New to me Corvette

[Aaron65]

Someone posted this bike from the Detroit area Craigslist here on the CABE about a week ago, and I went to pick it up today. It looks pretty good - I think it will clean up well. It has a manual Bendix 2-speed that will need some work; one of the gears is freewheeling/trying to find a gear, and adjusting the cable doesn't make much of a difference.

 

[phantom]

Yep, I posted it. Glad you were able to pick it up.

 

[Aaron65]

Thanks for posting it! I'm pretty excited about it; I've never owned a Corvette. I have a Corvair, but it's not quite the same.

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

Thanks for posting it! I'm pretty excited about it; I've never owned a Corvette. I have a Corvair, but it's not quite the same.

Awesome bike, the 2 speed is probably just needs a clean and grease. There is not as much to them as the automatic 2 speeds and a little easier to work on. It could have some beat up parts that need replacing but all are available if you look hard enough. Looking forward to seeing it as you go along.

 

[Aaron65]

I totally disassembled the Corvette for cleaning and greasing, and I took it out for a good 12-mile ride today, and it's working great. The only mechanical problem was a roached drive screw in the hub (and an incorrect bearing that seemed to keep it from shifting initially). High gear on these manual 2-speed Bendix hubs has a really shallow engagement, and it wouldn't take much misadjustment coupled with little mechanical sympathy to destroy the gear teeth, and that seems to be what happened. I got a NOS drive screw and sun gear from eBay and now it shifts perfectly.

 

[FAB Jim the cyclist]

Nice ride.