Another Schwinn Starlet...but a 1953 BF Goodrich version...

[HARPO]

I just got home with this from out on the Island. Another Facebook find.

This belonged to the original owner who had bought it for his daughter. Well used, but sitting in his basement since the 60's he said. Kids made fun years later of the bike, he told me, because it was"big and clunky" so he had gotten her another bike.

His Grandson had listed it for him, but it looked better in the photos when I got there. I was blown away, however, when I opened the headlight and saw that there was never a battery put in it. He doesn't think one was ever put in the tank either, but I'll look into that later. Fingers crossed...

According to the Serial number, appears to be from Feb.,1953. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Crazy color combo to say the least, so I'll see how long this is going to take me to clean up and see the real colors. I have nothing but time to work on this!

Oh, and the headlight alone makes the price I paid for the entire bike well worth the trip...$125...

 

[HARPO]

...a few more...

 

[HARPO]

I haven't examined the bike that closely, but it's apparent the saddle springs and bracket were painted silver. Maybe even the handlebars and fender braces. And I thought maybe the rims, but there isn't any paint on the nipples.

I'll see once I get into it maybe later today.

 

[HARPO]

Got a nice close look at the filthy bike. VERY disappointed with my purchase, and it's my fault. Picked it up without bringing my glasses for a closer look, and apparently Grandpa painted a lot of things silver besides the seat springs. Appears to be everything I mentioned, plus the crank...anything that was chrome he painted. Aye Carumba! You can see brush strokes on the rims when really eyeballing it very close, so he did a nice job. No telling what's beneath it, though. And check out how faded the paint is from what was beneath the tank. I thought the bike was Pink!


On a positive note, the horn also looks like it will possibly work as there isn't any of the usual corrosion. So, that and the light are worth what I paid. Truss rods, etc. will help also. So...do I salvage what I can, or clean it up the best I can? I wasn't prepared for this.

If I strip it, the light is going right onto the girls green Hornet that's missing one. The other parts will go into a container (rack, fenders, etc.) Decisions, decisions...

 

[GTs58]

I have never seen Holiday Rose that hasn't faded out. That original Pink is awesome! That must have been a popular color when it was new.

 

[HARPO]

@GTs58 The original Rose along with the Green striping must have looked like an ad for Sherbet Ice Cream!

I'm going to see what I can do to make the paint look decent...and try some paint stripper on some chrome areas to see how bad it actually was that it was painted over. Fingers crossed it's not to bad.

 

[spoker]

looks like it might have been,lulious lavender and winswept green originally,they faded alot,not spelling to well this morning

 

[HARPO]

Lavender would not have turned Pink.

 

[HARPO]

Hmmm...getting more of the rust spots off than I originally thought I would have been able to.

 

[Hoagie57]

looks like it might have been,lulious lavender and winswept green originally,they faded alot,not spelling to well this morning

I have the pink/white and it has no green on it ! also have it in the pastel blueish w/white, no green on this one either but is a real nice color combo as well.
Hey looks like it might clean up pretty nicely. Keep at it & please show the final results.

Pink being the most common I'd say. Were there 3 color combo's or only 2 ? For the 50's Starlets