CRUSTY 1981 SCHWINN CRUISER

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Rat Rod

Rat Rod

Owner & Founder
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Responded to a local ad on Facebook for a Schwinn Cruiser. The bike had been sitting under a lean to out in West Texas for decades. The original chestnut brown paint (root beer) is totally nuked. Had to use a torch to break the headset nut loose due to so many years of rust. The seller turned out to be an RRB member who just moved from California to Dallas and picked the bike up on the way here.

Unfortunately the rear wheel was a bit trashed and I'm not even convinced that these were really Schwinn wheels that were on it. I happened to have a new set of HD alloy wheels from @ind-chuckz so I decided to throw those on it. The original seat's padding had disintegrated over time and was painful to ride so I installed an NOS Persons saddle. Also installed a set of WALD 898 longhorn bars for a more comfortable riding position. Bike rides smooth as buttah now and looks cool too. To avoid questioning....I'm keeping everything that came off the bike. :)

Photo from the ad...

22688655_1165541083545756_4361156137128104645_n.jpg


How it looks after I got it rolling again.

80cruiser001.jpg
 
I like it! I have never myself tried the boiled linseed oil trick, but I am thinking that would be a perfect canidate!
Very cool bike!
 
The good thing is that there isn't any rust on the F/F. It's mainly just the paint being worn off.

No plans to do anything to that part of the bike for now.
 
I agree, that's a great patina.

Those may have been the original wheels, the 80 Cruiser had a large flange front hub.

1980_schwinn_deluxe_cruiser_coaster.jpg
 
Wildcat said:
I agree, that's a great patina.

Those may have been the original wheels, the 80 Cruiser had a large flange front hub.
Click to expand...

The weird thing was that there was no knurling on the rims and all of the chrome was completely rusted off. The rear coaster arm said "Bendix 86."

The seller was a bike mechanic and he thought the rear wheel may have been run over or something. :arghh:
 
Nothin like old school stripped down Schwinn Cruiser !
 
The 80 catalog shows a one speed or 5 speed cruiser. But the illustrations don't show a rear brake, but it had to be on the 5 speed, unless it was a drum brake. It's not listed in the description. There's no "5" on the chain guard on Rat Rod's bike.
1980_26.JPG


The frame looks like kids rode on the top bar, wearing off the paint. My brother's J.C. Higgins has wear on the top bar and chain guard where the kids put their feet. That was pretty common practice.
 

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