Schwinn "The World"

[DW509]

I just recently picked up a bicycle and I am having trouble figuring out what year it is and what it should look like. The serial # on it is on the bottom side of the crank and it is F40819. Its the cantilever frame, its got a springer front end on it. The head badge just says "the world" and has a picture of a globe. The rear wheel exits away from the crank so I am thinking that its prewar. I am wondering what year it is and I thought that prewar bikes were supposed to have a skip-tooth sprocket set up and this one does not. I was also curious if you would have pictures of the original bike with its original paint scheme so that I can restore the one that I found. Any information that you guys can give me would be much appreciated!

 

[Metal Militia]

welcome. cool find. it's definitely a prewar bike. crank looks like it could be correct, not all were skiptooth. is it a 26 inch bike? post the serial #, and if you pull the crank, it should be dated also. look for some remnants of the original paint inside the bottom bracket and the steering tube.
if parts are original, with a springer and the front brake, it may have looked something like this:
http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1941 ... c_004.html

 

[B607]

The cantilever frame came out in '38 so that's the oldest it could be. The springer came out in '37 and was the same style as yours for '37-'40. It changed in '41 to a style with straighter blades on the upper parts. Yours is the older style so you likely have a '38-'40 bike. That frame is pretty scarce and worth some bucks. It was used on the top of the line deluxe prewar bikes Schwinn made. Gary

 

[DW509]

Thank you for the info. I pulled the crank out and it has AS&CO stamped on it and on the other side is has the number 40. So I am assuming that its then from 1940. My other question is with this being "The World" Schwinn is it supposed to have chrome fenders or painted? and should there be a tank? What should the chain gaurd look like? Thank you again for all of your help!

 

[Metal Militia]

this is listed as a 1940 autocycle. yours has hints of an autocycle-locking springer with fore brake, canti frame, so it would have been fully loaded. check inside the steering tube, or try to peel back some layers of paint to spot the original finish. good luck with this resto!
http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1893 ... 04_05.html

 

[DW509]

Thanks for all the info! I took the whole bike apart and it looks like the paint scheme was black and white. Its going to look great when I get finshed restoring it!