The original fork pins preserved the red paint while the rest of the paint faded away leaving only the aluminum? base coat.




I don't think so...there is definitely a yellow/gold paint above the red on the forks. There is also a definite pattern with the red that is evident on both forks, as shown in one of the photos above. IF you check it out, the red forms an elongated "M". This is the same on both front forks.


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## GTs58 (Apr 19, 2019)

Geebeefan said:


> I don't think so...there is definitely a yellow/gold paint above the red on the forks. There is also a definite pattern with the red that is evident on both forks, as shown in one of the photos above. IF you check it out, the red forms an elongated "M". This is the same on both front forks.




I've seen this a hundred times. The original color (red) faded out everywhere except for where the original white pin stripes protected the paint. The white pins then vanished leaving the original color red in it place. Same thing happens on the chain guards. The early 55 + Opal paint had issues with red being the worst for fading out to nothing. The steertube is the original color.
The Opal colors were a translucent "candy" paint shot over a silver or possibly a gold base that was shot over the red oxide primer.

A1954 Opal Red Jaguar with sun stroke.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 20, 2019)

*Special thanks to GTs58* for your insights on the paint job! Here's what I think I found out last night:

--Exactly what GTs58 said appears to be the case: originally a red bike with white pin striping. The red exposed areas faded to a red/gold look before the bike was repainted blue. As GT said, the areas where the white pin striping were would likely now be the original red color, and they are.
--I removed some of the re-paint from the fenders, and they exhibited the same color transformation, so they appear to have been originally painted red with white pinstripes. I'm carefully trying to document via photo exactly where the pin striping was in hopes of recreating them. 
--I tried to carefully remove the re-paint from the seat tube, but unfortunately did not come across any decals. However, as you can see from the shot below, the area of the tube where the decal was seems to have been is clearly identified by the area where the original red color is intact. Any insights anyone has on this is greatly appreciated.
--I was able to find a marking on one of the rims, it reads: *M. O. Mfg. Co.* This rim is not painted, it's chrome that needs a fair amount of TLC. The other rim appears to be painted, and I've not found any markings on it as of yet. 

Hopefully the painted fenders will help us narrow down the types of Schwinn this may be.

Onward!

Red paint on fender where the original white pinstriping was, 3/4" from the edge of the fender





Original red paint  on seat post seems to have been preserved by where a decal once was




Another shot of the preserved red paint on the seat post


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## GTs58 (Apr 20, 2019)

Excellent job on stripping that down to what's left of the remaining original paint! Not sure what your serial number was but I'm going to say it was the earlier guess between the two dates of 1955 and 1957. The base coat does look goldish verses the silver aluminum undercoat used later. The seat tube decals, or decal preservation of the paint, tells me what the model was based on the serial stamping. The bike had a wrap around seat tube decal along with the round Schwinn Quality decal above it.* Only model in 55 with those was the American!* 
Sorry to say that the wheels were replaced. MO was a Murray marking.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 21, 2019)

GTs58 said:


> Excellent job on stripping that down to what's left of the remaining original paint! Not sure what your serial number was but I'm going to say it was the earlier guess between the two dates of 1955 and 1957. The base coat does look goldish verses the silver aluminum undercoat used later. The seat tube decals, or decal preservation of the paint, tells me what the model was based on the serial stamping. The bike had a wrap around seat tube decal along with the round Schwinn Quality decal above it.* Only model in 55 with those was the American!*
> Sorry to say that the wheels were replaced. MO was a Murray marking.
> 
> View attachment 983701




Thanks for sleuthing this with me--very happy to finally know what I'm dealing with, now I can set about restoring it properly! The description above from the catalog is very helpful. My version of the 26" American does not have front hand brakes so it's the coaster version it appears.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions as we go on...first one that strikes me: 
The front fender has holes in it that appear to be for mounting a torpedo light...wondering if that was an option on this model or if someone did some retrofitting along the way to allow for a light to be mounted. I'll try and upload a photo of the fender at some point.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 21, 2019)

Geebeefan said:


> Thanks for sleuthing this with me--very happy to finally know what I'm dealing with, now I can set about restoring it properly! The description above from the catalog is very helpful. My version of the 26" American does not have front hand brakes so it's the coaster version it appears.
> 
> I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions as we go on...first one that strikes me:
> The front fender has holes in it that appear to be for mounting a torpedo light...wondering if that was an option on this model or if someone did some retrofitting along the way to allow for a light to be mounted. I'll try and upload a photo of the fender at some point.




