1961 Schwinn Corvette 5 Speed

[Geeeyejo]

Picked up this 61 original 5 speed Corvette on Ebay - was a little pricey at $500 + Shipping but was basically all there and this model is as rare as hen's teeth (pardon the old pun). Even better, bike was built 3 days after I was born - 7/28/61 - had to have this one. The original paint is pretty shot - some light rust and many scratches and all the brightwork was covered with a good layer of rust. The plan is to repaint entire frame, new decals and clean rest of components. Had the bike a little over a week and here is the progress:
Disassembled entire bike to bare frame - removed surface rust to clean metal on rear frame legs and will chemically strip balance of frame next.
Removed all rust on rims, crank sprocket, crank, derailleur, pedals, handlebars, neck, seatpost clamp. Fenders are stainless and will need some small dent removal and polishing.
Restored entire base of seat - replaced springs, crash rail, painted carriage - will look to touch up vinyl cover but it looks pretty good now.
Chainguard is pretty shot - picked up identical guard from 61 middleweight - will paint and have acquired correct Schwinn Corvette and 5 speed flag decals
Here are the before pics:

 

[Geeeyejo]

More pics

Here is the original side view and one of the restored seat and original Huret Derailleur

 

[Adamtinkerer]

Sweet! I have a thing for black Corvettes, I've owned a black '56 since 1980!

 

[island schwinn]

nice score

i recently picked up a red '61 corvette 5 speed.missing the huret derailleur and original chainguard,but a rider.found a red corvette guard and sunburst headbadge this last weekend at sacramento swap meet.can't wait to see the progress on your bike.jeff,AKA pedalnostalgia on here has a beautiful blue 5 speed and knows alot about them.

 

[Hobo Bill]

y'all I still ride my 61 corvette 5-speed (all orig) i bought it to deliver the san jose mercury news...easy ridin'

 

[island schwinn]

how about some pics,bill?

 

[Geeeyejo]

Thanks guys - I have seen Jeff's pics on the Schwinn site - his 5 Speed Vette (as well as his other bikes!) is really sweet. This is the first "frame off" resto I have attempted - so far so good, the frame is down to bare metal and plan on primer, multiple coats of lacquer then clear coat - should be sweet coupled with new decals, the cleaned up original brightwork and other components!

 

[Geeeyejo]

Update

Been working on the bike a little each night - I obtained all of the decals and went with a Rustoleum primer/black lacquer/Clearcoat laquer. Figured I would play with the chainguard first - original was pretty bad with a gouges and bad chrome - I picked up an identical pink guard from a 61 girl's middleweight, stripped it and primed, sanded then 4 coats of black lacquer, decals and then clearcoat - looks pretty good IMHO - thinking of a few more coats as I can see the edge of the decal. Frame was sanded with 60 grit, cleaned with rubbing alcohol and now sits with a fresh coat of prime awaiting paint. Real happy with this so far - I grinded any surface rust and seems super smooth now after just primer.

 

[island schwinn]

hey geeeyejo and bill,love the 5 speeds.me and others are putting together a list of 5 speed corvettes and would love any info and pics of your bikes.here's the link if you'd like to help out.

http://www.schwinnbikeforum.com/index.php?topic=4526.0

 

[Pedalsnostalgia]

Geeeyejo, What a great project, congrats. You are moving along with the restoration quite well and thanks for sharing with the pictures and progress its fun to watch. Jeff