Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
I bought this rusty Schwinn back in January for $20, and while it was not the slightly-less-rusty Schwinn straight bar I had driven an hour away from home to buy, I could tell from the remaining paint on this frame that this bike was special. While I'm no expert, it must've been a Black Phantom at one point in its life; now, only the frame, the pedal blocks and a little paint is all that's left to tell the tale. It It was completely frozen solid from rust when I bought it, but I figured it was worth a gamble at $20.
A couple weeks ago, I started chipping away at disassembling this bike. First I mixed and applied a solution @Oldbikeguy1960 recommended of 1 part acetone and 3 parts used automatic transmission fluid to all the parts I wanted to break loose. It seemed to help on a couple parts after soaking for a few days, but I found that using a propane torch worked better on other parts. First, I took the rear wheel off, then I tried removing the bottom bracket assembly. I had never seen a pedal rusted this badly before, but I was able to get it off the crank at least.
Getting the crank off the frame, on the other hand, proved to be more challenging. I found that hitting the crank arms with a hammer seemed to free everything up, but instead, I found that I was merely threading the crank through the bearing nut, which no amount of hitting with a hammer and screwdriver would break free.
Here's what that first round of progress looked like.
While I was able to free up a few parts thanks to that home-brewed solution and a torch, I would have to sacrifice a few parts if I wanted to get this bike torn down to the bare frame. I had no problem cutting the handlebar stem to remove the fork, but I would've preferred sparing the crank arm if I could. Still, I could replace it later, so I cut off one arm near the threads so I could remove it from the frame.
If there's a way for me to save this bearing cup, I'd like to use it again, but it appears the bearing is stuck to it. No telling whether it's salvageable at this time. But that's not even the craziest part...
I have never encountered rust this bad before. The bottom bracket bearings are fused to the bearing cups! And I wouldn't be surprised if the bearing cups are fairly stuck to the frame as well.
It might be possible to get the headset bearing cups out, but they're pretty stuck as well. Also, one more hint that this might've been a Black Phantom is the bottom bearing cup seems to be designed for a locking springer fork. I've not seen a bearing cup like this before, so I'd like to salvage it if I can.
I was able to cut off the seat clamp bolt, but the seat post is pretty stuck in there, even after soaking the solution around it for over a week.
Here's where I stand and what I need help with: As rough as it looks, this frame does appear salvageable. There are no major dents, the rear triangle is straight, there are no rust holes, and I even loosened up the kickstand. I really want to try and build this bike back up, either with equally-rusty stock Black Phantom parts, or as a custom rat bike. Either way, I want to preserve what's left of the original paint, as it's the whole reason I even bought this bike. The problem is that I don't know how I'll remove the last few remaining parts without damaging the frame or the paint. Last time I tried to remove a really-stuck seat post, it did not end well, mostly because I took it to someone who didn't know what they were doing. I also don't know how I'll remove the rusty bearing cups, as hitting them with a hammer and screwdriver doesn't seem to be enough. And my ATF/acetone solution seems to be capable of only so much. If anyone here can help me figure out how to save this frame, I'd really appreciate it!
A couple weeks ago, I started chipping away at disassembling this bike. First I mixed and applied a solution @Oldbikeguy1960 recommended of 1 part acetone and 3 parts used automatic transmission fluid to all the parts I wanted to break loose. It seemed to help on a couple parts after soaking for a few days, but I found that using a propane torch worked better on other parts. First, I took the rear wheel off, then I tried removing the bottom bracket assembly. I had never seen a pedal rusted this badly before, but I was able to get it off the crank at least.
Getting the crank off the frame, on the other hand, proved to be more challenging. I found that hitting the crank arms with a hammer seemed to free everything up, but instead, I found that I was merely threading the crank through the bearing nut, which no amount of hitting with a hammer and screwdriver would break free.
Here's what that first round of progress looked like.
While I was able to free up a few parts thanks to that home-brewed solution and a torch, I would have to sacrifice a few parts if I wanted to get this bike torn down to the bare frame. I had no problem cutting the handlebar stem to remove the fork, but I would've preferred sparing the crank arm if I could. Still, I could replace it later, so I cut off one arm near the threads so I could remove it from the frame.
If there's a way for me to save this bearing cup, I'd like to use it again, but it appears the bearing is stuck to it. No telling whether it's salvageable at this time. But that's not even the craziest part...
I have never encountered rust this bad before. The bottom bracket bearings are fused to the bearing cups! And I wouldn't be surprised if the bearing cups are fairly stuck to the frame as well.
It might be possible to get the headset bearing cups out, but they're pretty stuck as well. Also, one more hint that this might've been a Black Phantom is the bottom bearing cup seems to be designed for a locking springer fork. I've not seen a bearing cup like this before, so I'd like to salvage it if I can.
I was able to cut off the seat clamp bolt, but the seat post is pretty stuck in there, even after soaking the solution around it for over a week.
Here's where I stand and what I need help with: As rough as it looks, this frame does appear salvageable. There are no major dents, the rear triangle is straight, there are no rust holes, and I even loosened up the kickstand. I really want to try and build this bike back up, either with equally-rusty stock Black Phantom parts, or as a custom rat bike. Either way, I want to preserve what's left of the original paint, as it's the whole reason I even bought this bike. The problem is that I don't know how I'll remove the last few remaining parts without damaging the frame or the paint. Last time I tried to remove a really-stuck seat post, it did not end well, mostly because I took it to someone who didn't know what they were doing. I also don't know how I'll remove the rusty bearing cups, as hitting them with a hammer and screwdriver doesn't seem to be enough. And my ATF/acetone solution seems to be capable of only so much. If anyone here can help me figure out how to save this frame, I'd really appreciate it!
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