Help with a 1950s Schwinn American

[us56456712]

This bike belongs to one of my riding buddies. It was his first bike and he thinks he got it new in the 1950s. Because the fork has no chrome trim at the top I think he is right, at least its a 1959? He hated it as a kid because it was only a 2 speed and his sister had a 3 speed. He felt like a second rate citizen or something. He kept telling me about this bike and when I asked him where it was he said he gave it to his nephew in Wisconsin. I asked him to check it out and if it was still around see if he could get it back, just a casual mention. Well, when he visited over Christmas it was still in the barn. They gave it back to him and couldn't believe anyone would want it, saved them the hassle of throwing it in the junk pile. He also sort of thought it was good only for the junk pile and apologized for the horrible condition it is in. I told him it was cool and I would fix it for him. I need advice. Everything looks original, even the petrified rotted tires. The Bendix shifter and cable are missing but I have a Bendix 2 speed shifter and cable but I don't know if it is the same one that was on this bike.

What is the best way to clean up the paint and preserve the original finish? What tires and tubes does he need? The seat vinyl is about as flexible as potato chips, can anything be done here with this seat, advice? There are dents in the front and rear fender. Should those be smoothed out or left the way the are? There is orange reflector tape on the chain stay and fender. Is this original? Should this tape be removed or would it be cooler left alone? He doesn't want it painted. I don't even know yet how true the wheels are. One of the wheels won't turn but I plan to dismantle the whole bike anyway and repack. There is almost no rust on the chrome and the seat post is one of the nicest I have ever seen, no rust on it. He seems to be enthused, at least he rescued his first bike. I know my first bike is not to be found. Here are pictures I just took of it in my hallway thawing out so I can get a better look at it in the AM.

 

[deorman]

To the best of my knowledge, all manual shift 2-spd Bendix are the same, 1 to 1 high with simple planetary low. The shift rod is very thin and near impossible to find if you lose it.
I made a replacement once with the temple piece of a busted pair of aviator sunglasses.

 

[Wildcat]

I don't see an American model in the 59 catalog, but it may be a year or two earlier. The serial number on the left dropout will ID the year. It is a middleweight so it probably has S-7 wheels, meaning you must get S7 tires instead of standard 26" tires. And if the shift pin is missing, that would make it more of a problem. A standard 26" x 1.75 set of wheels and tires will go right on there taking care of both problems. But a new 3 speed w coaster would really be good if you can invest the money, no hand brakes needed with a coaster hub. The paint, while not great, is original and will shine up nicely, as will the chrome on those old Schwinns. The seat looks original as does everything on it. There isn't much to help it other than a complete recovering, so a replacement cruiser seat may suffice, unless you are going for a restoration. If he's going to ride a lot, a set of new wheels and tires along with a new seat keeping the original paint will probably do the trick.

 

[dragnusa]

Aluminum foil and water should clean the chrome up pretty easily as for the paint dawn soap & water and a nail brush should clean it. If I remember right the rims will have a marking near the hole for the tube valve that says s7,s2, or maybe just schwinn. If they are s7 rims tires can be picked up online for under 20 each. As for the dents in the fenders Id leave them as long as the clear the tire.

 

[ZZ3Malibu]

Looks like a 1957 American to me. http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1951_1960/1957_07.html

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

I'v. made plenty of shift pins out of 16 penny nails .
Cool bike clean it ,new tires
And grease and id ride it as is.

~Rafael~

 

[horsefarmer]

I think Malibu has date right check serial # on dropout to confirm.
After a good wash I've had good results bringing paint back to life with WD-40, rub off excess and "ICE" brand car wax.

 

[us56456712]

Thanks guys your ideas saved me a lot of useless effort. I decided to play musical bike parts. I am switching parts form 4 different bicycles and I should be able to make something out of all but one. I am making the Schwinn into a single speed using 26 x 1 3/8 non s7 wheels. I found a 13/16 seatpost in my junk that has a newer sized top and I have a nice 60s black seat to fit. It's the same length as to original Schwinn post so I don't know if it will be high enough for him. Looks good on it. The pedals are held together with electrical tape so I am replacing those. The drive side pedal is stuck so I am going to put a different crank with good chrome on it and use the original Schwinn Chain wheel. The wheels had the wrong sized nuts cross threaded on the axles and they were all goobered up + a busted spoke so the wheels weren't worth bothering with as everyone indicated in their posts. It has the original schwinn tires on it. The chain is toast but I have a very good used one that I will throw on it. It has 2 broken fender stays, one could be welded the other is missing half. I think I have one that will fit and may have to buy one, but everything else should be free. I will clean and polish once I get it sorted, hopefully with out too much cost. He will only use it for the classic bike rides and the occasional parade so it should be good enough.

 

[Wildcat]

26 x 1 3/8's is a taller skinny wheel and tire than the S-7 or the standard 1.75. It may contact the fenders and/or not look right on that bike. But they might be ok.

 

[us56456712]

26 x 1 3/8's is a taller skinny wheel and tire than the S-7 or the standard 1.75. It may contact the fenders and/or not look right on that bike. But they might be ok.

It looks OK on the front. Tons of fender clearance on the front. The rear wheel is on another bike at camp. I need to swap that rear wheel with a 3 speed wheel I have somewhere in my junk. My camp bikes are used on gravel and 2 tracks and some blacktop so this should be a good swap. I think the rear wheel I have will fit on the Schwinn so I won't have to cold set the chain stays. If he wants a Nexus or modern coaster I will have to spread the rear. I don't mind doing this but I don't know if he will use the bike that much. I figure we can always change it out if he enjoys riding it and wants a better look. I plan to present him with a cleaned up ridable bike and we will see what he thinks. Thanks for the input. I wasn't sure about the S7 tires, they looked bigger but they are so shot it was hard to tell. Having this confirmed is a big help.

