(MBBO #5 Class I) One-owner '68 Sting-Ray..and the OddJob Award!

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OddJob said:
Going to try some light coats of the Chrysler paint recommended by @Chad T
Click to expand...

I just used the touch up with a brush OJ. It's thick and you can kind of fill in the chips.

Didn't do a before and after but you can see the dropout before here.

streatch2_zps614618e9.jpg~original


Here you can see it after it was touched up with the brush-on touch up paint. Worked good on the back of the seat stay too where it gets all rust stained.

blue3_zps5abebff6.jpg~original



N.Kildare1718 said:
Here is a 65 shorty. Distance between back/top fender mount to seat post mount is 3"
A full size stingray this same distance will be 4"
On a junior stingray. Which I do not have a pic for reference will be 2".

Here is a link for one I restored and sold sometime back. Video shows a few differences.
Click to expand...

Never knew there was a difference between the original shorties and the Junior. Great info!
 
There are actually three sizes of Stingray frames as noted: 63 to early 65 is a shorty ( I always believed the junior was same size, but now unsure ).
Mid 65 the frame stretches slightly, and got a longer crank, same chainguard still fits.
69 (68 for Krates and 5 speeds),the frame stretches again, to fit the 'mag' chainring.
Curious about the junior now and what it actually matches up to, or is it actually a distinct 4th size ?
 
Green Dragon said:
There are actually three sizes of Stingray frames as noted: 63 to early 65 is a shorty ( I always believed the junior was same size, but now unsure ).
Mid 65 the frame stretches slightly, and got a longer crank, same chainguard still fits.
69 (68 for Krates and 5 speeds),the frame stretches again, to fit the 'mag' chainring.
Curious about the junior now and what it actually matches up to, or is it actually a distinct 4th size ?
Click to expand...

Are the 5sp and coaster long frames different sizes? I assumed the only difference was the brake tab.

I've got a '68 Junior and a '64 in the garage I can study later. I'll report back what I find. Love the Stingray trivia.

Also have a coaster brake '76 Scrambler and a rim brake '76 Ray I can look at. Man I have too may bikes.

Always makes me laugh when I'm learning about something on the net I can just go look at..:21:
 
We had a second hand Sting-Ray in the family, the only Schwinn we didn't get as a new bike. My grandma was a school lunch lady in a neighboring town, and also did janitorial / grounds work. The bike had been chained to the bike rack for nearly a month when she asked if she could have it. Brought it to us that weekend. It was painted purple, but I remember finding original green paint in the nooks and crannies. The seat was an original flat white style, that somebody had put a purple sparkle 'naner seat cover on. Pretty sure they were Vikings fans...
 
Chad T said:
Are the 5sp and coaster long frames different sizes? I assumed the only difference was the brake tab.
Click to expand...


As for the 5 speed - NO, the only difference is the brake mount (and of course dropout spacing width ). In 68 Only, the 3 speed and coaster frames are shorter (same as mid 65 to 67),but the 5 speed frames (krate or Stingray) are longer, as that was first use of the Mag sprockets on a Stingray Frame.
In 69, with introduction of the 46t mag on standard Stingrays, ALL frames were now the longer style, so as far as I know 65 (shortie and 'mid-length' ) and 68 ('mid' and 'standard/long' ) are split years.
I've actually never owned a 63-65 Stingray,66 being my earliest, but have a few juniors,and have wondered if those are different than an early 'Ray ( opinions differ online).

Will be interesting to see how the 64 and Jr match up.
 
Best way to know is just check the serial number - first pic looks like it has the longer kickstand so it's a 66-68, I think.
Shorties, due to the curved up rear stay,as Chad T mentioned, has a lower bottom bracket so kickstand is shorter and does not reach as far towards the rear axle when up.

As for the bars - company called F&F makes a really close repop of the 68-9 bars, sold as ' V bar, 13" ', could not find a link handy, but the lowrider places sell em, like stratussuspension,etc.
 
Here the 65 I used as the reference pic. It's a January 65. So very early 65. A kid in the neighborhood has a early junior I restored for him Different junior from the one featured in the video. If I see him riding try get pic of the two bikes together along with post 68 stingray .
image.jpeg
 
Blue is really looking good!
Coppertone and sky blue Schwinn colors always do the the best for me when bringing them back to life. Kool lemon would be my least favorite results on original paint restoration.
 
