'65 Stingray Nominal Basic

[Jude Ephesus]

Ha, nope, not me. If I had a nice vintage white seat, I'd be finding a bike to put it on. (I actually have a couple of pretty good candidates.)

Funny, though, I have the exact same goofy repop seat with the crooked stripes you posted above, but in blue...
View attachment 112115

(it's not really obvious in the pic, but trust me, they're crooked )

Ha-Ha! Cool.

I have an orange repop seat like that on my AMF renegade.... same slightly crooked stripes.

I’m like you, the stripes weren’t perfect, but not worth the effort to return. I reached out to the seller about swapping it out, and they didn’t have an orange seat with perfectly straight stripes, so they offered me a 10% discount to call it even.... I was like..... Meh.....OK

I lost patience (and budget) for the white vintage seat. Had to settle for black to get this build done. If I stumble across a fairly priced white seat at some point in the future, I’ll nab it and stick it on this bike.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Hey, if you find an extra one, lemme know, I have a bike waiting for a white one too!

 

[Jude Ephesus]

So, yeah. Not really how I drew it up.....

It appears I have traded my $40 eBay repop seat with crooked stripes for a $40 eBay vintage seat that is slightly deformed!!!!

Lol.

After doinking with the seat for a while thinking it was bent, I realize the pad has shifted underneath the vinyl.

Not sure what I’m going to do; I guess step one is tear it apart.

 

[Jude Ephesus]

So, that was way easier than I thought.

I tore it apart, removed the thin foam, hacked the seat foam Into shape with a razor knife, replaced the thin foam seat covering with a ‘50s vinyl table cloth, recovered... boom!

I did have to wrestle the pan into shape a bit. I also patched a few holes with my special “self adhesive vinyl”. (Electrical tape)

I got some loctite spray adhesive that was amazing and made the job a snap.

I still want to snaz up the bottom pan. Black it out and maybe throw on some decals.

Finally, I have a silver paint pen around here somewhere.... I’d like to spiffy up those stripes too.

 

[OddJob]

For a ratty touch, I'd leave the paint pen aside. That seat has 'earned those stripes' !

Nice 'recovery' on the seat! (upholstery pun intended) The spray adhesive is a wonderful tool, used it many times in seat repair / redo. This black seat is going to really finish off your build in style.

RaT oN~!

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Another concern about the paint pen- the guys at retrobike dot uk colour the old seats they use to touch em up, and often it's their shorts that wind up getting the colours

 

[Jude Ephesus]

Can’t leave we’ll enough alone: added a few sheets of black foam

 

[Jude Ephesus]

IT’S ALIVE!!!!’

Bad news though, the white grips I got all the time and effort into look hideous!!!!

Need to go run down my black chubbies!!!!!

 

[Jude Ephesus]

Just told wifey we got a date!!!

I’ll ride the rat, put her on pinky!!!!

She’s not responding to my texts!!!!

 

[Jude Ephesus]

She said: “ew!!”

Lol

 

[OddJob]

She said: “ew!!”

Lol

Hahahaha! I've tried to get my wife to ride a couple of the women's vintage bikes I've restored. She prefers her fast road-geared fitness bike with the flat bars, high pressure tires, and light weight.

Go figure.

 

[OddJob]

You got that muscle machine looking tough there, Jude. Black grips will def set it right!

 

[MattiThundrrr]

She said: “ew!!”

Lol

Did you send a picture of the bike when you told her to ride on "pinky"?

 

[Jude Ephesus]

Did you send a picture of the bike when you told her to ride on "pinky"?

Oh, she knows all about pinky.

Here is wifey saying “ew” on Snapchat

 

[Jude Ephesus]

Done baby!!

Only note I might add / ask, I’m not sure of the origin of the sissy bar. I know this is not the appropriate sissy bar for the ‘65.

Should I shorten it up? Leave it be? In my opinion, it looks long.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Jude Ephesus]

Final build notes:

Authentic Schwinn:
1965 Schwinn stingray J33 frame, headset cups, B.B. cups, seat post clamp and head badge

1967 Schwinn fairlady crank, chain ring, B.B. bearings/hardware, kickstand, chain guard and headset bearings

Vintage Schwinn chubby grips


Authentic Rat:
Vintage AMF 20” truss fork
Vintage Sears handlebar stem/hardware
Vintage Wald handlebars
Vintage Viscount banana seat/hardware
Late model Huffy BMX wheels & hardware
New Aftermarket Schwinn stingray decals
New Aftermarket tires w/ decals
New Aftermarket seat post
New Aftermarket diamondback BMX chain
New Aftermarket bow tie pedals
Unknown sissy bar!!!!

 

[Psychographic]

I like the black much better than the white accents. It came out really nice!

 

[Jude Ephesus]

I like the black much better than the white accents. It came out really nice!

Thanks PG!

I really wanted the white seat and grips to keep with the early stingray vibe, but I agree, there’s so much black in there, the white just wasn’t the best fit.

The black just goes better with the overall look.

Thanks again for all your help in my paint stages. I’m hoping to catch some sun here before the final day to show off the effex paint!!!

 

[OddJob]

Remember to transfer all that good info to your Final Thread, and post the best photo you've got right away at the top of the new thread.

Awesome work on this one! And I'd leave the sissy bar as is. Looks tight.

 

[BentRims]

That bike Screams Heavy Metal! One skinny 10 year old + Hendrix Shirt(no sleeves) + Old Skool Pirates baseball cap. A Pic in front of a Guitar Center would a been over the top!