4/20: After further examination of the holes on the front fender where the light was mounted, one of the holes doesn't seem to be machined perfectly round...wondering if someone modified the fender at some point to accommodate a mounted light?


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## Rivnut (Apr 21, 2019)

In post #12, you found that the American was a cantilevered frame with a coaster brake.  If you read a little more, you'll see that the rims are identified as Schwinn Tubular S - 7 Chrome.  If you'll take a look at the tires, you'll see that they're probably 1.75 x 26.  The S -7 rims require a 1-3/4" tire.  The two sizes are not interchangeable although they're both considered middleweight tires.  That's something else that would tell you that the bike isn't as old as you thought.  The middleweights didn't come out until late 1954.  Could be that the screw in the lamp was somehow just pulled through the fender leaving you with a non machined looking hole.  I'll check tomorrow; I may have the 'hockey stick' chain guard you'll be wanting.  Can't help you with the chrome S -7 rims.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 22, 2019)

Rivnut said:


> In post #12, you found that the American was a cantilevered frame with a coaster brake.  If you read a little more, you'll see that the rims are identified as Schwinn Tubular S - 7 Chrome.  If you'll take a look at the tires, you'll see that they're probably 1.75 x 26.  The S -7 rims require a 1-3/4" tire.  The two sizes are not interchangeable although they're both considered middleweight tires.  That's something else that would tell you that the bike isn't as old as you thought.  The middleweights didn't come out until late 1954.  Could be that the screw in the lamp was somehow just pulled through the fender leaving you with a non machined looking hole.  I'll check tomorrow; I may have the 'hockey stick' chain guard you'll be wanting.  Can't help you with the chrome S -7 rims.




The tires on the bike both read 26 X 1.75 on the sidewalls. One tire has the brand name Oxford on it, the other has the brand name Super Crest. The rims apparently are not original. GTs58 helped identify one rim as a Murray product (marked "M.O. Mfg. Co."), the other rim appears to be painted and I've not found any identifying marks on it yet.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 24, 2019)

Rivnut said:


> In post #12, you found that the American was a cantilevered frame with a coaster brake.  If you read a little more, you'll see that the rims are identified as Schwinn Tubular S - 7 Chrome.  If you'll take a look at the tires, you'll see that they're probably 1.75 x 26.  The S -7 rims require a 1-3/4" tire.  The two sizes are not interchangeable although they're both considered middleweight tires.  That's something else that would tell you that the bike isn't as old as you thought.  The middleweights didn't come out until late 1954.  Could be that the screw in the lamp was somehow just pulled through the fender leaving you with a non machined looking hole.  I'll check tomorrow; I may have the 'hockey stick' chain guard you'll be wanting.  Can't help you with the chrome S -7 rims.




Thanks, let me know if you come across the chain guard and what you would need for that. Thanks in advance.


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## Oilit (Apr 24, 2019)

Geebeefan said:


> The tires on the bike both read 26 X 1.75 on the sidewalls. One tire has the brand name Oxford on it, the other has the brand name Super Crest. The rims apparently are not original. GTs58 helped identify one rim as a Murray product (marked "M.O. Mfg. Co."), the other rim appears to be painted and I've not found any identifying marks on it yet.



