1952 Schwinn Hornet - 1st rebuild

[Saverio]

Hey everyone,
As I posted earlier in the week, my grandfather gave me a few of his bikes. The one I like the most is this 1952 Schwinn Hornet.
Here it is fresh out of his garage:

 

[Saverio]

I've kind of got a finished look in my head, but wanted to point a few things i've done or will be doing soon.

1) Fenders: Although they are not original factory fenders, they have a sort of "oldness" to them that will look great on the bike. I've taken them off so that I can remove the stickers and shine up the chrome. I believe these are Wald aftermarket fenders, but they fit the bike perfectly.

2) Tires/Rims: I put the all black tires from my Nirve B-1 on the existing rims, and they don't look too bad. I am definitely going to get some white tires though. The rims are another story. Many of the spokes are either bent, broken, or missing. As much as I wanted to try and salvage as much of the original bike as possible, I don't think I'm going to be able to. I tore down the New Departure Model D last night, and everything looked ok. I noticed before I even took it apart that there was some grinding going on. I got everything lubed and put back together and the grinding was still there. I can't figure it out and it will require some more time. BUT - Since I am getting new wheels/rims, I am thinking of just getting a new non-skiptooth chain ring and chain.

3) Chain guard: The aftermarket chain guard has been removed, and my intent was to get a period correct hornet guard but I noticed that the tab above the bottom bracket has been either broken off or taken off, so i'm going with NO chain guard at all.


The only other activity last night was breaking the stem free from decades of rust build up. It took a while, but I got it free and was able to get it cleaned up and functioning.


Finally
4) Paint: There is a really cool blue color under all that battleship gray. I'm hoping to use some Goof Off or something to try and strip the gray and leave the original blue as is, but we'll see how that goes. If i'm not able to do anything with the original paint, I think I will just take it down and have it powder coated a powder/baby blue color.





Your thoughts or comments are welcome!

 

[mocrawler]

I like it how it looks all stripped down.

 

[Saverio]

Well, the Goof Off is working...maybe a little too well. It's requires light sanding which also takes off some original paint. Someone also put some glow in the dark strips on the fork that will not come off.

This baby's getting powder coated.

 

[sleepy]

I like it how it looks all stripped down.

That makes two of us. 8)

I like the caps on the handlebar ends....nice change in look from standard grips.

 

[Saverio]

Here's something I found while sanding my bike. A number stamped on the inner left rear dropout (opposite of the serial number). Any ideas what this is? It reads: 9113

 

[vermodreary]

nice crank and paint though cant tell is it like aghost grey or a blue.

 

[Saverio]

Someone actually brush painted it battleship gray. I think it faded and gave it that blue tint (it was blue under the gray).

 

[mocrawler]

Those four digits are the last four of my social security number. That means the bike is mine. Please send it back. :shock:

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Saverio]

Haha! I think I figured it out. The other side is stamped 9112. I'm guessing it was for keeping parts of the frame together during assembly. (?)

 

[Saverio]

Finished!

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Wow, great transformation! :wink: Looks great 8)

 

[Saverio]

Thanks! ....now i need a new project to keep me busy....