Aug. ‘65 Schwinn Sting-Ray J33

[CRASH]

Just arrived. The owners original childhood bike. It’ll be a complete restoration to restore its childhood glory!

Update: This is a J33 purchased at a shop in Sunnyvale California in 1966 for a Christmas present. The father had fenders added and a Deluxe deep-tufted seat swapped out for the original smooth seat. Other than the rear tire, this bike has the parts original to it on Christmas of 1966.

 

[Chad T]

That's gonna clean up real nice. Think I remember you finding some vinyl that was a close match to that early tufted material? I assume you will be doing a repaint and new decals. Chrysler Intense Blue Pearl is a very close match to the Schwinn blue.

 

[CRASH]

That's gonna clean up real nice. Think I remember you finding some vinyl that was a close match to that early tufted material? I assume you will be doing a repaint and new decals. Chrysler Intense Blue Pearl is a very close match to the Schwinn blue.

View attachment 259764

I will have the seat professionally refurbished. My attempts have been marginal at best. And I found a guy who has matched the original base silver and candy "Radiant Blue", so I'll be getting the paint from him. Schwinn guys think it's sacrilege to repaint a bike, but the owner really wants this returned to an original "new" state.

 

[Chad T]

Schwinn collectors def gravitate towards nice original examples but nothing wrong with restoring something like this. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[musclebikemadman]

to an original "new" state.

Well I don't think that bike came original "new" from the factory with that spring fork so best find yourself a correct dated Astabula fork and send that silly springer my way. If that was a true Super Deluxe in that condition I would balk at new paint.

 

[Da Gas Man]

Knobby and Brick Treads. Good name for a band. At least a song. 70's cop show?

 

[Kevin B]

Just arrived. The owners original childhood bike. It’ll be a complete restoration to restore its childhood glory!

View attachment 259651

Is that a bike registration at the top of the seat tube? It would be cool to replicate that.

 

[CRASH]

Yes, and a sticker from the original shop he purchased is it from on the bottom. I’m going to try to carefully remove them to reuse them but I haven’t had luck in the past. Do you replicate them?

 

[Pondo]

What a cool bike! That's going to be a sweet trip down memory lane for the owner.

 

[Kevin B]

Yes, and a sticker from the original shop he purchased is it from on the bottom. I’m going to try to carefully remove them to reuse them but I haven’t had luck in the past. Do you replicate them?

No. Maybe you could take a picture of them. I saw vendors on Amazon that will make stickers from your photos.

 

[CRASH]

For reference…

 

[RustySprockets]

With measurements, those items wouldn't be hard to replicate, but I've been searching for years to find a way to capture more complicated images on curved surfaces. A Japanese company was working on a flexible scanner about 20 years ago, but the project apparently stalled. Bummer.

 

[CRASH]

With measurements, those items wouldn't be hard to replicate, but I've been searching for years to find a way to capture more complicated images on curved surfaces. A Japanese company was working on a flexible scanner about 20 years ago, but the project apparently stalled. Bummer.

I'm going to work with Bruce Crawford and get them done.

 

[twojs.bike]

With measurements, those items wouldn't be hard to replicate, but I've been searching for years to find a way to capture more complicated images on curved surfaces. A Japanese company was working on a flexible scanner about 20 years ago, but the project apparently stalled. Bummer.

I was trying to use the ‘pano’ function on the iPhone camera to take pictures of bike registration stickers. It seemed like a good idea, but I couldn’t get it to work. Seems like there should be an app for this.

 

[Chad T]

Yes looks like J33 CRASH but with fenders added? Looks like that front fender with the stay is unique to the springer as well. (Schwinn minutiae enjoyer).

 

[CRASH]

Yes looks like J33 CRASH but with fenders added? Looks like that front fender with the stay is unique to the springer as well. (Schwinn minutiae enjoyer).

I joined a Schwinn group on FB, and they poured over the details. One detail is that the braces are attached to the fenders with screws, instead of riveted. Had the fenders been added at the factory (like if the bike was actually a Super Deluxe) then the factory rivets on the braces. But to save space, when fenders were shipped to the shops, they stacked them to save space, and the braces were added at the shops with the screws. That detail points to the bike being a J33. Add to it, the owner said his dad liked the idea of fenders, so him making the decision to add them made sense.

 

[CRASH]

Started the tear down. Wheels came off and spokes went in the garbage.

 

[musclebikemadman]

Started the tear down. Wheels came off and spokes went in the garbage.

View attachment 259986
View attachment 259987

will they be replaced with NOS spokes? Are there any other parts to be replaced? So that bike must have been on the showroom floor with the springer already installed? I would love to go back and visit a few dealers from the '60s/70s it must have been overwhelming to see a floor full of Stingray's to choose from.

 

[Chad T]

will they be replaced with NOS spokes? Are there any other parts to be replaced? So that bike must have been on the showroom floor with the springer already installed? I would love to go back and visit a few dealers from the '60s/70s it must have been overwhelming to see a floor full of Stingray's to choose from.

j33 = regular fenderless Sting Ray with springer.

Guessing spokes will indeed be NOS. New OH Shiny.

 

[Chad T]

I joined a Schwinn group on FB, and they poured over the details. One detail is that the braces are attached to the fenders with screws, instead of riveted. Had the fenders been added at the factory (like if the bike was actually a Super Deluxe) then the factory rivets on the braces. But to save space, when fenders were shipped to the shops, they stacked them to save space, and the braces were added at the shops with the screws. That detail points to the bike being a J33. Add to it, the owner said his dad liked the idea of fenders, so him making the decision to add them made sense.

Thought I spied a screw in that back stay. Makes sense! You replacing with matching screws or the newer ones that look like rivets?

Didn't even think about the saddle. Why not upgrade for 10 bux?