# 49 B6 Rescue



## 56 Vette

Now that the holidays are over and all the gift bikes are done, its time to get back to my bikes. Still waiting on parts for my corvette, and the red phantoms are sleeping in the front room next to the piano. I picked up a 49 B6 last weekend and it was in the garage so I couldn't help but tear into it. Spot polished a few areas of paint and chrome before the teardown and I think it will look pretty good. Will need to find a tank, fenders and a rear rack eventually but at least its a ridable bike as it sits. Even the locking fork has the original key and works great. Here are some pics and I'll try to keep some update pics coming, thanks for looking! Joe


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## 56 Vette

Few more pics


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## 56 Vette

*all torn down*

Now for the cleaning, polishing, and greasing.


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## rollfaster

Love the B6. Can't wait to see how it turns out. Very nice so far. Rob.


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## Mr. Kool

It seems it will come out nice.


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## 56 Vette

Thanks for the comments, this one is gonna be one of my favorites! Google and cabe searches are a blessing to have at your finger tips! I tore down the springer front end this morning after work, and with a cold beer in my hand I stared at the spring and thought how in the hell does that nut come out? A beer later and a quick search, I had a seat post in the vice and a big screwdriver and voilà the nut was out. Can't remember off hand who posted that but it worked like a charm!! Nice to know someone has ran into almost any problem you may face and gave their advice on how to get it done, one of the many benefits of this site! Time for a little steel wool and polishing before bed, have a great day all! Joe


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## GenuineRides

please repost the link for removing the springer nut, last time I almost took my finger off trying to pry open that spring...


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## 56 Vette

http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...the-Springer-Spring&highlight=remove+springer. Hope this works for the link. Was post # 9 I followed, but the other ones would work as well. Holding the spring in your hand you wouldn't think it would bend that far but it does. Joe


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## 56 Vette

Been a pretty productive night, got all the pieces of the front end scrubbed, polished and forks waxed and mocked back up. Hard to believe how nice these things clean up! Also got the pedals rebuilt and greased and the bottom bracket goodies cleaned up other than the crank. I can't quit working on it!!! Having a blast! Few more pics, Joe


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## 56 Vette




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## GTs58

Good job! That thing is cleaning up really nice.


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## Dale Alan

Cleaning up nicely. It's going to look great when you are done.


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## 56 Vette

Thanks again guys, sore fingers are paying off! Lol.. Got the chainguard done, the crank polished and chainring back on. Also got the stem cleaned up and most of the drum done, more to do yet. Very happy so far! Joe


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## 56 Vette

Quick update, got the frame all cleaned up and started assembling it. Everything going back together pretty good, still have the wheels and hubs to clean up, my favorite part, NOT! Lol. Joe


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## rollfaster

Damn joe. That looks great. Going to be a killer bike. Rob.


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## 56 Vette

Thanks for the compliment! Will have to take a few days away from it, getting ready for this turkey smoking party, need to clear out the garage. Gonna throw the wheels on and put it in the house for a little while. Anyone around the northwest Ohio area feel free to stop in anytime on sat the 31st, lots of beverages, good food and smoked turkey, and good times!!! One more of the bike and a few from last years party. Have a great week! Joe.


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## 56 Vette

Well good info to have would be my phone number or address, pm me if you can make it! Would be glad to have any cabe'r stop by!!! Joe


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## WES PINCHOT

Party's not in my neighborhood!
Looks the great smoke out!
Exceptionally great job of detailing.
So lucky to have all that nice chrome and paint under the grime.


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## bricycle

What a transformation.......


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## 56 Vette

I've got a quick question for someone who may have a complete bike, or someone who just knows. I've been looking at pictures from Google search, and eBay, and here at the cabe, and was wondering if the correct fenders for this bike would have had the black pinstripe around the ivory lines and darts on the front and back fenders. Got a fender from a fellow cabe'r and will be on the bike soon, but no pinstriping around the ivory, but I've seen pictures showing a bright red stripe around the ivory and some with a blue stripe around it. My bike has the black pinstripe around the spears on the head tube and seat tube and darts on the fork. I will be looking for a "correct" set in the future and want to at least put on it what it might have had. Most fenders I see and the one I have now have no pinstripe on the outside of the ivory stripe. Any help would definelety be appreciated, most images are all starting to get blurry, Lol.. No big hurry on parts but looking forward to getting this one right. Thanks for your time! Joe.


