# PROJECT QUICK CHANGE - SUBJECT: Schwinn Dixie. CURRENT BUILD: Muscle Bike.



## Bike from the Dead (Dec 18, 2020)

Well, since I decided to put _Poison Apple _on hold until I can save up the funds to do it right, I've decided to fix up the very bike that got me into this hobby all the way back in March of 2018, my 1950/1951 Schwinn DX bike, _PROJECT QUICK CHANGE - SUBJECT: Schwinn Dixie_.





I won this bike at an auction for $65, and since then, I've been working on this bike on and off for over 2 years. I got this idea in my head early on that I would change this DX frame's appearance by swapping parts whenever I got bored with how it looked or rode. I was loosely inspired by the quick-change rear ends racers use on their cars to change how their cars drive, and by an old act of the same name I once saw on _America's Got Talent_ where these people would quickly change their wardrobe and even their hair, hence the first half of this bike's name. _Schwinn Dixie _was just a quirky play on _Schwinn DX_ and _Winn Dixie_, because why not? I gradually accumulated a stash of various forks, fenders, chain guards, wheels, you name it, all for this bike. Though I've never gotten this bike in a finished, functional state, I eventually come back to it and mock up different parts to see what direction I want to take it.






















Now to the main reason why I'm posting _Schwinn Dixie_ here; I've been spending all this time mocking up or modifying parts to fit this Schwinn, but not once have I finished the assembly of this bike. It has never had the chain on it since I got it, so this Muscle Bike Build Off seems like the perfect excuse to get this bike riding again. A few months back, I mocked up these parts to see what this old Schwinn would look like as a muscle bike. I like the general stance of it, but now that I've not using the 26" springer fork on _Poison Apple_, I'd like to use it on this project. The nice thing about putting this bike together is that even though I have less than a month to finish it, it doesn't need a lot to make it happen. I don't really need to get any parts for this, but I would like to install a Shimano 3-speed coaster brake hub into one of my wheels so I can use my little Shimano click-shifter pictured below. I also want to sandblast the frame to get rid of the rust, and shine it up and clear it similarly to my RRBBO entry from earlier this year, _Dumpster Diamond_. Other than that, I mostly just want to assemble it similarly to how it's pictured below.




I'll try mocking it back up with all the parts I plan to use tomorrow.


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 19, 2020)

First off, sorry for the poor quality pictures. I didn't give myself enough time to mockup everything before the sun went down, but I did mockup _Schwinn Dixie_ regardless. 

When I mounted one of my skinny wheels to the springer fork, I found that I could not position the axle one bolt hole ahead of the fork braces, as the bolt would hit the spokes if I kept the inside washer on, and _barely _clear it by a millimeter without the washer.







By moving the wheel axle forward one bolt hole, I was able to mount everything with room to spare. However, when I get these extensions redesigned, I might move the wheel axle halfway between the the two left-most bolt holes.




I know it's not the best photo, but here's the general direction I'm going with this bike. Most of what's on the bike right now will be what I use in the end, including the tires on the wheels.




I won't use the same front wheel, as I have a better one to mount the front tire on. I'm going to try my best to shine up all the chrome parts, but I might be sandblasting and painting the rear fender and sissy bar, as they're pretty rough. 

While I've pretty much figured out the final build of this bike, what I'm still trying to figure out is the paint scheme. The only parts that will be painted on this bike are the chain guard, the fender, maybe the fork extensions, and a tank if I can make one in time. I'd also like to reupholster the seat to match the painted parts if I can figure out how to do that before the deadline. I've got a few ideas, but I've yet to make a decision. I know I don't want this to be a bare metal and black bike (yet,) as I already did that with my last Build Off bike. 

Again, sorry for the lackluster pictures. I'll try to shoot some better ones with my Nikon tomorrow when there's daylight outside.


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 20, 2020)

To make up for the few low-quality pictures from last night, today I'll be posting tons of high-quality pictures. So, let's get right to it!

















For those of you wanting to know what tires I've currently got on this bike: a 26"x1 3/8" Bell Streetser up front, and a dry-rotted 26"x2.125" W.T.C. SUP-R-TIRE in the rear.







Back when I was gathering parts for _Project Quick Change,_ I acquired a stash of parts and frames that included an entire box full of kickstands. While the majority of them all looked about the same, this Lenton adjustable kickstand stood out and instantly became my favorite kickstand out of the lot. It's chrome plated, it's adjustable, and it makes a satisfying *click* when it locks into either position. I have no idea how old it is, but it's different, and I like different.







The rear fender is from a later-model Schwinn Heavy-Duti bike. It's already been modified a bit to fit this bike, but I want to see if my welder can shorten it up behind the seat stays so the ducktail sits almost directly underneath the seat, and lengthen it ahead of the seat stay so the original fender mounting hole lines up with the fender mount on the frame, so I don't have to use this adapter I had put together. The wheel came from the same guy I bought _The Trashliner Trike _from, hence the green spray paint spots all over the wheel.








Got this Shimano 3-speed Click-Stick shifter at a bicycle swap meet in Kansas City last year.







