And so it begins...195* Schwinn Flying Star

[postman]

Just down the road from my office there is a gentleman that is...well...he has a yard full of garbage basically, a pack rat in the purest sense. Old hippy, I think he has been drunk every time I've been over there

Tucked back in the bushes he had an old Shelby in pretty rough shape (that i may still pick up), a Firestone missing all the good stuff , a thunderjet (?) all 50s era i believe, but this little beauty caught eye:

If I am reading the serial number correctly this is a Schwinn 1952 Flying Star. It missing the front truss rods and a few other minor things, but its defiantly worth a project.

Best part about this? The guy I got this bike from has a GARAGE full of tank bikes that belonged to his father....funny upper midwest pack rat people. Hes going to crack that garage open for me this weekend.....and maybe I will find something truly epic...apparently the garage is packed to the ceiling with random crap so it could be a long Saturday. If i score anything good ill update the thread.

 

[CCR]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

dont see those frames too often :shock: one of the oddball schwinns, no canti bar, no straight bar ... way cool find

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

Yeah...that is a unique Schwinn frame...great find!

 

[Wildcat]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

Good bike.

Did they cut the cantilever bars off?

 

[postman]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

Good bike.

Did they cut the cantilever bars off?

Not that I can see, the frame looks to be original paint and fits the era, there are no welding or cutting scars on it.

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

This is from the 1955 catalog...maybe the only year this design was available.

 

[user 135]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

I don' t see a "Flying Star" list in 1952. What is the serial number. Some of those 50's numbers are confusing. You might also look to see if the hub is of the 2spd variety. Most Flying Stars came with a manual shift 2spd Bendix.

Cool bike.

 

[postman]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

The Serial is B28892

From this site:

http://www.re-cycle.com/history/Schwinn ... erial.aspx

1952
A87594 - A97867
B00001 - B99999
C00001 - C99999
D00001 - D66447
E00001 - E99999
F00001 - F99999
G00001 - G44000
1953
H60001 - H99999
J00001 - J99999
K00001 - K99999
A00001 - A99999
B00001 - B99999
C00001 - C99999
D00001 - D20266

There are no numbers stamped on the tin Schwinn emblem (the jargon for it escapes me) on the front. It does have the AS stamped into the bolt for the clamp that holds the seat post in. As far as dating it, the site I linked is what I have been using, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[user 135]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

Yeh but....
( 1957 )
Date --------------- Serial #`s From ------------------ To
01/14 ------------------ B18549 ------------------- B22094
01/15 ------------------ B22095 ------------------- B26855
01/16 ------------------ B26856 ------------------- B29069

I bet 1957.

Bunchobikes is a little more detailed
http://www.bunchobikes.com/serialnumber4.htm

 

[postman]

Re: And so it begins...1952 Schwinn Flying Star

Yeah after looking at the catalogs that makes sense that i might be 1957. I'll do some more looking into it.

 

[Rustinkerer]

One thing to remember is that Schwinn's middleweight line was introduced in 1954, so anything with original S-7 rims isn't older than that. Also, it's easy to miss a 6th digit on the dropout, many mis-datings are because of that. But 57 is most likely, the Flying Star was only around for a few years in the mid-late 50s. ~Adam

 

[Wildcat]

To be sure, when you disassemble the cranks to clean and grease the bearings, the year will be listed in the middle of the crank arms, with the last 2 digits of the year. That was the only way I could date my 63 Schwinn tandem.

Great bike, and rare, I've never seen one.

 

[LIVE TO RIDE]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!Get pictures of the inside of the garage!!!!That sounds incredible and needs to be seen for sure.The other 2 bikes,what kind of price is he asking?If not too much maybe just grab em.You can never go wrong with old bikes.Even grab em and post up for sale! You know we all need new projects!But please again take pictures of the inside if the garage!!

 

[Wildcat]

Looking through the price lists, the Schwinn Flying Star was made 55 through 58, and the couple illustrations don't show truss rods.

 

[postman]

Looking through the price lists, the Schwinn Flying Star was made 55 through 58, and the couple illustrations don't show truss rods.

yeah i noticed that too, I wish the truss rods where complete and I could get a better idea of whats going on here. I'm really glad this looks like a good find.
I will definitely take and post pictures of the garage when i can get into it, most likely Friday after work I'm going to head down there.

The other 2 bikes,what kind of price is he asking?

not much, i picked the Schwinn up for $25 so I'm guessing close to that, the guy sells junk, I buy antiques

In all honesty i would pick up those other two bikes, but I am married and I'm certain I don't need to explain what that entails I'm saving my pennies for for the garage...

 

[user 135]

the guy sells junk, I buy antiques

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Rustinkerer]

To be sure, when you disassemble the cranks to clean and grease the bearings, the year will be listed in the middle of the crank arms, with the last 2 digits of the year.

Most early-late 50s Schwinn bikes I've had the cranks out just have AS & CO in the middle. I know some of the early dog leg cranks have year #'s, and '60 up or so. ~Adam