How would you 'restore' it?

[TexasDart]

I got this bike from my Dad about 20 years ago. It was painted Ford blue, by the 'restorer' in Missouri. I did a little sanding and I can see some John Deer green under that. I'm thinking of progressing towards a Black Phantom type of restoration. I've done cars and homes but not really messed with bikes in a long time. I'm thinking of doing the paint, straighten out the fenders for now, go thru the mechanicals, new tires. Then start buying parts as the budget allows.
I did decode the serial number and it was built 8/03/59. But looks to have a 1940 chain guard.

Any insight or comments are appreciated.

 

[PeterScherer]

Chain guard is not a Phantom item, it appears to be off a Spitfire or such. As for building it into a Phantom replica, I'm going to estimate that you will spend in the neighborhood of $600-$1000 restoring it with NOS or new Phantom parts. When finished, it wouldn't be worth as much as a real Phantom since it's not an original Phantom. Best thing you could do is restore it back to original as a 1959 Spitfire and drive the wheels off of it!

I recently refurbished a 1950 Black Phantom and I can testify that they are VERY expensive to assemble. Being this bike is from your dad, I'd suggest building the kind of bike that he would've liked.

Whatever you do, have fun with it! Looks like a sweet project!
Cheers,
~Peter

 

[Freqman1]

To 'restore' this might be a little difficult since you don't know what model it was originally. As Peter said going the Phantom route can become expensive because about all you would use would be the frame and fork--everything else isn't correct for a Phantom. Restoring this to a Phantom would cost at least $1200-1500 if you did paint yourself and you would a have a $1000 bike in the end. You might try to use a product like Goof Off or some acetone to slowly remove the blue to reveal the factory color/scheme which would clue you in on the model. I think the bike has more sentimental value than anything so I wouldn't worry too much about originality personally. Make it nice, make it yours, and enjoy it. V/r Shawn

 

[Dan the bike man]

It looks like you can just get on it and ride it. Other than painting it a different color (if you don't like the blue) I'd just leave it and RIDE it. If you want a Phantom, buy one as close to original as you can.

 

[rollfaster]

how would you

it looks to me like a hornet/spitfire,1957-58.just paint or not as you wish,recondition and ride.people love to see old bikes of any kind being ridden around.always a conversation piece.

 

[TexasDart]

Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't want to do anything to really hurt the value of a 'real' Phantom..since I didn't know what I had. Doing a search on Phantom the chain guard looked like a 40 phantom chain guard. So does the serial number give you a clue besides when it was manufactured as to what it was 'borned' as? I already did a little sanding on the fenders and there is no chrome there.

Thought maybe someone had thrown a '40 model chain guard on there.

 

[Rear Facing Drop Out]

restore issue

It is a middle weight bike with 1.75 tires and S7 rims. Phantoms are a heavy weight with wider fenders and fatter tires. Two different frames. The fact it never had a built in kickstand (unless it was torn off) points to a spitfire I think. They were a more basic bike with bolt on stand and non forged neck and a few other basic features. Try to look up a 59 schwinn catalog and see what they offered.

 

[SirMike1983]

I'd strip it down until I got to the original paint, if there is any left. Depending on the condition then either I'd clean up the original paint and ride it, or repaint in the original pattern. Often people just paint over layer after layer, so you may find you can actually determine what the original scheme was.

 

[PeterScherer]

Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't want to do anything to really hurt the value of a 'real' Phantom..since I didn't know what I had. Doing a search on Phantom the chain guard looked like a 40 phantom chain guard. So does the serial number give you a clue besides when it was manufactured as to what it was 'borned' as? I already did a little sanding on the fenders and there is no chrome there.

Thought maybe someone had thrown a '40 model chain guard on there.

Well, the Schwinn Phantom wasn't introduced until 1949, and even then, all Phantoms were 26X2.125 or Heavy-Weight Schwinns. Your Spitfire/Hornet is the Middle-Weight. So some Phantom parts (rims, etc...) wont fit on it. As for what your chain-guard is: Well, I just finished a 1952 Schwinn DX (Base-model) and it had that same guard. From my research, that chain-guard was the standard model for many years. Just to show you what an original Phantom-Style chain-guard is, here's mine on my 1950 Black Phantom.

Hope that helps some more!
~Peter

 

[bricycle]

Sounds to me he just wants to give the "Illusion" of a Black Phantom.
he could:
Buy a....
Inexpensive set of chrome fenders
a $80-$110 chromed tank
tan saddle $15-20
Phantom guard $40-45
two quality decals and a Black Phantom decal set $30 ish
black Schwinn grips $10-15
repop rack $45-$55
rack light $50
repo white walls $35
so the bottom line is what......$335 or so. (plus paint)