Schwinn World Barn Find

[OldBikeGuy77]

I just purchased this bike from a guy who inherited a farm with 1500 acres and was clearing out old stuff from the barns. I ran the serial number and it says it's either a 1952 or 1957. The frame says "Schwinn" and "World" but the chainguard says "Schwinn Varsity. It's pretty crusty but the bike has some interesting features including a fore brake, 3 spd shifter, and a locking fork. Has anyone seen (or have) a bike like this with these features? I am not very familiar with this model so curious on how rare these are. Not sure what I am going to do with this yet. RYAN

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[rollfaster]

Id leave the crust and go through all the bearings etc with new tires and ride.

 

[rennfaron]

Hey Ryan - looks like you have an early world or world varsity. Stock would look like this - https://bikeville.com/2013/05/13/early-1950s-schwinn-varsity/
They came with three speed shifter and optional locking fork. The saddle, handlebars, grips, rack, speedometer, fork drum brake and crank are not original to the bike. Depending on the year, I am pretty sure those pedals are not as well (I assume they came with the swapped out crank). The light wasn't OEM to the bike, like the travelers, but looks period correct and a miller. Everything else looks correct, just badly rusted. At one point this was a nice decked out schwinn lightweight IMO (I like lightweights). I don't even think an oxalic acid bath on this one may do much...but worth a try as I have seen some crazy results on here with that stuff. You may get the color back. I mean heck worth a shot at this point! At least it will bring out more of the original look by removing a ton of the rust.