Wow, appreciate the attention. I can find some cool old stuff, and wipe it down with oil, but I’ll tap out quick going up against the creativity and talent around here.
Stumbled on some interesting background when I was researching forks. I knew Ashtabula date-stamped their forks, and sure enough, mine has a “1+5” on the right dropout.
January, 1965. Note also all the red primer, typical of Schwinn, which tells me the paint on the fork is original. There is also red primer in places on the frame, but more on that later. Next is a shot of the fork from the top of the steer tube, just to show that it is pretty straight.
The fork lies nice and flat on my bench. What’s interesting about that is that while I was researching fork date codes I stumbled on the following by accident:
Yes, that is my bike, back in July of 2017. The guy I bought it from posted on the CABE looking for a seat, and mentioned that he was going to get the fork repaired. Very short thread, and never posted about the bike again. Here is a picture of the bike from the eBay auction that I bought it from:
I wrote the guy today and he responded that his LBS straightened the fork and it is original to the bike. I’ve got to say they did a pretty remarkable job, as there is no real obvious evidence that the fork was previously bent. So either they repaired the original fork, or the previous owner found one dated within six weeks of the frame with matching patina.
I asked him if he had replaced anything else (beyond the seat - he told me about that before I bought it) and he said he put correct pedals on it but that’s it. Of course, his auction description said the entire bike was original except for the the seat and sissy bar, but I didn’t bother pointing that out. That’s part of the risk of not buying in person and looking someone in the eye. The pedals are correct for a ‘64, and sure could have found their way onto a ‘65 the way Schwinn operated.
Closer inspection of the two pics, though, leads me to believe the guy changed a few more bits. The headset in the first pic, as blurry as it is, looks very rusty, but in the second pic, and in person, look much newer. So does the stem and the sprocket.
Like I mentioned earlier, I knew I was taking the risk of buying a collection of parts rather than a complete original, and the scales have tipped a little closer towards collection, but I believe the frame, fork, guard, crank, seatpost and handlebars have been together a long time.
Next post I’ll look at the wheels.
furyus