 

[us56456712]

According to the on line Schwinn frame info this frame was made September 22 to 24 1953. Schwinn must have had a stockpile of frames because my 1959 Corvette frame turned out to be a few years older according to this source. I can't find any pictures or info in the Schwinn Catalogues that show or list a blue American. There are a few years where there are apparently no pictures available of this model.

 

[ZZ3Malibu]

Some 1953 #`s are the same as 1957#`s Example #`s for 9/26/1953 B17901-B20750 Next 1/14/1957 B18549-B22094. Middleweight Schwinn`s did not come out till 1955.

 

[us56456712]

Some 1953 #`s are the same as 1957#`s Example #`s for 9/26/1953 B17901-B20750 Next 1/14/1957 B18549-B22094. Middleweight Schwinn`s did not come out till 1955.

It looks like the picture in the Schwinn catalogue on line of the 1957 American. The catalogue shows it in green, the one I have is blue. There are some online sources I referenced and it lists colors available. Green is shown but not blue. The only year I can find a picture of that has the same seat as the blue one is 1957 so I have to assume it is a 1957. The strange thing is the catalogue shows it with a front brake. I can see no evidence of a front brake ever being on this bike. No clean spot on the handlebar or no obvious mounting place for a front brake on the fork.

 

[Wildcat]

It shows it was available in blue in this illustration of a 57 model. The price list shows both a 2 speed with front brake and a coaster model for the American that year. If there isn't any evidence of the mounts on the fork blades (a different kind of brake was used as seen in the pic), maybe it came as a single speed and they put a 2 speed wheel on later. Any evidence of the handlebar shifter being there, on the right side?

 

[Wildcat]

According to the on line Schwinn frame info this frame was made September 22 to 24 1953. Schwinn must have had a stockpile of frames because my 1959 Corvette frame turned out to be a few years older according to this source. I can't find any pictures or info in the Schwinn Catalogues that show or list a blue American. There are a few years where there are apparently no pictures available of this model.

Did you use the lookup tool? Sometimes it isn't as accurate as looking at the yearly lists. Your 59 frame could only be made in 59, they didn't keep frames around, they were sold about as fast as they made them. As for your American, I suspect it is a 56 model, there are B numbers stuck in there August 14-17. I use this webpage to look up Schwinn numbers: http://www.angelfire.com/rant/allday101/SchwinnCodes1.html

 

[Wildcat]

From the 56 Catalog, in blue. The seat is different, but maybe they went with the next style late in the year.

 

[us56456712]

Did you use the lookup tool? Sometimes it isn't as accurate as looking at the yearly lists. Your 59 frame could only be made in 59, they didn't keep frames around, they were sold about as fast as they made them. As for your American, I suspect it is a 56 model, there are B numbers stuck in there August 14-17. I use this webpage to look up Schwinn numbers: http://www.angelfire.com/rant/allday101/SchwinnCodes1.html

This is the tool I used for both bikes but someone pointed out the B code was also used in 1957. The one I have has a two colored seat like the 1957 picture from the Schwinn catalogue. The blue seat looks just like the green seat in the 1957. I wonder if this is a late year production and they changed it a little?

 

[us56456712]

Its done and didn't cost anything because I used stuff from my parts stash and played musical bike parts. I had a few problems. The stem is rust welded and stuck forever but is is at a good height. I soaked it with PB Blaster so it may someday come loose, but I doubt it. I was able to back off the wedge bolt enough to repack the headset. The 26 x 1 3/8 rear wheel from one of my camp bikes is a Bendix red band so it fits the rear drops outs with no spreading required. The Bendix 2 speed that came on the bike had an 18 tooth sprocket and the single speed I used has 19. I can't believe the difference one tooth make in centering the wheel in the fender. I added the necessary 2 chain lengths and the wheel is all the way to the back of the dropouts and take them away and it is all the way forward. It looks better forward and the chain may stretch a little anyway. My Schwinn Corvette has a modern coaster (had to cold spread the frame) and I used a 22 tooth rear cog so everything centered well. I used 26 X 1.75 rims on the Corvette and I want to do a side to side comparison when I dig out the Corvette from winter storage. I will see what he wants to do wheel wise since the bike had the headset problem, but that is no big deal, but it might bother him enough that he doesn't want to spend any money on it. His options as I see it are to get a new wheel set in single or 3 speed and spread the frame. Or I could look for a cheap old mountain bike at the thrift store with straight or almost straight alloy wheels, use the front as is and lace him one of my Bendix red bands to the used rear mountain bike rim. If it were me I would ride it like it is. Lacing the old red band to a used rim would be the cheapest as I work for beer. So far he owes me 3 beers. Probably another 3 if I lace up a used rim.

 

[deorman]

From the 56 Catalog, in blue. The seat is different, but maybe they went with the next style late in the year.

The catalog picture in this post shows the hard to find clamp-on cantilever brakes. No mounting point required, just a flat fork blade.

 

[us56456712]

The catalog picture in this post shows the hard to find clamp-on cantilever brakes. No mounting point required, just a flat fork blade.

One side of the fork has the paint warn off where the clamp for the cantilever brake was. The other side has a few nicks in the mounting area for the brake. The left side of the handle bars has scratches consistent with a front brake lever too. Easier to see all this since it is cleaned and polished. Thanks for the valuable information. He wondered if it had a front brake but wasn't sure and Im sure he will find this interesting. I told him I posted the bike for help. He said "there's more people like you"?