Inherited an older (1950’s?) Spitfire

[Cyclelogical]

Hello. I’m the new guy, here. My wife and I have inherited this bicycle from her grandparents and I have some questions as to this Schwinn’s age and possible strategies for restoring it. It’s been parked in their barn for a long while.

Can anyone tell me about these? This appears to be Schwinn’s economy model and it has this unusual rack on the back. I’d like to get it up and running as a bicycle for my wife. I would like to change the roached out tires and yank all of the bearings and cups/cones/races and get them regreased. Clean up the chain and cover the seat. What would you suggest beyond that? I’m not sure if I should try cleaning the current paint on it or just repaint it. Tbh I really don’t want to commit too much time to removing and repainting and everything. I guess I’m just wondering if this paint is salvageable. Same for the rims and spokes. Thanks for any and all help

 

[bloo]

Cleanup is a more desirable thing to do than repaint in 99% of all cases. The rack is an odd one. Maybe it once held a baby seat?

If you post a pic of the serial number we can probably figure out the year it was made. Sometimes you can only narrow it down to a couple of years. The serial is either stamped on the bottom bracket (bottom of frame under the crank), or on the left rear dropout (by the rear axle).

Tires won't be a problem, but it depends which rims you have.

The bike looks like a ballooner to me, and probably has "Schwinn S2" rims and 26x2.125 tires. If this is the case, the rims are 559mm and there are gobs of tires available in all possible styles. 26" mountain bike tires even fit. There are also cheap copies of old Goodyear diamond tread and also Schwinn brick tread all over ebay. Finally, there are reproductions of US Royal chain tread available from @John here on the CABE that are period correct, and really a cut above the rest. Those are what I would get, in fact I have them on my 41 Schwinn.

If by some chance it is a middleweight, it will have "Schwinn S7" rims instead and the tires will be marked 26x1-3/4. Note the fraction (NOT 26x1.75). These are 571mm rims. In that case, tire choices are extremely limited, The good news is there are new slightly oversize tires marked "26x2x1-3/4" and having brick tread more or less like the old Schwinn brick tread. These are hands down the best thing to get if you have S7 (571mm) rims.

Welcome to the CABE!

 

[GTs58]

Best thing to do is clean it up and do what you mentioned. Someone here should have a front fender brace and the chain guard dent can be pressed out. My best guess to the year is 1953 or 1954 since it has the rolled stem, bolt on stand, feather guard with decal and skip tooth/1" pitch. The serial is most likely on the left rear drop out above the axle nut. So the baby seat frame will have to be removed to see it. Have fun!

 

[rollfaster]

Curious to see serial number, it screams 54 to me!

 

[Cyclelogical]

Thanks for the information. I agree with you on the tires. The rear tire looks OEM and says Schwinn Typhoon and has the standard balloon tire size. Since this is the economy model would this have been equipped with whitewalls or regular tires? I’ve seen suggestions of using WD40 and steel wool. Should I attempt that on this paint or would it remove the pinstripes? I’m not too concerned since this looks like the bicycle that Schwinn trained the pinstripers on. I removed the kid seat and found the serial on the dropout as you guys suggested

 

[GTs58]

Seems that WD-40 and 0000 steel wool is the go to for many here. I'd stay clear of the pins and decals though. The serial was stamped in mid-November and Schwinn's model year change over normally started out with bikes wearing November serial numbers. So basically that piece could be a very late 1954 or early 1955. Since it has the 1" pitch drive train, I'm leaning towards a late 1954 model since the skip tooth wasn't being used after 54. On these the blackwall tires were standard equipment.

 

[Cyclelogical]

Thanks so much. I’ll give it a try. As time allows I’m sure I’ll dive into this more, and will likely return with many more questions.

 

[Goldenrod]

That kids bike seat can be repurposed for a picnic box. These hot chicks are unavailable--my wife and her sisters.

 

[bikemonkey]

Cool bike and great you have it as a family heirloom!

I am of the thought that steel wool and oil have their place and have used it on bikes whose paint was truly pathetic but only after other methods have been tried or considered. It is a very abrasive method and removes a fait amount of paint in the process. Just because you can make something look better does not mean you chose the best way forward. You can easily test areas to see the optimal method. Sometimes just a good cleaning and deoxidizing with a fine rubbing compound is all that is needed for dead paint. As mentioned, be careful of pinstripes, decals, and silk screened decals are very fragile and wet sensitive. I have never had an OA bath adversely affect decals or paint but you should never make assumptions.

I only use OA baths when there is a lot of rust in with the paint. Here is an Imgur album of photos a Schwinn childhood bike I deep cleaned for a lady and it shows the results that can be achieved with an OA bath. There are some other cleaning tips in the album that you may find useful as well.

#0000 steel wool is quite handy and I use it a lot when cleaning metal parts but you still need to use discretion. I find that using brass hand brushes and citric acid is a good way to not haze the chrome on your bike and brass is a better choice as well for cleaning aluminum parts if you have to go deep.

 

[Cyclelogical]

That kids bike seat can be repurposed for a picnic box. These hot chicks are unavailable--my wife and her sisters.

View attachment 1581931

Hey that’s actually an idea I can put to use. Looks like you all packed the essentials. Thanks!