Tim's first Fresh Find 1967 Schwinn Racer Deluxe

[thatismytruck]

My bud Tim works for an alarm company so he can spend some time in people's basements. Being new to the old bike thing, it occurred to him that he might find some bikes. Last week he was in a garage and noticed a bike. Asked what was happening to it (dumpster bound), so they gave it to him.

When he first brought it over

A little better shot

We intend to clean it up OCD Steve style and sell it. The chrome is quite good. I rubbed a little Never Dull on the fenders and they are beautiful. The paint is also very good. A wash and wax will make it really sparkle. Tubes hold air but the original tires will not seat to the rims no matter how hard I try. the seat bag had a multi purpose tool in it that looks to be original as well. The brakes work perfectly. The Sturmey Archer 3 speed shifts well. (that's where I got the date from)

All in all an outstanding first fresh find.

 

[user 135]

clean it up OCD Steve style

Very funny. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

That should clean up nicely.

 

[Rat Rod]

Ha Ha! :lol: :lol: :lol:

It is the sad truth I'm afraid.

Be really careful with those chainguard decals....sometimes they just wash right off when water hits them.

Once cleaned up and detailed out, that bike could easily bring $300-$400.

 

[thatismytruck]

Thanks for the tip and the thick skin to take my humor :wink:

300 - 400! Tim said any funds would go towards bike parts. I'm thinking we have a little beer money now, too.

 

[deorman]

 

[thatismytruck]

Why you calling spam, bud? I've not posted in fresh finds in awhile.

 

[Rat Rod]

The moderators must have nuked a bad post.

 

[deorman]

Why you calling spam, bud? I've not posted in fresh finds in awhile.

The moderators must have nuked a bad post.

Exactly. You were just collateral damage, an innocent victim.
This morning some gamer had his "stuff" scattered all over the forums. :roll:

 

[thatismytruck]

ah. Since I don't get here but more than once every day or so I must have missed that.

 

[Hooch]

yea them bike chains dont run good in spam grease so I ejected him!

 

[stretch]

haha maybe he meant thats what you could buy with 300-400 bucks. a gaint can o spam. nice bike though, really clean!

 

[thatismytruck]

@$%#&*$#@@#$ Schwinn tire sizes!!! :lol:

So I go out and read the sidewall and it says "26 x 1 1/2 S5 or S6" Having read Sheldon Brown's tire sizing explanation I am confident that I can correctly find tires for this nice bike. I google the heck out of the quoted text and come up pretty blank. closest I get is 26x1 1/2 S4 and a couple of 26x1 1/4 S6. What the heck? So I go to review Sheldon. was not very helpful though. the only 26 x 1 1/2 mentioned is for a French bike.

Anyone have any ideas? Did I miss something? thanks in advance.

 

[schwinnmesa]

26" x 1-3/8" S6 should work.

 

[The LT]

It is kind of a pet peeve of mine that I absolutely hate the way that tires are labeled...That being said it will either be a 590mm or 597mm tire All tires made now have this measurement on them somewhere it is the actual diameter of the tire bead in mm (standard mtb size tires are 559, 700c road tires are 622, 27" road tires are 630). I don't remember which one is the schwinn and which one is the non schwinn for the 26 x1 3/8 tires though


edit: looks like you are looking for 597mm tires

 

[Wildcat]

While you're looking for tires, don't go hungry. Make up a batch of spam cakes, a favorite of mine from my single days. Slice up the whole can of spam, and fry it in a pan. Keep the slices 4 inches apart and flip them over when browned. Then pour a pancake over each spam slice. The pancake and slice will brown at the same time. Then serve them up with butter and syrup.

 

[FaceOFFbikes]

??? My Kenda tire on my deluxe collegiate size says "26x1 3/8 x 1 1/4" S5 and S6 is the same size rim..

 

[thatismytruck]

I spent a few hours with this bike yesterday. I used my drill with a brass wire wheel, some copper wool, two brass brushes, dish soap, PB Blaster, WD-40, Never-Dull, Miller High Life, wrenches, screwdrivers, sponge, paper towels, dish cloth, and more Miller. I am awaiting tires and tubes, but the bike is OCD Steve clean and ready for a ride on Thursday night and then up on eBay she goes!!

The lower head tube bearing is beautiful. The upper had the original grease nicely packed. I cleaned them both with WD-40 and then packed them again.

I am amazed at the quality of the chrome on this bike. I light rub with the copper wool and then a good rub with Never-Dull and all of it was shiny as new. The undersides of the fenders have some surface oxidation, most of which came off with the brass wheel on my drill.

a quick shot of my bike stand. two hooks screwed into my picnic table. the handlebars also shined up very nicely.

I was very careful on the decals. They are still in very good shape though and I was able to actually wash them and wax the entire bike. Before, and after shots.

even the reflector is near perfect.

The Sturmey Archer Hub says "67" on it, but here's the serial number for actual dating. "CC 23998"

Not a mark on the head badge

And the entire bike reassembled minus the wheels for now.

I have it stored in my dining room and I think that's where it will stay until sold. I am not a Schwinn fan and often skip Schwinn threads but after cleaning this bike I do at least now understand the fascination with this product. The quality is surprisingly good. I can't wait to ride it.

 

[Rat Rod]

It's looking awesome Skip!

Apparently it's DeLuxe Racer month here on the forum... :lol:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28928

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=28916

P.S. Love your workstand too...ha ha. :wink:

 

[thatismytruck]

So having looked at those links, is this bike supposed to have a blue and white "S" seat ? Everything is so original on this thing I thought this was a Schwinn seat. It is missing the "Schwinn Approved" tag on the back though. I have an identical seat as this with that tag, which is why I assumed this seat was correct.

 

[Rat Rod]

I would think that it was supposed to have the "S" seat, but it's hard to tell...his rear is in the way. :lol: