# 1949 Schwinn Black Phantom



## sfhschwinn (Jun 11, 2014)

I just bought this from a guy I met on ebay. I will be picking it up in 2 weeks. It is completely original kept indoors and owned by a French hugenot which is why it is in perfect condition. It was built October 19, 1949 according to the serial numbers. The seat looks like it needs to be recovered. Besides that, putting on repo Schwinn hub caps, polishing the chrome, and getting the rear fender reflector should I buy a water transfer decal that says "Black Phantom" from ebay and put it on or did the original phantoms not have that on the chain guard. The tires will be replaced with grand typhoon white wall bricks and basket will be removed. Finally did Schwinn make a catalog for 1949 and if someone has it can they post the phantom page. And can someone look at the picture with the tank and tell me if the cycle lock is missing. Thanks!


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## Freqman1 (Jun 11, 2014)

I don't believe the '49s had a chainguard decal. Also I believe original equipment tire was a Goodyear for the early bikes. Lastly it looks like someone changed out the chain ring to make it easier to pedal. A '49 should have the 52T "big boy" or "Phantom' ring and not the 46T "clover leaf" ring. V/r Shawn


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## rollfaster (Jun 11, 2014)

*ditto*

nice bike,but as shawn mentioned there are a few red flags.easily fixable though.


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Jun 11, 2014)

Looks like the tumbler is missing for the cyclock. . Wes pinchot can help you with that. I'm with Shaun in regards to the chain guard decal. ..1949 didn't have one as I recall.. does the saddle have a spot for a tiny reflector on the back?.. hard to tell when I zoom in..

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk


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## sfhschwinn (Jun 11, 2014)

thanks for the info. I didn't notice the chain ring since a 50s phantom add from the Schwinn catalog had the same one, guess I will replace that to. as for the decal I know dave from nostalgia has a restored 49' and his has the decal.


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## sfhschwinn (Jun 11, 2014)

I don't know about the reflector for the seat as I bought it this morning and have not seen it in person these pics are from ebay.


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## Freqman1 (Jun 11, 2014)

sfhschwinn said:


> thanks for the info. I didn't notice the chain ring since a 50s phantom add from the Schwinn catalog had the same one, guess I will replace that to. as for the decal I know dave from nostalgia has a restored 49' and his has the decal.




Take any photo of a "restored" bike with a grain of salt. Yours is original. When you get it look very closely to see if there is any 'ghosting' of a previous decal. My guess is "no". Bob U. should be able to get you right on the seat to include the correct '49 only reflector. Regarding the chainring please see my previous post to some of your Phantom questions. V/r Shawn


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Jun 11, 2014)

shaun beat me to it so I deleted basically what he just said above..... anyways... This is why preservation of originals is imperative.

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## sfhschwinn (Jun 11, 2014)

you are right about looking at restored bike photos not to many untouched 49s out there to go by. I did look at your previous post on the chain ring, according the catalog, it should have the phantom ring. I found the brochure from 1949, no decals are present on any of the models although the phantom is not listed in it.


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## Obi-Wan Schwinnobi (Jun 11, 2014)

I bet many of the 49s started out as b6s. ... like Shaun said take restored bikes with a grain of salt unless the big names did them. Tim Brandt Bob U or Dave S  ect..... A  lot and I mean A LOT of the early restorations are very incorrect in so many ways..even today with the resources a click away people still make a travesty of a restoration. ..  take a glance at the books history of the bicycle and you will see what we mean...

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## sfhschwinn (Jun 11, 2014)

although it is highly unlikely it may be possible that chain ring was put on it the factor. the 49 Hollywood used the same one and it may have been put on by accident, or they ran out on that specific day it was put together. unfortunately ill probably never know


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## Curtis68 (Jun 11, 2014)

*Chainguard decal*

Hello,
Schwinn did not start putting decals on the chaingaurds until 1952. So, your 49 Phantom should not have one.


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## Freqman1 (Jun 11, 2014)

Curtis68 said:


> Hello,
> Schwinn did not start putting decals on the chaingaurds until 1952. So, your 49 Phantom should not have one.




Not true; Starlet, Panther, and Phantom all had decals and maybe others starting in 1950. V/r Shawn


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## Curtis68 (Jun 11, 2014)

*I stand corrected*



Freqman1 said:


> Not true; Starlet, Panther, and Phantom all had decals and maybe others starting in 1950. V/r Shawn




I stand corrected, Shawn is far more knowledgable then I am about old bike so I would go with his information over mine. Sorry for the bad info. I will need to do more research of my own on the topic.


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## Tim the Skid (Jun 11, 2014)

*good buy!*

I was watching that bike on ebay and would have bought it if it wasn't local pickup only. I think you got a great bike for the money! Should clean up really well and most of the original parts are there.


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## sfhschwinn (Jun 11, 2014)

I saw that bike and watched it for 3 days. I decided to sell my 1950s pleasure liner that was powdercoated that I got on a trade and I put a 66cc engine on it, my 1939 reggie McNamara Columbia I repainted the best I could and my Schwinn twinn. I spoke to the guy on the phone and we made a deal outside of ebay that was cash so I got it for less than the asking price. He said he will take down the ad later but the bike is mine. it is located 15 minutes from my college


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## cyberpaull (Jun 14, 2014)

*My Nov' 49 Green Phantom made for the 50 market.*

My Nov' 49 Green Phantom made for the 50 market.


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