3 Speed Stingray Project

[Philiciousness]

Here is my new and first project that I will post here on RRB. First off I want to say that I love this site. The bikes I see here are just amazing and inspirational.

I think I am going to go for a more natural build and keep it within the "muscle bike" realm. I am going to keep the original paint and just try to work out a lot of the rust.

One of the things I do want to do a little differently is make a suicide shifter for it. It didn't have the original shifter when I bought it and to buy an original is just way too much money. Besides, a suicide shifter is just freaking cool! Keep an eye out for the progress and thanks for any information you may have.

 

[Philiciousness]

A few more images of the bike before I started any work.

 

[Scrapirondesigns]

Sounds like it going to be a awesome build!


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[Philiciousness]

After a bit of elbow grease some of my parts are starting to look shinny again!

chainring
(before)

(after)

fenders
(before)

(after)

chain guard
(before)

(after)

I have also worked on the wheelset though they were pretty rough to begin with. Pictures soon to come. I have also repacked the bearings for the front hub and now it rolls super smooth. I noticed on the front hub it says it was made in France approved by Schwinn. Is there any chance the Schwinn front hub was made by Mavic?

Anywho, the next big problem is attacking the stuck seat post. It's proving to be a bit of a bother.

Thanks for viewing!!!

 

[Scrapirondesigns]

What did you use the clean the chrome up?

And with the seatpost in the past I've put the seat post in a vice and try to twist the frame around try to break it loose. It's works just don't squeeze the seatpost too hard if it's a tube.

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[Philiciousness]

I went with super fine steel wool, WD-40, chrome polish, and a whole lot of elbow grease.

 

[Punxs]

Try using CLR it helps remove the rust. Just make sure you don't soak it too long.

 

[Philiciousness]

I learned an important lesson about Schwinn bikes last night; the difference is in the details. I ordered some sweet white wall 20x1.75 for the front and 20x2.125 for the rear thinking those were the correct size tires for every Stingray. When the tires arrived and I tried to mount them I noticed the inside diameter was WAY off. Turns out my Schwinn Stingray FASTBACK has 20 in wheels with an iso of 451mm, not 419mm like a regular Stingray would have. So now it's back to the drawingboard for tires. Oh well, you live and learn.

Does anyone know the reason why Schwinn used the two different wheel sizes?

 

[Scrapirondesigns]

Does anyone know the reason why Schwinn used the two different wheel sizes?

I have no clue why they do that but I ran in the same problem with a set of Schwinn S7 rims for 26 inch. If you want just black tires or black with white walls they make for those. But no other colors like white tires that i like to use on my projects. So I had to get new wheels. I don't know why they do it but it's very frustrating.


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[bikebuilder]

I used to have a 5 speed fastback several years ago. I think the front and rear rims were different sizes as well. One was s-5 and one was s-6. You may want to double check both rim's measurements before you get your next set of tires.

 

[ZygoteLittle]

Nice project you have going there; I’ve always dug the Schwinn Fastbacks, they are such cool bikes. You are progressing really well on it too. 8)

These links from Shelton Brown’s website have been helpful in many of my builds in the past (and present); hopefully, they will be as helpful to you too.
Tire Sizing
Rim Sizing

 

[mmcdaniel69]

Boy, that bike was rough! But it's looking alot better! I like the idea of leaving the original paint.
You may want to look into some Evapo Rust, It's great for removing rust without all the work! It's Biodegradable, non corrosive, scent free and won't damage anything except rust! (Not sure about painted parts) Great product.Just soak the parts in it overnight or longer and spray them off with some water, then just some light polishing. I'm going to soak a painted part in it tonight to see what happens, I'll let you know.

 

[sleepy]

Nice Fastback, its coming along nicely.

I also agree with keeping the paint original. Any collectable that remains as true to original as possible will certainly increase in value over time. A subtle mod such as a suicide shifter is cool as it adds a personal flair to the bike.

Great ideas posted regarding rust removal, just one more is oxalic acid....works well and quickly. Not sure what it would do to painted parts however and I'd also use caution cleaning up the chainguard as the old logos can be inadvertantly erased real fast.