Schwinn 1953 World Imperial...? Help...

[rennfaron]

Hello everyone, Chuck here. I recently joined and this is my first official post other than buying some grips off here and and picking through thecabe for a bunch of great information. I typically go for lightweights like travelers (bought one from Cory - Schwinn499 - recently). On a recent purchase the seller was looking to part with another bike, it looked interesting so, well, it's mine. I don't know much about it. As far as "world imperials" go, there is really nothing out there on them, if this is actually one. I saw some parts of one (maybe on here), and also read somewhere that it was a regional offering (maybe saw that on here too...).

I plugged in the serial (J82175) located on bottom of crank and it said 1953. So questions are: 1) what is this? 2) What is period correct, what is not? 3) And what do I need to return this back to period correct with all the bells / whistles? For starts, those grips definitely don't look correct. It also looks like I need one of those expensive green "the world" head badges too. It could also be that this is not worth doing anything too...no idea.

 

[ratina]

The fenders and wheels are newer. The chrome parts of the fork might be wrong, or it’s at least missing the “AS” bolts. I also thought 1952 was the last year for the serial number to be stamped under the bottom bracket, but I’ll wait for a Schwinn expert to confirm that.

 

[GTs58]

Okay, are you ready for a review from someone that's the furthest away from being an expert?

The bike was painted and decals added. World Imperial probably has nothing to do with that bike. Serial under the crank and not on the dropout so it has to be a 1951 or older model. The site where you looked up the SN is flawed, so I suggest using the SN copy posted here in the sticky at the top of the Schwinn section. Lots and lots of parts have been change out but it looks like parts of the springer are original.
I'd say your bike is/was a 1946 B model