Been going back-and-forth on this Hornet for a while now. On one hand, I think this bike would make a good barn-find board track bike, but on the other hand, that's not really how I want to build this straight bar. It doesn't help that I recently bought another cheaper, rustier Schwinn straight bar that would look even better as a rat rod board track bike. Problem with
that Schwinn is that the frame has been damaged and poorly repaired at some point, and I don't know if it's able to be saved in its current form.
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Here's how I was thinking of putting this Schwinn together. I'd want to add some dropout extensions to push the rear wheel out about as far as the front wheel, but this is the general vibe I'm going for. I like how this looks, as it'd allow me to use some parts that are a little too far gone for a clean, "proper" build. The only issue is that the frame is not as straight as I'd like.
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Here's where the issue really shows. The rear tire fits evenly between the chain stays, but it's off to one side on the seat stays. You can also see from this angle just how crooked the wheel is compared to the frame. I don't know if just the dropouts are bent, or if it's the whole rear triangle that's out of shape. Either way, it doesn't look good.
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There's also a lot more brazing/welding on the seat stays than normal, which leads me to believe the frame was hastily repaired after getting damaged. I could be wrong though.
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I'd really like to build this rusty blue Schwinn up the way I had initially planned for the rusty red Hornet, but I don't know if it can be repaired without altering the patina too much. It's worth noting that I had also bought this even rustier Schwinn (as in
completely rusted stuck) at the same time and place as the blue one pictured above. It's pretty rough, but the frame at least looks straight. I figure if I can bust everything loose and power wash the crud that's covering the frame, this would make another great rat bike, especially with what's left of the original paint. It looks like it used to be a Black Phantom or one of Schwinn's other high-end models at one point, which is pretty cool.
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Why did I bring up these other 2 rustier Schwinns? Well, if I'm able to salvage the blue straight bar and Black Phantom and build them up as a pair of rat rod bikes, it doesn't make sense to me to build the nicer, straighter Schwinn Hornet as a third rat rod bike, at least not in my opinion. I have neither enough space nor enough bikes in my collection for identical or identically-built bikes. So here's what I'm thinking: I'll hold onto the red Hornet until the next bicycle swap meet in Springfield, Missouri, which hopefully should be happening again this May. That's the one bicycle swap meet that's closest to my home, even though it's still a 3-hour drive away. I'll bring the Hornet with me, along with whatever else I have to sell/trade. If I don't see another Schwinn straight bar, or if no one is willing to trade another bike I'd want in exchange for the Hornet, then I'm just going to build the Hornet the way I really want. That means the paint's getting stripped and repainted however I see fit. So that's the plan for the Hornet right now.