The pedals are from a 1970s Schwinn Suburban girls' bike that I scavenged for parts.




No idea what bike this chain guard's from, but I can at least guess it's from a Schwinn since it bolts one without any issues.




The seat's from the '79 Schwinn Fair Lady that I was working on turning into _Poison Apple._


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 20, 2020)

I switched to a slightly wider pair of ape hangers as the one's I had on just looked a little too narrow for this bike. I also tried mocking up my Mattel V-RROOM! motor and a speedometer I got at a swap meet last year. I'm not going to use either on this bike, as the motor's cord is frayed and just barely too short to fit on this bike with the ape hangers, and the speedometer has a cap that is busted and needs replacing. Also, it just ended up looking too cluttered for my tastes.



















I took off the toy motor and the speedometer, but left the other handlebars on. Much better, but there's still missing something, and not just a tank...
















I have a few fence post toppers I've been wanting to use as headlights/taillights or reflector housings for a while now. I had Dad help me mock these up. I'm not sure if I'll use these right now, but I'll definitely want to use them at some point.













I'm also thinking of using these old steel toes as "vents" on my tank. Not sure how I'll mount them yet, but I think they'd look cool.







There's still a few things left to figure out, particularly colors, but I feel pretty confident I've got the general look of this bike figured out. Feel free to let me know what you think of everything so far! More progress coming soon!


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## sworley (Dec 22, 2020)

Very cool! Nice work!


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 22, 2020)

sworley said:


> Very cool! Nice work!



Thank you!


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## coasterbrakejunkie1969 (Dec 22, 2020)

I like the lights front and rear. The front is long maybe try a couple like you had up on the bars  and maybe some below . I like how it is looking and the way it is streched out there is room to add some different things if you so desire. I dont know how much you want to clutter things up like you said. What is that you were proposing as nose of a tank ? Steele toe from a boot?


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 22, 2020)

coasterbrakejunkie1969 said:


> I like the lights front and rear. The front is long maybe try a couple like you had up on the bars  and maybe some below . I like how it is looking and the way it is streched out there is room to add some different things if you so desire. I dont know how much you want to clutter things up like you said. What is that you were proposing as nose of a tank ? Steele toe from a boot?



I've thought about stacking two lights on the forks 1970's chopper-style, but the only matching pair of fence post toppers I have are those two smaller ones I mocked up over the handlebars, and the angle of the forks doesn't really allow for that. I'm going to wait on adding lights until the rest of the bike's put together. 

Yup! Those are two steel toes from a pair of boots. I thought they'd look something like those vents on the front doors of a '68-'70 Dodge Charger.


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 22, 2020)

Ok, for the sake of saving me a little time and effort, I'm going to just try and find a banana seat that looks the way I want, instead of trying to learn how to reupholster the one from the Schwinn Fair Lady when I don't know the first thing about upholstery.

I do have a bit of progress to report: I've decided on the colors I want to use for this build. I don't know what sort of paint scheme I'm going for, but I at least have the colors picked out. I also got some thin masking tape for pinstriping. I'll share pictures of the paint colors tomorrow when I have better light. I probably won't have much more progress to report after tomorrow until after Christmas, as it's getting pretty busy at home.


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 23, 2020)

Did some Christmas shopping yesterday, both for my family and for me. I hadn't really figured out what color I was going to paint the fender, tank, and chain guard at that point, but I was kind of leaning toward the faded blue and gold look, based on this Mod Rod Hot Wheels car (pictured left.) That changed when I saw this metallic blue 1970 Charger Hot Wheels car (pictured left.)




I liked how the white, gold and orange stripes looked against the blue, and I knew I'd seen a similar metallic cobalt blue spray paint at Walmart.




I ended up getting all my paint at Lowe's, though, since they're the only one who carries a satin clear coat, which I need for the frame. I couldn't find an orange I liked, and I didn't care for the light blue stripe on the toy Charger, so for accents, I got some metallic gold and silver, some gloss white, and this brilliant "gloss jungle green" Krylon paint, which I almost thought about using as the primary color for this build.




I got 2 cans of primer, one can of crystal clear coat, and once can of satin clear.







I've currently got my shifter, pictured top, soaking in some hydrogen peroxide so it turns white again. I'm also revising my digital mockup of the bike so I can figure out the paint scheme for this bike. I'll try working on more for this bike today, but with Christmas just around the corner, I've got other things to do. Either way, you'll be the first to know if there's any news on my build.


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 23, 2020)

Okay, so hydrogen peroxide apparently doesn't whiten a yellowed Shimano 3-speed shifter. Anyone know what will work?
Also, does anyone know how to take one of these apart?


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## razinhellcustomz (Dec 25, 2020)

Bike from the Dead said:


> Okay, so hydrogen peroxide apparently doesn't whiten a yellowed Shimano 3-speed shifter. Anyone know what will work?
> Also, does anyone know how to take one of these apart?



Try some WD40. I've used this on hand grips and it works well on them. Give it a try and let me know if this works. Good luck. Razin.


