Schwinn Whizzer Paint Schemes

[Western-Whizzer]

I have heard that Schwinn used two different shades of maroon. One shade for their regular line of bikes, and a darker maroon for their Whizzer line of bikes. Also, I have noticed either black or red pinstripes used on a maroon Whizzer. I own a 1940's Maroon Whizzer with red pinstripes, but the maroon is so badly faded, that I cannot tell if was a standard maroon or a dark maroon. I have noticed that my embossed J tank is definitely darker then the maroon on any of my Schwinn's. I have also heard people say that their tank didn't seem to match their bike, and thought that their tank was not original to that bike. I really want to learn more about this, especially before I paint my Whizzer. Does anybody have pictures of the two different maroons side by side to verify this? They would both have to have a factory paint job of coarse. I am wondering if all Schwinn based Whizzers share the same maroon as the standard bikes, but it's the maroon tanks that are darker. When we look at a whizzer, does the dark maroon tank influence the way we view the bike as a whole? I know that maroon was a popular color in the 1940's, and every automobile company had their own version. It would make sense that all of Schwinn's models from the DX to the Whizzer would have the same maroon. It would also make sense that the Whizzer company would have a slightly different maroon. One, they were a different company, and two, their kits were made for multiple bicycle companies. Honestly I don't know, and I am not saying that anybody is wrong! I would just like to know a little more about this. The picture below shows a J model Whizzer tank, next to a standard 1946 DX Schwinn. If you look close at the sections I cut and pasted, you can definitely see the difference in color. One is lighter then the other. I also have a factory dimpled DX Schwinn that has the standard Schwinn maroon under a factory black paint job. The exposed maroon is an exact match to the maroon on the DX in the picture below. I am sure that the year, and model can be a factor here. If you have any info you would like to share, or pictures, that would be great!

 

[Western-Whizzer]

Here is a couple more threads that are in the ballpark,

http://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1948-whizzer-pacemaker.95599/#post-614164

http://thecabe.com/forum/threads/question-for-schwinn-paint-color-experts.88583/#post-659583

 

[Western-Whizzer]

Alright a little more info. The bike below is a 1940's Schwinn model MP97 it is exactly like the WZ507 but it is the DX version. These bikes were built from the factory to accept a Whizzer, or Marman Twin motor. This bike started as a Maroon bike, but was resprayed by the factory in black. They may have messed up on the Maroon finish, and decided to simply spray over it with another color. Fender Musical instruments did the same thing with their guitars in the old days. Anyway, back to the point. If you read the bit above, I was trying to figure out what Maroon I should use to repaint my Whizzer. (Don't worry, I would never repaint the bike below.) Some Maroon Whizzer's appear darker then others. With out very much info, or bikes to compare colors to, I decided to buy a can of Maroon paint from www.vintageschwinn.com and see how close it matched my bike. First I sprayed the correct red oxide primer on a CD cover, and then I sprayed the Maroon. WOW!!!! It is a dead on match! I mean it is perfect. So maybe there is another Maroon that Schwinn used, but my Schwinn says that this one is a a dead on match. Thank you Aaron for such a perfect color. The serial number on this bike begins with the letter I followed by 5 numbers, and is beneath the crank. Strange number huhh???

 

[Vintage-Whizzer]

Here is a thread that shows both maroons used by Whizzer.
https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/original-whizzer-maroon-paint.107703/#post-761416