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## WES PINCHOT

The maroon/dark red ivory typically have black pinstripes next to the ivory.


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## 56 Vette

Thanks Wes, that's what I was thinking, but there seem to be a lot of different paint schemes Schwinn used, even just with the maroon color. Glad there will be a few swaps and shows coming up in next few months. Joe


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## WES PINCHOT

I THINK THAT B6 NEEDS A NICE ORIGINAL CARRIER WITH A BRAKE LIGHT!
TAKE A LOOK?
http://thecabe.com/vbulletin/showth...l-light-Housing&highlight=BRAKE+LIGHT+CARRIER


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## 56 Vette

Looking for a few opinions on what to do for tires on this one. For now, I'm going to put tubes in the old kind of cracked up Goodyear black walls, they are both all weather but the front is an airflow G3, back is a deluxe with a different pattern, that will get it ridable for little cost. I want to go with a whitewall, but not sure about what route to go. I've got it narrowed down to Goodyear pattern Duro's, repo Royal Chains, or finding a set of weathered whitewalls like the lightening darts I picked up for my 52 phantom. This one will get ridden but not a 20 miler if that makes sense. Looking forward to opinions so I can have it ready for spring. Thanks all! Joe


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## jd56

Wow!!!!
That is amazing what was found under all that garage kept grime. Sore fingers is inevitable when detailing, well for me anyway. But the rewards are amazing.
Great job Joe! 

maroon / white...I like, and I think either clay Goodyear bricks or Duro bricks would look great. Creme Duro bricks might look good too. 
Either way....the bike is looking amazing.


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## 56 Vette

Thanks JD, I guess I never even considered the brick red or cream colored tires, had whitewalls stuck in my head! Will definitely look into those, I'm sure there are tons of pics to look at here and on the web. This bike has really cleaned up nice, better than I have expected. Pretty fun watching the transformation, I really like seeing what others have done with their bikes as well, they really made things to last back in the day! Joe


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## Ozark Flyer

Great work Joe.  That came out fantastic.


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## 56 Vette

Been a while since an update, been working a lot lately, story of our lives, right? Well I had today off and decided to get this one done. Took the wheels off and scrubbed, cleaned and tediously steel wooled every spoke, today I also tore apart my first new departure model d and completely went through it, one neat a$$ hub, it works great on the bench, can't wait to ride it. Wheels turned out great and tires cleaned pretty well for now, new tubes and liners, they look weird after looking at them flat for so long! Lol.. Got the rear fender mounted, but will still be looking for a better set, this ones a little rough. Also got the rack with color matched light installed.Now that I've got it this far its down to finding missing parts and sending the seat out for a redo. Pretty rewarding build so far! Thanks for looking. Joe.


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## 56 Vette

*few pics*


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## 56 Vette




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## PCHiggin

Looking really nice.


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## PCHiggin

56 Vette said:


> Thanks JD, I guess I never even considered the brick red or cream colored tires, had whitewalls stuck in my head! Will definitely look into those, I'm sure there are tons of pics to look at here and on the web. This bike has really cleaned up nice, better than I have expected. Pretty fun watching the transformation, I really like seeing what others have done with their bikes as well, they really made things to last back in the day! Joe




I liked the Grand Tycoon red tires.They road beautifully.


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## delgan

I am new at bike collecting  and I am wondering besides the hard work how you got the springer yoke (?) so free of the rust? You have done a great job on this bike and was great seeing the steps you went thru. Thanks


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## Ozark Flyer

56 Vette said:


> Looking for a few opinions on what to do for tires on this one. I've got it narrowed down to Goodyear pattern Duro's, repo Royal Chains, or finding a set of weathered whitewalls like the lightening darts I picked up for my 52 phantom.




You're really doing a great job on this project. If mine, I think I would go with the weathered white walls.  They would go really well with the beautiful patina on this bike.  Please keep the updates coming.

BTW.  I can relate to the work thing.  The people who are putting bags of cash in my bank account every few weeks seem to think all my time belongs to them.  It's causing a serious shortage of hobby time lately.