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## Bike from the Dead (Dec 25, 2020)

razinhellcustomz said:


> Try some WD40. I've used this on hand grips and it works well on them. Give it a try and let me know if this works. Good luck. Razin.



Do you mean to whiten the plastic, or take the shifter apart?


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## razinhellcustomz (Dec 25, 2020)

Bike from the Dead said:


> Do you mean to whiten the plastic, or take the shifter apart?



Your trying to whiten the plastic, right? Well their you go. Razin.


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## Bike from the Dead (Jan 5, 2021)

Well, things just keep getting weirder. I had said earlier that unless the deadline for the Muscle Bike Build Off was extended to March 1st, I was going to throw in the towel on making this Schwinn into a muscle bike. Well, the deadline's been pushed back to March 1st, and now I've practically decided that I don't want to continue trying to turn this Schwinn into a muscle bike even though I've now got more time to get it done! After running into a snag with my welder being unavailable for who knows how long, not being able to find a seat that closely matches the paint color I want to use at a price I could afford, and other "life" problems, I'm just about ready to call it quits on this bike and work on something easier.

And while I was typing all that, _it got even weirder._ I just heard back from someone on OfferUp who has a seat I was thinking of using, and I might be on the verge of overcoming one of the biggest stumbling blocks of this build! I'm waiting to hear back on my reply I just sent, and if this seat looks like what I need to make this bike happen, I may continue with this project after all.


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## Grumpy Grampy (Jan 9, 2021)

I love your style man. Never give up. Instead show up and show out!! I'm tearing down my,81 western flyer as I type. Looking for a cool muscle bike frame just to see what I can do.


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## Bike from the Dead (Jan 9, 2021)

Grumpy Grampy said:


> I love your style man. Never give up. Instead show up and show out!! I'm tearing down my,81 western flyer as I type. Looking for a cool muscle bike frame just to see what I can do.



Thanks! I haven't given up just yet, but I might switch back to building _Poison Apple_ with what I've got for the MBBO, and just make this one into a nice cruiser. Hopefully, I'll have an update and a few photos later today.


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## razinhellcustomz (Jan 9, 2021)

Bike from the Dead said:


> I switched to a slightly wider pair of ape hangers as the one's I had on just looked a little too narrow for this bike. I also tried mocking up my Mattel V-RROOM! motor and a speedometer I got at a swap meet last year. I'm not going to use either on this bike, as the motor's cord is frayed and just barely too short to fit on this bike with the ape hangers, and the speedometer has a cap that is busted and needs replacing. Also, it just ended up looking too cluttered for my tastes.
> View attachment 1323983
> View attachment 1323984
> View attachment 1323985
> ...



I had one of those Mattel VROOOM bike motors on my 20"Hiawatha Cadet when I was a kid. I haven't seen one of these in 50 years. Still pretty cool looking. My mom went nuts with that motor cause I wore it out doing the VROOOM, VROOOM all day long. Man that was fun. Bikes looking good. RideOn. Razin.


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## Bike from the Dead (Jan 9, 2021)

razinhellcustomz said:


> I had one of those Mattel VROOOM bike motors on my 20"Hiawatha Cadet when I was a kid. I haven't seen one of these in 50 years. Still pretty cool looking. My mom went nuts with that motor cause I wore it out doing the VROOOM, VROOOM all day long. Man that was fun. Bikes looking good. RideOn. Razin.



Cool! Got any photos of your old bike with that motor? 

Yeah, when this one works, (_when_,) it gets LOUD! I had no idea just how loud these motors could get! It's cool how much it sounds like an actual motor, though. Mine's not in the best shape, especially the wire, but since I'm not using it on anything currently, I want to help folks who are thinking about about getting one of these by starting a thread where I share as much info on these V-RROOM! motors as I can. Dimensions, weight, mounting hardware, repairs, whatever info I can provide and whatever info I can find, so anyone thinking about getting one of these will know if it'll work for their bike. That'll all have to wait until later though.


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## Bike from the Dead (Jul 11, 2021)

UPDATE: I've now entered this bike into the 16th Annual Rat Rod Bikes Build Off, and it's going to go a completely different direction than previously planned. Here's the new thread for the bike.


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## razinhellcustomz (Jul 12, 2021)

Bike from the Dead said:


> Cool! Got any photos of your old bike with that motor?
> 
> Yeah, when this one works, (_when_,) it gets LOUD! I had no idea just how loud these motors could get! It's cool how much it sounds like an actual motor, though. Mine's not in the best shape, especially the wire, but since I'm not using it on anything currently, I want to help folks who are thinking about about getting one of these by starting a thread where I share as much info on these V-RROOM! motors as I can. Dimensions, weight, mounting hardware, repairs, whatever info I can provide and whatever info I can find, so anyone thinking about getting one of these will know if it'll work for their bike. That'll all have to wait until later though.



No, i wish i had some bike pix with the VROOOM motor on the bike, but their long gone. I picked up a Huffy Convertible kids bike a couple months ago and was thinking of recreating that Hiawatha Cadet bike from years ago, We'll see what happens. RideOn... Razin...


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