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my 1950 Schwinn Traveler (?) project

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49autocycledeluxe

Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
about 5 years ago I saw a sad looking Schwinn racer in a pile of "crummy bikes" at a bike swap for 20 bucks. put some middleweight wheels on it because that is what I had and made a light-middleweight. this got me interested in Schwinn lightweights. been casually looking for one for about 2 years or so, and @gkeep posted this in the ebay and Craigslist section the other day. so I called dibs :) so no other Cabers could snag it.

belonged to the ladies Grandfather. I thought that was cool. I'm going to send pictures after I do it up. she was aware of the CABE, but did not want to join to list a bike, so I told her how cool we all are, and this was where I saw the listing.

the 3 speed hub shifted well on my stand. I bet I could ride it with new tires and tubes, no brakes though. yet.

there looks to be a lot of paint on this bike. if not for the Cabe I would just buff it, but this oxywhatsit looks like maybe the way to go.... what I think is rust may be dirt so we'll see as I get into it.

wondering about the wheels. would those be 1950 wheels? has a Sturmey Archer 3 speed.

here's some crummy phone pics. I'll put more as I get into it.

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Congratulations on snagging that. It must be earlier than 1953 with the serial number on the bottom bracket. Did she tell you her grandfathers name or address in Alameda? You could probably find a high school yearbook photo of him online.

If the bottom bracket has that much paint the rest of the bike should clean up well. Are those the old Schwinn 26X13/8, ISO 597 size tires? It does look like a lot more grime than rust not the frame. Time for a Simple Green wipe test.
 
Very early traveler (complete). Probably one of the earliest I have seen. Round head badge on 1950 and 1951 years. Razor stem only on some of the very first ones in 1950. Looks like T8 pedals, I assume original. 21" frame.

Wheels look original and should be S-6.

Can you see what the Sturmey hub stamped date is?
 
Congratulations on snagging that. It must be earlier than 1953 with the serial number on the bottom bracket. Did she tell you her grandfathers name or address in Alameda? You could probably find a high school yearbook photo of him online.

If the bottom bracket has that much paint the rest of the bike should clean up well. Are those the old Schwinn 26X13/8, ISO 597 size tires? It does look like a lot more grime than rust not the frame. Time for a Simple Green wipe test.
I'm going to send her pics when I make some progress. I am going to ask if she has a picture of her grandfather with the bike.

"Schwinn straight side sports touring tires" are what is on it. one has a nut on the threaded valve stem. pretty sure they are 26 X 1 3/8

pretty jazzed about this. I've seen bikes that looked much worse than this come back nice.
 
cut the brake cables and both wheels spin and the chain goes round and round. revved it up pretty good but it howled when I stopped pedaling, probably dry as a bone inside.
 
Your wheels look right. I've got a late '53 Traveler with that same diamond knurl on the rims, by '55 that changed to a straight knurl.
 
The hub date on the AW hub will give you an indication. The other indicator is if the driver has the screw-on cog rather than the three-prong. Those wheels don't strike me as being wrong. The paint is going to be a tough call. Use of a chemical method like Evaporust or Oxalic Acid carries the risk that it lifts the paint or discolors the transfers, but when it works, it works rather well. It's a calculated risk. The other option is four-ought steel wool and something like WD-40 to physically reduce the rust. Though the results with that aren't quite as dramatic. The last option is to simply clean it and leave the rust/paint state as-is. This is mainly for historically significant bikes that have to be preserved in a certain state of originality. For practical purposes, I recommend reducing the rust, and the method really calls for having the bike in-hand and evaluating your options.
 
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If you OA bath it take it apart and work with each piece separately because the frame might not require as long in the bath as other parts.
 
Try cleaning with Simple Green. It should tell you how much is surface rust. You are probably to completely disassemble. Check out how OA works on your plated parts. If you feel confident try a section of fork. Go from there. It will only get better and it is already a good one!
 
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