1947 Schwinn Continental Rat Rod Raw Custom

[Retrorider]

Hi All,
I just finished getting my continental rebuilt and wanted to see what you guys think. I purchased the continental from a guy that worked in the movie/tv prop industry. Once in a while the company would purge old items they didnt use anymore so he grabbed it before it went in the dumpster. The bike came to me as seen below, stripped and repainted baby blue so altering it wasn't all that blasphemous. He said the company he worked for would often do this to avoid advertising and manufactures infringements. I removed all the paint off the frame and fork with Jasco. Next rusty patina and distress was created with a vinegar, salt, and hydrogen peroxide solution, then I clear coated over it to preserve the rusty raw bike look. Lastly, I switched out some parts. I added some vintage french fenders, chainguard, stem, and rear rack to change the look and give the bike a whole different attitude. Also being a fan of early french porteurs I switched to a 50's schwinn handlebar and schwinn rack with box on the front. Here are some pics of the finished product and a pic of what I started with. Hope you dig it...

 

[OldSkipTooth]

Nice! I like to see old lead filler!

 

[Sven]

Thumbs up for me

 

[Dizzle Problems]

I dig it! Looks way better now

 

[Eatontkd]

Nice freakin' ride there Retro!

 

[Mr. Monkeyarms]

Super cool rat!! Well done!

 

[Retrorider]

Thanks to all for the feedback and compliments! Nice to hear that my alterations are well received!
Here I go geeking and tweaking... After a week of running the stock schwinn wheels and tires I switched out for a 650b wheelset with 42mm grand bois hetres tires. What an amazing difference in ride quality. Lighter, faster, smoother, and simply more efficient. I wish someone made a nicer schwinn tire...

 

[detroitbike]

For a while Schwalbe made a 26 X 1-1/4 Schwinn tire.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Schwalbe-T...f:g:3W0AAOSwl9RaTOHO:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true

 

[Alan Brase]

Thanks to all for the feedback and compliments! Nice to hear that my alterations are well received!
Here I go geeking and tweaking... After a week of running the stock schwinn wheels and tires I switched out for a 650b wheelset with 42mm grand bois hetres tires. What an amazing difference in ride quality. Lighter, faster, smoother, and simply more efficient. I wish someone made a nicer schwinn tire...

View attachment 952671

View attachment 952672

What did you end up using for rims? Those 650 tires come in 38mm section also. Why did you choose the 42's? Nice job, btw.

 

[Retrorider]

What did you end up using for rims? Those 650 tires come in 38mm section also. Why did you choose the 42's? Nice job, btw.

Thanks. Sorry for the really late reply. I sourced some new old stock single walled 650b rims. Why? Because they were cheap… I think I paid 40 bucks for 4 rims. I chose 650bx42 because I wanted to test all the hype around this size tire which back when I did this build, it was just coming back into fashion. Also I thought it looked cool to stuff the biggest tire possible on a lightweight frame and really fill up those fenders.