1937 Schwinn LaSalle??

[NNNTX]

Still not quite sure what possessed me to bid on this bike on eBay as it wasn't really what I was looking for, but something about it appealed to me and now I've won the auction. However, I am unable to find much information at all on this bicycle and am hoping that one of you guys might be able to help out and tell me a thing or two about it. What I'm currently led to believe is that it is a 1937 Schwinn LaSalle. Of course, I haven't even seen the actual bike yet as I just won the auction yesterday.

From the few photos of LaSalles that I've seen on the internet, I'm thinking that this bike is certainly not all original. However, I'm not sure of that at all. The paint job is one solid color, with no pin-striping or other detail, the fenders are chrome, and the seat does not appear to be the same as seats I'm seeing in other LaSalle photos. Therefore, I'm pretty sure it has been repainted at some point in the past and I think the seat has been added. As for the chrome fenders, I have seen one photo of a LaSalle with chrome fenders, but all of the rest I have seen have had painted fenders.

The bike looks to be in pretty decent shape overall, so I don't think I overpaid for it, but now I'm getting curious to know what it is going to take to restore it to a more original condition. If any of you guys are knowledgeable on this particular model and/or know where I might view photos of how it looked when new, I'd really appreciate the help. http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Schwinn-Salle-LaSalle-26in-Bike-1931-1940-/170532850106?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27b48cc9ba

 

[cyclingday]

What you have there is a morphodite. It started life out as a pre WWII Schwinn built Chicago Cycle Supply La Salle. Which at some point in its life, lost most of its original parts.
My advise would be to strip it down to the frame/fork and wheel set etc. and ride it as a roadster. Save your money for a more complete original bike, and just have fun with what you have in that one. It actually will look pretty cool without all of the trim pieces, and once you service the bearing assemblies, it will ride really good. You could paint it, but I don't think that I would even do that. Just personalize it some and service it up. You might find that it becomes your favorite bike. Stripped down to the bare essentials.
Good luck! and remember, It's your bike. You can do anything that you want to. But most of all Have fun!

 

[NNNTX]

Cyclingday..I kinda like your idea, actually. I was looking at the pics of this thing and thinking that perhaps it would make a nice restoration if any of that stuff was original, but then again, your point about "it's your bike; do what you want to", sort of opens up all sorts of potential to have some fun with it instead of worrying about looking for parts. I did find this photo http://www.retro.net/db/Lasalle_Bicycle/1799/ of a LaSalle with a different frame, but it has the shiny chrome fenders and a tank. I thought it looked pretty sharp and had ideas about shining this one up into something similar, but if those fenders aren't original, then I'm not really interested in going to the trouble. Are you certain that these fenders aren't original?

 

[Bendix]

a non original prewar schwinn with a morrow hub screams "klunker!!" to some of us. they make great daily riders. check out alan bonds site: www.clunkers.net

 

[cyclingday]

Now that's what I'm talkin about!

That site is really cool!

I'm ready to hit the garage and rip some fenders off!

Thanks for posting that.
When we were kids, we would push our bikes to the top of our local six thousand foot mountain, and bomb down until the bearing grease splattered on our legs like frying bacon. I had a Sting Ray and my buddy had a Schwinn Speedster. That Speedster was hairy when the road was all rutted out, but the hand brakes were really nice.
That was around 1977. Once the Mountain bikes became available, I would ride those same dirt roads, but then I was able to ride to the top, instead of pushing the bike all the way up. I remeber that it would take us about three hours to walk the bikes up, and only about forty minutes to ride the bikes back down.
Ah! The good ole days.

Yep! I'd say that the sky's the limit with that old La Salle.
So now go have some fun!

 

[DonChristie]

hmmm, your not too far off from being original. Frame, locking forks with strut supports, sprocket, rims, thats the big stuff! But ya, just ride it!

 

[NNNTX]

I just checked out the clunkers site and that is some cool stuff! I kinda that the idea of the one labled "Otis' Bike". I was thinking that since my fenders aren't original. I can just remove them, add a different seat, and just keep the original skip tooth sprocket and handlebars on it and ride it like that. Basically, just strip it down to everything that is original and be done with it. Also, since the paint doesn't seem original either, I may give it a fresh paint job. I have a friend who owns a motorcycle shop and we paint bikes over there in his spray booth all the time. I'll just prep the frame for painting and take it over there and do it! UPS won't even deliver the bike to me until late next week, so it will be a while before I get all of this done, but I'll post some pics here of progress once I get going on it. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[cyclingday]

Sounds like a good plan.

The quickest way to get an expensive education in this hobby, is to take a bike like yours and try to bring it back to its original factory specifications.
Inevitably, you get something wrong, and the first guy that sees it will point it out to you. So, you knock yourself out trying to make it correct, throwing cash around like it's going out of style. And in the end, someone says that original paint bikes are where it's at, and you just lower your shoulders and hit the ebay screen looking for that all original bike of your dreams. Everybody does it that way, so it's nothing to be ashamed of, but Sometimes less is more. And with a bike like yours, that is definately the case. Your not into it for much, and in the end, it will turn heads just as much as a super deluxe fully loaded autocycle.

 

[NNNTX]

I hear exactly what you're saying about that! In fact, I never intended, in any way, to get myself involved in vintage bicycles. I just happened to have one that had been in my family since it was new and decided I wanted to start riding it again. I came online to start asking a few questions about it and then developed an interest in seeing what else was available out there. At first, I thought I wanted to restore that old Huffman, but now I'm thinking I might just keep it as it is...a little rusty, but still rides goods. Anyway, while I was looking for info on that other bike, I started checking out eBay and decided it might be fun to play around with an old bicycle or two. Although I think the totally original bikes are really cool, I have no problem with using this LaSalle to just experiment with, with no intentions of trying to bust my butt to restore it. Perhaps, at a later time I'll find that perfect restoration project, but since I've only got about $300. in this LaSalle, I'm just going to have some fun with it. I have a mental image of how it will look when I get done with it and it's going to be a really cool ride! I'll show you guys some pics once it starts taking shape.

 

[Marc's Classic Chrome]

Do you have pics of your la Salle