1960 schwinn corvette handlebar stem questions

[49autocycledeluxe]

sorry no refunds!

stuck stems are no fun.

I am surprised to see the paint came out that good! if nobody bought it that is what I had planned, just clean up what is there and make it all rideable.

 

[Maurice]

Haha, no I love the bike, and it's staying in my garage. Besides, you have more bikes than you can ride
I gave the frame an oxalic acid bath overnight. To my surprise it totally derusted it. AND didn't harm the paint OR the decals! Then I rattle can clear coated the frame and it helped bring back as much of the red paint as was possible. It looks ok. So now the rear 2 speed hub is completely apart (fingers crossed that I can put IT back together) and it's soaking in the leftover acid bath...picked up a couple new spokes and ordered 2 of the larger brick pattern whitewall tires. Polish the stainless fenders, and it should look presentable. At least that's the plan.
Let ya know, and thanks again for the bike. It's a fun project.

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

here's how I found it.

 

[GTs58]

Oh man, that poor thing was a crusty mess! It's actually worse than a Corvette 5 speed I got from the SF Bay area that I nick named Rusty. Not much on it was salvageable and the Black paint was beat all to ..........ll. I chemically stripped the paint and primer off but it didn't remove any of the rust so I took a sander to it and then finished it off with a sand blast.

Rusty after the paint strip.

After cleaning off the rust. When a frame is rusty, forget about using a paint stripper, just blast it and be done with it.

 

[Maurice]

Labor of love! Good job saving the bike. I say save ALL Corvette 5 speeds, they're too rare not to. Is the bike all put back together?
Out of curiosity, did you find rust UNDER the original Schwinn paint??

 

[Maurice]

Ebay stem showed up today. Ebayer says '59 Jaguar...I dunno. But it's Schwinn, and it works. Handlebars were too far gone. They went off to the chrome shop today.

 

[Maurice]

Tomorrow's project...fingers crossed all these crazy parts, gears, bearings, shafts, brake shoes....all go back together. AND the 2 speed actually works... By the way, does anyone know the correct grease to use in putting this back together!?? I just read an article here from 2018... it says "medium auto" grease. Hmmm...ok. Guess I run to Napa auto parts and get some medium auto grease tomorrow...

 

[GTs58]

Labor of love! Good job saving the bike. I say save ALL Corvette 5 speeds, they're too rare not to. Is the bike all put back together?
Out of curiosity, did you find rust UNDER the original Schwinn paint??

Yes, there was lots of rust underneath the paint. It actually amazed me! The paint was chip and scratched up, but not to the extent where all that rust is on the frame.

 

[GTs58]

Tomorrow's project...fingers crossed all these crazy parts, gears, bearings, shafts, brake shoes....all go back together. AND the 2 speed actually works... By the way, does anyone know the correct grease to use in putting this back together!?? I just read an article here from 2018... it says "medium auto" grease. Hmmm...ok. Guess I run to Napa auto parts and get some medium auto grease tomorrow...

View attachment 1658503

We've been doing a "taste" test on this stuff at work for our machines and so far, it has its lots of pros and some petty cons. It is sticky and it stays where you want it. After applying this and the general purpose Lithium grease on flat smooth surface, it leaves a slippery residue after it's completely wiped off the surface where the general purpose does not. It's harder to apply and that bugs me because it takes longer greasing up a shaft, but it doesn't wipe off as easily. Ever notice all the oil dripping out the bottom of your grease gun? This doesn't do that! And that's great for a bike and just about everything else. Once the oil/lubricant in the general purpose lithium grease separates from the lithium, it seeps everywhere so you're actually losing your lubrication and leaving a dirty mess. It's compatible with other types of grease, and that was one of our biggest concerns since our customers use just about everything including that worthless white lithium. At this point with our testing, I'm only using this on my bikes from now on.

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Lube-21036-Synthetic-Translucent/dp/B000ILHVQ2/ref=asc_df_B000ILHVQ2?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=79989522876825&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583589102052775&th=1

Product Description​

Multipurpose Synthetic Grease 3-oz​

This premium lubricant provides longer protection against friction, wear, rust and corrosion, reducing downtime for industrial machinery. Compatible with plastics and elastomers, PTFE thickeners offer good thermal stability, shear stability, water resistance, and lubricity.

Specifications:

• Will not drip, melt or seperate
• Will not evaporate or form gummy deposits
• Silicone-Free formula
• Dielectric, impervious to salt water
• H1 Food grade and clean; safe in potable water
• Wide temperature range: -45 F to 450 F
• Water resistant and rust inhibiting
• Environmentally friendly and biodegradable
• Outlasts conventional grease by 3-4 times
• Kosher certified

 

[J-wagon]

By the way, does anyone know the correct grease to use in putting this back together!?? I just read an article here from 2018... it says "medium auto" grease. Hmmm...ok. Guess I run to Napa auto parts and get some medium auto grease tomorrow...

I use automotive bearing grease (red stuff), no brand in particular, whichever is on sale.