It does sound like both rims have been replaced. Schwinn rims from 1955 were stamped Schwinn Tubular S-7 (or S-2, or S-6 or ...) whether chrome or painted. Also, the S-7 has a single knurled strip in the center of the rim.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 24, 2019)

Oilit said:


> It does sound like both rims have been replaced. Schwinn rims from 1955 were stamped Schwinn Tubular S-7 (or S-2, or S-6 or ...) whether chrome or painted. Also, the S-7 has a single knurled strip in the center of the rim.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 24, 2019)

I found this listing on ebay today...it's for 1960 S-7 rims. Wondering if this is a decent price, and if so, would it be kosher to put these on a 1955 bike or is that a no-no for a restoration effort:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sc...881525?hash=item1a7a78b835:g:PfEAAOSwrkdcumpS


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## Rivnut (Apr 24, 2019)

Geebeefan said:


> I found this listing on ebay today...it's for 1960 S-7 rims. Wondering if this is a decent price, and if so, would it be kosher to put these on a 1955 bike or is that a no-no for a restoration effort:
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Sc...881525?hash=item1a7a78b835:g:PfEAAOSwrkdcumpS




That's not a bad price if you're wanting painted rims.  But if you want to be true to the restoration, look back a post #12 and you'll see that the bike was built with chrome plated S-7 rims.


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## Geebeefan (Apr 25, 2019)

Rivnut said:


> That's not a bad price if you're wanting painted rims.  But if you want to be true to the restoration, look back a post #12 and you'll see that the bike was built with chrome plated S-7 rims.




I saw that. Just wondering how realistic it is to expect to find a set in good shape that won't force me to sell my car so I can afford them


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## Rivnut (Apr 25, 2019)

I checked and I do not have the 'hockey stick' guard.  If you think you'd be interested, I have an S7 rim with a date coded 58 Sturmey Archer 'multi speed' hub.  It has some surface rust but will probably clean up okay.  It would not come with cable or shifter.  Send me a PM if you're interested.

Ed


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## Oilit (Apr 25, 2019)

You can buy the painted set for now and keep your eyes open for a good deal on a chrome set. If you get the chrome ones later, I expect you can get your money back out of the painted set. And they'll get you on the road now, rather than "some time" in the nebulous future.


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## Oilit (Apr 25, 2019)

Rivnut said:


> I checked and I do not have the 'hockey stick' guard.  If you think you'd be interested, I have an S7 rim with a date coded 58 Sturmey Archer 'multi speed' hub.  It has some surface rust but will probably clean up okay.  It would not come with cable or shifter.  Send me a PM if you're interested.
> 
> Ed



You might want to check whether that's an AW or an SW. If the AW is in good shape, three speeds are nice to have. The SW had issues that eventually caused Sturmey - Archer to drop it.


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## Rivnut (Apr 25, 2019)

It's definitely an SA.  Using the chain still attached, I can pull it and feel all three gears engage.  However, if you'd opt for this rear wheel/hub, you'd probably want to invest in a front brake setup. 

As long as you've go good tubes in those tires, run what you have until you find exactly what you're looking for.  You might even find some bare rims, some hubs, and lace yourself a set of wheels.

Check the Kansas City Craigslist for vintage bikes.  10-18 Kustoms is having a huge clearance sale. You might find a complete bike with the correct wheels, chain guard, and seat for less than you could piece everything together.  Girls bikes are cheap and everything is interchangeable.   Marty also has a website under the same name. It would have his phone number listed.

I just looked and apparently Marty's ad has expired.  Just go to his website and get in touch with him.
http://www.1018kustoms.com


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## Rivnut (Apr 27, 2019)

Here's an example of where to find a good deal on restoring a bike like you have.  Everything on this bike looks pretty good.  For $40, you get tires and wheels, and a whole bunch of other stuff.  Keep what you want and sell the rest.  

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/440830743390732/


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## Rivnut (Apr 27, 2019)

The Kansas City CL ad may be gone but it's reappeared on Facebook marketplace.  
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/663997740685956/


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## Geebeefan (Apr 29, 2019)

Rivnut said:


> Here's an example of where to find a good deal on restoring a bike like you have.  Everything on this bike looks pretty good.  For $40, you get tires and wheels, and a whole bunch of other stuff.  Keep what you want and sell the rest.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/440830743390732/




That's exactly the route I've been starting to pursue in my geographic area. I've seen a couple bikes of similar style and vintage that might be good for parts, and at a much lower cost that what I've found for buying specific parts off the 'net. Thanks for the suggestion!


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