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54 Phantom, anyone have a bike they’ve struggled to love?

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NOTE
"a bike they’ve struggled to love"
AFTER OWNING A SCHWINN STREAM LINER "B6" THAT I LOVED OVER 70 YEARS AGO AND HAVING
IT STOLEN, A GENEROUS PERSON GAVE ME A PLAIN JANE J C HIGGINS BIKE. I WAS THANKFUL
FOR IT, BUT NEVER ABLE TO LOVE, MUCH LESS LIKE IT.

I WAS INSPIRED TO WORK AT 25 CENTS AN HOUR TO SAVE ENOUGH TO BUY ANOTHER
SCHWINN, A 1950 RED PHANTOM. NOW THAT WAS ANOTHER BIKE I LOVED.
See I could probably only afford a plane jane or stripped down vintage house painted bike so I can appreciate that thought of generosity and not really being a Schwinn fan for some reason (maybe the green on black scheme changes this some) or the fact that this is a complete bike with jus' the right amount of worn down that would excite me if I could afford to stable it. I wouldn't look at it for a sale value .... I then would be torn getting rid of my 1st nicest complete bike if the opportunity arose
 
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I'm curious why a 54 model Phantom is painted in the (color unloved by me) Coach Green. Weren't the 54's Opal Green? Or is that a case of misdating?
 
I'm curious why a 54 model Phantom is painted in the (color unloved by me) Coach Green. Weren't the 54's Opal Green? Or is that a case of misdating?

SN is B45825 (10/02 to 10/07 1953) so I believe it is towards the end of the coach greens.
 
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Well I, for one, love coach green. Another gripe of mine is this missing paint on the tank. I can’t readily repaint it/touch it up so a cool decal covering it up might be neat.

Since this bike came out of Lincoln, NE, it’s fun to imagine a SAC commander or high-up bought this bike for his 8 year old son. Who really knows but maybe! With that in mind, I turned to eBay for some decals that might be cool to fill in the chrome patch...

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Well I, for one, love coach green. Another gripe of mine is this missing paint on the tank. I can’t readily repaint it/touch it up so a cool decal covering it up might be neat.

Since this bike came out of Lincoln, NE, it’s fun to imagine a SAC commander or high-up bought this bike for his 8 year old son. Who really knows but maybe! With that in mind, I turned to eBay for some decals that might be cool to fill in the chrome patch...

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Have you thought about something a little outside the box like using a dye or even a temporary solution of something like Alcohol based ink sponged onto the missing chrome? You could get it blended and shaded pretty close color wise as it is of a darker green. You could even look into the faux riveted stickers like on the bomber planes & rat rods or even a vinyl wrap that you could cover the insert parts of the tank in completely that just peel off like a protective layer.
 
Food for thought! I always liked the old water transfer decals that look/weather to look “period” so that was my mentality with this route. Plus easily “undo-able” for the next guy should I sell this.
 
Food for thought! I always liked the old water transfer decals that look/weather to look “period” so that was my mentality with this route. Plus easily “undo-able” for the next guy should I sell this.
Exactly and it leaves it just cleaned, not restored or touched up. Normally I couldn't find a middle ground but I have taken a lot of info from here into consideration in the aspect of it's only original once and sometimes you can shoot yourself in the foot with touch ups & restorations; even with fairly common bikes
 
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