64 Rat Racer hits the streets

[NLCTVWguy]

OK I admit it, I've been holding out on everyone.

I've been secretly building a bike and only a few people know about it. I should be more honest and upfront with my forum friends, here and at the Schwinn site. This one is definitely one to aggravate the purists on that other site. And that's a good thing!

I picked up a '64 Schwinn Racer from a good friend in the bike biz... probably a '65 actually since it's a L4 (Nov 64) date code. Original paint and decals on the frame, but seems like maybe there had been some touchup at some point in the past. There was black overspray on some odd parts, like the bearing cups, and the ends of the fender stays. The Hat-In-Ring decal and the little red-white-blue frame rings were all there, so who knows?

I got it with fenders and a chainguard, but nothing else.

I found a seat, a good Schwinn marked black Mesinger seat and a good post from some Bantam. Found a spare old stem and a beat up set of bars that came off my wife's 72 Breeze (but were stamped 77, go figure).

A decent crank and a clover sprocket for now and it'll just need wheels to roll. And of course, I didn't take any pictures up till now...

 

[chimichanga]

boooo no pics! :x

 

[NLCTVWguy]

First, a '65 Collegiate I caught at a swap meet for $10 gave up a front wheel. The rims and all the chrome were painted grey by the guy who had this and a bunch of other bikes at a camp or something.

When it got rusty, he painted it. A lot. And he painted his name on the top of the coppertone frame. Very classy.

The rim was pretty pitted under the rust. A lot of wire wheel work was required to get the crappy silver off.

Good candidate for something cool... masked off the spokes.

And Krylon supplied a nice dark red.

Turned out the guy I got it from had another bike I needed. I packed up my partner in crime, filled up the 286000 mile Volvo wagon, and headed up to upstate New York. We picked up a '52 Black Phantom, just a frame and springer in original paint... but that's another story for another day.

Kicking around in the corner of his shop was THIS wheel. Hmm it looked interesting. Doesn't it?

Hey, that thing would give my Racer gears! And no cables like the 3-speed hub I was gonna use! But why's the rim black? At least it's a 26x1-3/8 S-5...

Looks like someone used that rust converter stuff on it to "fix" the rusty rim. It came off after wearing my wire wheel down to a nub... but boy was it an ugly rim. Bad pits, even rusty spokes.

Finally got tired of cleaning it, masked it off and painted it.

And of course, the Krylon....

Next up... mods!

 

[NLCTVWguy]

So this bike needs something a little different. I really did not want to cut the frame or modify it. It made it this far, and I just have a thing about cutting up Schwinns. With scrap metal approaching $300 a ton, there are fewer American-made bikes around every year. And for whatever reason, I just might want to make this guy stock again someday... who knows?

If you've seen my parts posts, you know I have a giant stash of bike parts I picked up as a collection last year. It's hundreds, probably thousands of parts, just all sorts of stuff and very little of it Schwinn unfortunately.

One thing I had several of was little tank bars- these are converter bars for a girls' bike frame to make it into a boy's bike. A little cooler looking but less slick than a Schwinn Bantam. I used one from a Columbia Scamp to make my Downtown Rat Ross last year.

But they're for little bikes. They don't fit. They also are riveted together. So they don't just go around the frame. I ground out the rivets and test fit. It does fit pretty tight, but the rear of course won't squeeze together because the frame is straight and it's curved.

Fixed that pretty quick. Love the cutoff wheel!

Now it fits on there!

And looks good!

That needs to be black... Satin black just about matches the patina of this frame.

I think something is starting to take shape here...

 

[NLCTVWguy]

I love the big fenders on some of my bikes. But I have a bunch of those and wanted a different look. Found a front fender that I've probably had 20 years. I think it's from a '79 Collegiate, with the super short fenders.

The full-size rear fender went into storage... gotta keep those with the chrome stays. Required surgery to get that pain of a front screw out- rusted solid into the frame. The front fender went with it and a different one I had from a Speedster went on-- after a little drilling in the axle holes because rear axles are larger. Here's the old fender and the rear wheel complete with a decent tire I was saving.

And a cool Miller headlight out of the parts pile with a big drop bracket. Why's this thing got a big dent in the back of it? Leaned up to the stem and ... THAT'S WHY. These things hit a Schwinn stem bolt. Oh well, like I said, it already had a dent.

At the back of the tank I wanted something to secure it. A leather strap was freed from an old pedal clip and wrapped on the frame. Kinda rough but it works well.

Lets have a look at it for the first time... and a rare shot of my shop. What a mess right now.

Finally got it outside about 7PM tonight. Looks good in the twilight.

And an even rarer view of my garden.

Gotta take it for a ride... I haven't even tried that 2-speed hub yet!

My wife is the faithful cameraperson...

A rare shot of the front of my house...

It works! Lets ride down to the coffee shop!

it's the baddest thing in the rack at the Bean & Leaf!

The bike is gonna get some finishing touches and I still need to come up something to go on the top of the tank... just looks like it needs _something_ there. Watch this space for more!

Hope you all enjoy the pics folks!

--Rob

 

[user 135]

Rob, Great narrative of a bike coming together. That tank reminds me of the slim tanks. Perfect bike for racing around town.

How did you secure the front of the tank?

 

[OUTLAW]

dude, that is one bad butt bike. ya like red don't ya.

Outlaw :lol:

 

[aka_locojoe]

Tank is a neat idea. Looks good.

 

[NLCTVWguy]

Thanks Clancy-

It does look like a slimline tank on the finished product. I REALLY did not want to drill or cut the frame, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I found that the curve of the front of the tank wedged into the Schwinn head tubevery tightly without doing ANYTHING to it. The spacing of the rear ears was equal to the diameter of the top tube. I made the cut through the tank bottom intending to duplicate that spacing but in the end cut it wider.

The front of the tank stays put if the rear is clamped and it's pushed forward. I will be making a U shaped bracket I think, clamped to the frame with a hose clamp or something, to engage the original hook inside the tank. The front doesn't move that much as it is, but it can rattle over really rough pavement.

Whatever I do, I'll post it here for everyone to check it out.

I'm considering using the tank for batteries for the light. Maybe a nice pushbutton switch for it. We'll see what I come up with.

I can't believe how nice it rides. I made it to be ridden- it would probably look better with the seat down and handlebars flipped, but I made it comfortable for me and I got long legs. The 2-speed took a little getting used to, but shifts perfectly and the ranges are good for me with the gearing it has. I'd say it's like the 1st and 2nd gear in a 3-speed, which is what I use most of the time. It's also got a large rear sprocket so that may have something to do with the feel. It's fine with me.

Thanks for checking it out!

--Rob

Rob, Great narrative of a bike coming together. That tank reminds me of the slim tanks. Perfect bike for racing around town.

How did you secure the front of the tank?

 

[NLCTVWguy]

Yeah I guess I do. I had a ratty set of painted over Breeze fenders and a rusty Columbia sprocket... I was thinking about painting them red and putting them on it. I think it would look fine but most people would probably say it's too much.

--Rob

dude, that is one bad butt bike. ya like red don't ya.

Outlaw :lol: