Restoring an old Schwinn Serial does not match the frame.

[Monarkman]

Restoring an old Schwinn and the serial says it a 1950's Starlet,
but the frame and chain guard do not match the 50s Starlet

View attachment 1498622
View attachment 1498623
Any ideas as to what is going on with the serials saying it a 1950's Schwinn Starlet,
but the frame and chain guard do not match the 50's Starlet.
It matches the 1930's Cadillac Chicago Bicycle Supply Co. and it goes with the story
behind the bike being purchased in the 30's and restored in the 80's.
View attachment 1498624 1930's Cadillac Chicago Bicycle Supply Co

I had a similar problem with a Schwinn Typhoon. With help from members here, the consensus is that it is a 1965 or 1966…..but the serial number on rear drop out dates it to 1953!

that’s a beautiful bicycle you have there, and I personally think it’s very cool if you know a little history of ownership.

 

[colonialbrass]

@colonialbrass ,WELCOME to the tribe of "cabers", a nice advise to you, those online sites are wrong must of the time, I use only angelfire.com , the manuals or books from Schwinn, and this cabe*!* If do you use any source, to find a postwar Schwinn bike, the serial tells you only the close date of production, never tells you the model, none the prewar tells you the models! like the other cabers said you before, I'm whit them on the info! I says, that your frame its a prewar lady, just look the same pics from you and the cabers posted, from the manual in color! Your green one its a middle weight, whit wrong sprocket! Congrats, for your lady prewar project, its better then the green mw bike, or any models from your search, ask for the parts, here at the "want it" section, put it back together and enjoy your ride*!*

A new clue, in the hunt, I found the head badge in a box with parts for the bike and it lines up with the hole in the frame. I'm sure it belongs.
I believe its a form of stainless as well, but it slightly takes to the magnet and it does not have any rust as you can see. Any ideas ?

 

[1motime]

Some stainless alloys are magnetic

 

[bloo]

Looks like maybe a bicycle license.

 

[GTs58]

A new clue, in the hunt, I found the head badge in a box with parts for the bike and it lines up with the hole in the frame. I'm sure it belongs.
I believe its a form of stainless as well, but it slightly takes to the magnet and it does not have any rust as you can see. Any ideas ?

View attachment 1558065

That's pretty neat! A bike license used as a head badge is something you don't see very often. Someone was thinking outside of the box!

 

[Jeff54]

Restoring an old Schwinn and the serial says it a 1950's Starlet,
but the frame and chain guard do not match the 50s Starlet

View attachment 1498622
View attachment 1498623
Any ideas as to what is going on with the serials saying it a 1950's Schwinn Starlet,
but the frame and chain guard do not match the 50's Starlet.
It matches the 1930's Cadillac Chicago Bicycle Supply Co. and it goes with the story
behind the bike being purchased in the 30's and restored in the 80's.
View attachment 1498624 1930's Cadillac Chicago Bicycle Supply Co

Yoe have embarked on a challenge that may be for more difficult than you expect.
For reference here's the 1940 Schwinn catalog. https://bikehistory.org/catalogs/1940.html
And that is not all of the varieties Schwinn offered in Lady's bikes in 1940.

Basically, the frames are the same and some have chrome plating, others painted rims/wheels.

Not all have Springer forks, nor embedded fender lights. The catalogs typically illustrate the top models but not necessarily all the different types of equipment and or the same model number. . As example, B/C your chain guard appears painted it could be an: Model D37XE-OS and can be referred by collectors as a DX model. However, its model number would be a little different without a Springer fork. Could have standard, or fork for and with truss rods, there's a lot of options of how you may set it up. Albeit most of what is known today is from these old catalogs so, nothing is set in stone. That goes for 50, 60's and newer too.

Regardless, you can search many of the models, including the various types of the Hollywood and DX here and on the net. BTW that license is a bit unique, but it had a Schwinn badge.