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## 56 Vette

Thanks for all the compliments guys, actually had a great day here and got to take it out for a ride, wow was I impressed! Pedaled and rode so smooth, the springer and the seat make for a better ride than almost any bike I've had before! Now just to get my legs woke up from the winter nap! Lol.. Here's a pic out in the sun. Have a great one. Joe


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## TJW

56 Vette said:


> Thanks for all the compliments guys, actually had a great day here and got to take it out for a ride, wow was I impressed! Pedaled and rode so smooth, the springer and the seat make for a better ride than almost any bike I've had before! Now just to get my legs woke up from the winter nap! Lol.. Here's a pic out in the sun. Have a great one. JoeView attachment 202413





You did a fantastic job of cleaning and polishing your B6.  It turned out great!!


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## 56 Vette

Santa mailman just brought another part today! Got the brake lever, cable and hardware for the drum brake. Got it installed and works like a champ, only thing I'll need for it is a fork clip, black zip tie will work for now. Having a ball on this one! Joe.


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## Curtis68

Nicely done.  It looks great.....


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## crash24

Awesome


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## 56 Vette

Another quick update, Memory Lane was great for me this weekend, found a tank, and Ivo (ballontyre) came through with a beautiful set of fenders, and the saddle is off with Bob U for a recover. The list is getting smaller to call this one done! Maybe pick up a another piece or two at Ann Arbor tommorow. Have a great weekend all! Joe


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## 56 Vette

Quick update on the B6, got my saddle back from Bob U a while back, wow is it amazing!! Also put on a set of John's U.S. royal chains on it before the Dayton ride because I didn't really trust the old Goodyear's. Those tires were for another project but they might just stay on there. Was really nice to put a few miles on it this weekend, and between the saddle and the new tires, I'm in love all over again!!! Hope you all had a great weekend, I know I did! Joe


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## 56 Vette

Update on the 49 B6, actually found an original paint set of fenders and got them cleaned up and installed. Also found a Goodyear airwheel G3 at Memory Lane this fall to match the one I had. Really having fun getting this one back to where it needs to be. Down to a horn for the tank, and a rear reflector, and maybe new decals for the tank and I'll call this one done. And I've gotta say, even with old tires, it rides like a dream!! JoeView attachment 250055


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## RustyHornet

This is really cool! Nice job! Getting ready to tackle the same thing on my prewar Admiral. Only have to locate the fender light for mine, but it's gonna take a major clean and polish.


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## jkent

Is that saddle original to the bike? I have never seen the Phantom style seat on a B6 before.
Maybe it was just a post war B6 thing. I know that color matched tail light was an option. 
Nice bike and very nice job bringing it back to life.
JKent

P.S. Did you use Evaporust on the front drum or wire wheel?
JKent


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## Mtn Goat

BEAUTIFUL!!  Was the searching for parts as much fun as the build?  You made some very nice finds.


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## 56 Vette

jkent said:


> Is that saddle original to the bike? I have never seen the Phantom style seat on a B6 before.
> Maybe it was just a post war B6 thing. I know that color matched tail light was an option.
> Nice bike and very nice job bringing it back to life.
> JKent
> 
> P.S. Did you use Evaporust on the front drum or wire wheel?
> JKent




This saddle was on it, after talking to Bob U. at Memory Lane this spring, he said the non riveted phantom style was available on the B6. Had him do a recover for me, it turned out beautifully. The drum was cleaned with the little brass and stainless toothbrush looking brushes and steel wool. Joe


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## 56 Vette

Searching the parts has been a blast, a little expensive, but very happy to have found all the same color and condition parts. Have been looking for complete bikes to start with since, but I'm sure I'll do another one this way. Joe


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## juanitasmith13

Joe,      You've done fantastic! Ride it proudly. pappy


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## whizzer_motorbike_fan

Wow!!!!!!! This bike is absolutely astounding! What are your plans with the other fenders?


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## sludgeguy

Wow Joe, it has turned out fabulous!


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## WES PINCHOT

Good job finding all the parts!
Great looking B 6'S!
Shows what you can do if you search
around for good parts.
Glad to have you include the brake light on the carrier.
And yes, the phantom style saddle was on some B 6's
before the phantom.
Congrats to your success.
Enjoy!


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## theterrym

nice to see the progress!!


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## Oldben

It looks great! Good job!


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## sleepy

Beautiful bike, excellent work!


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## 56 Vette

Thanks for all the compliments! Glad this one has came together as well as it has! Has taken almost a year, but the right parts have had a way of showing up. The thrill of the hunt! Lol. Joe


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## tech549

that came out great that's the part of this hobby I love thr rebuild


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