N.Kildare1718 said:
View attachment 34470 View attachment 34469 Here is a 65 shorty. Distance between back/top fender mount to seat post mount is 3"
A full size stingray this same distance will be 4"
On a junior stingray. Which I do not have a pic for reference will be 2".

Here is a link for one I restored and sold sometime back. Video shows a few differences.
Click to expand...

Cool little vid man! Like your presentation style.
I just measured my distance and it is 3"....so, how long did you say they made that 'shorty' frame? Because we ran the serial # and it was made in March of 1968. I'm doing the paint atm, so it will be a couple days before I get the wheels on it.

Hope I have a 'standard' size, because my seat I have is 18"....will be interesting....
 
Thanks
If you do a search on youtube for 'N. Kildare Cycle Shop" see a few other bikes.
I have a 64 Lime Green video out there. 63 and 64 had a few unique features.

I am having a blast already. We have 2 and half months to go!
 
In case you weren't following this build, we have had a lot of enlightenment about the Schwinn Sting-Ray, it's origins, configurations, and charm. This is my first attempt at bringing new life to an old, semi-original bicycle. The owner wanted to retain the stickers which had emotional ties, and didn't want it to look 'brand new'.

So, this would not be a true 'restoration' as it goes. But rather, a 'recondition'...bringing the bike back to a cleaner, tighter, brighter version of itself. With parts from the late '60 s , and some elbow grease and mechanical work, the bike was coming to life.

Last night I tackled the most dicey part of the build; the paint. After cleaning the frame, fork, and chain guard and de-rusting the surface, I taped off all the non-painted parts and the stickers. Then on the recommendation of @Chad T, I ordered up some touch up paint in the appropriate color.

Now here's where I divert to my own techniques. I love my spray can of paint. I got the spray version of the Chrysler paint, and proceeded to do a VERY light coat from my 'stand back and spray the air' method. The following pics are the result.

I gotta say, I am extremely pleased! For you guys wondering how well the paint matched, here's a shot of the fork steer tube (not faded because it spends it's life hidden from the sun) and the fork legs:
20160922_103030.jpg


I didn't prime or extra coat the chips and scratches. Still wanted that vintage look, but fresher, brighter.

20160922_095044.jpg

20160922_095239.jpg

20160922_102033.jpg


And then the stickers. I used the 3M blue paint tape, and meticulously trimmed it around the stickers to make them look like they were added on later.

20160922_101812.jpg

20160922_100852.jpg
 
Green Dragon said:
Best way to know is just check the serial number - first pic looks like it has the longer kickstand so it's a 66-68, I think.
Shorties, due to the curved up rear stay,as Chad T mentioned, has a lower bottom bracket so kickstand is shorter and does not reach as far towards the rear axle when up.

As for the bars - company called F&F makes a really close repop of the 68-9 bars, sold as ' V bar, 13" ', could not find a link handy, but the lowrider places sell em, like stratussuspension,etc.
Click to expand...
Greenie, you might have missed the earlier posts. Checked serial # and it was born March of 1968. I found some bars, guy said it was from a '70 Sting ray, that were the same height as the originals, 13.5" range, just a slightly different sweep.
 
Yep, just read back through and saw the post with the date- Looks correct for that year/ model then.
The 70 bars are the narrower style, as someone mentioned, the wider 68-9 style to many of us look better. I'd try to find a set of the F&F ones,(no,I'm not a paid spokesperson,lol ),but if you're more set on keeping her original Schwinn, nothing wrong with the 70 style bars either.
 
Green Dragon said:
Yep, just read back through and saw the post with the date- Looks correct for that year/ model then.
The 70 bars are the narrower style, as someone mentioned, the wider 68-9 style to many of us look better. I'd try to find a set of the F&F ones,(no,I'm not a paid spokesperson,lol ),but if you're more set on keeping her original Schwinn, nothing wrong with the 70 style bars either.
Click to expand...
These are actually the same width as the originals, I measured them up next to each other. Just the sweep of the grip area differs.
 
Time to apply the decals to the OO '69 er. They are water decals from Memory Lane in Michigan. Give me your best tips on time in water, application method, useful tools, etc. It's been 45 yrs since I last applied a water decal....
 

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