Anyone able to recommend the best way to remove the yellow paint on the Schwinn?
Pumped up the tires on the Worksman and it still rides nice and smooth.
No surpise on that Worksman. They last for years at shipyards and factories with almost no maintenence. Then they are easily put back in service again for another 20 years. They stuck with a tried and true design over the years, so it's hard to tell exactly what year yours is. But it wasn't a work bike, it doesn't show much wear.
The yellow paint might be easy or tough to get off, depending what paint they used. When you see a bike painted like that, bike wasn't taken apart and nothing was taped off, they just painted over everything, it might have been to hide a stolen bike. However your bike probably isn't stolen, it looks like the "modifier" wasn't that skilled, as the forks are assembled wrong and bent. So, look for any kind of stripes or pattern on the frame along with the color. Usually the seat tube has some kind of pattern. If you get the serial number post it here, I'll look at the catalog and see if we can figure out the exact model. I've got plenty of time to research everything. The original paint is the only way to pinpoint the model of that bike.
The number should be here:
or here:
The rear hub is a Sturmey Archer 3 speed with coaster brake. It'll have a date on it in 2 digits, near the name on the hub shell. But it's not original to the bike so it won't help ID the frame. If it shifts and rides well, you might consider using it with a different rim.
The rims are 26 x 1 3/8ths though, you can't put a wide tire on there, that's a different 26" rim size. Those on it are from a 3 speed lightweight bike. The yellow bike came with Schwinn S-2 wheels if it's a ballooner, and S-7 if it's a middleweight frame. The standard 26 x 1.75 rim will go right on the bike and have a good selection of tires, or like I do, get an old beach cruiser and swap the wheels over.