I was browsing CL last night and came across a Panther III listing: https://sacramento.craigslist.org/bik/d/sacramento-vintage-classic-schwinn-tank/7063130669.html
There are a couple of things that puzzled me (but keep in mind, I'm still a novice without a lot of knowledge). First of all, the paint color. What is that? Root beer? I assumed that it's not original, as the catalogs indicated red, blue, green or black in 1961, and only red or black in '62. I also thought that the decal on the peanut tank looked cockeyed...? "One of a kind"? "Original everything"? For one thing, I thought the yellow-banded hub didn't appear until 1965? The seat looks nice, but... dark brown? Much darker than the paint on the frame. Missing the double headlights, but I guess those have some value and get sold off by those who prefer the look without them. The bike is about 120 miles from me, and I'm not crazy about it anyway, but I'd be curious to get some thoughts from the knowledgeable folks here.
So, today I was googling the general Panther III topic, and found this: https://www.letgo.com/en-us/i/schwinn-panther-3_b196fa96-460f-4a6b-9ae5-c6d634772009
? Another one in the same (?) albeit more faded) brownish color? The tank decal on this east coast one is similarly slanted like the Sacramento bike. I thought they were normally straight across (parallel to the ground). The seat on this one almost looks like it could have originally been on a coppertone bike. Too bad the photos are all shot from a distance, but the rear hub looks like it's red-banded.
Neither of these two ads even mentions the color of their bike, so I'm trying to make sense of this. Can somebody explain to me what's going on here? Thanks.
There are a couple of things that puzzled me (but keep in mind, I'm still a novice without a lot of knowledge). First of all, the paint color. What is that? Root beer? I assumed that it's not original, as the catalogs indicated red, blue, green or black in 1961, and only red or black in '62. I also thought that the decal on the peanut tank looked cockeyed...? "One of a kind"? "Original everything"? For one thing, I thought the yellow-banded hub didn't appear until 1965? The seat looks nice, but... dark brown? Much darker than the paint on the frame. Missing the double headlights, but I guess those have some value and get sold off by those who prefer the look without them. The bike is about 120 miles from me, and I'm not crazy about it anyway, but I'd be curious to get some thoughts from the knowledgeable folks here.
So, today I was googling the general Panther III topic, and found this: https://www.letgo.com/en-us/i/schwinn-panther-3_b196fa96-460f-4a6b-9ae5-c6d634772009
? Another one in the same (?) albeit more faded) brownish color? The tank decal on this east coast one is similarly slanted like the Sacramento bike. I thought they were normally straight across (parallel to the ground). The seat on this one almost looks like it could have originally been on a coppertone bike. Too bad the photos are all shot from a distance, but the rear hub looks like it's red-banded.
Neither of these two ads even mentions the color of their bike, so I'm trying to make sense of this. Can somebody explain to me what's going on here? Thanks.
