indycycling,
Sorry and no offense, but your records on the early Stingrays (63-65) are way off.
I have been very dedicated for decades in the research of the early Stingrays trying to pinpoint changes in the colors, seat strut changes and the rear wheel changes, along with many other revisions Schwinn made on these bikes (top headset bearing, handlebars, pedals, fenders, etc.).
Some of these changes happened at the beginning of the year and some mid-year.
The rear 36 spoke S-2 went from all of ‘63 into Aug. of ‘64.
Somewhere in August the switch from 36 spoke to 28 spoke happened. Obviously there is going to be an overlap of this two rims around that time span.
Below is just a small example of the photos I have accumulated of early Stingrays over the years. Some are from collectors, eBay or the internet.
I apologize, as a few of these photos are very old and poor quality.
Photos 1 and 6 are mine.
Photos 5 and 7 were mine, but have been sold.
These ^^^^ above Stingrays are/were one owner Survivors.
As you can see, all are 36 spoke except the last Opal Violet J38, which is a September 28 spoke.
BTW, All Super Deluxe Stingrays came with a 28 spoke S-2.
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