PROJECT CRUISER 5 (FINISHED)

[Rat Rod]

After finally finding an 80 Schwinn Cruiser 5 with a drum brake I decided to document the restoration/upgrades.

Just about every spoke on the rear wheel is loose and the derailluer isn't adjusted correctly. The front tire is the original Schwinn tire that's all cracked and crusty looking. Plan to come up with another tire solution or maybe just buy a new WW from Wally World to match the rear.

Plan to tear the bike completely down and clean and re-grease everything.


This is how the bike looked when I purchased it...

Gave it a quick bath and I threw on a black seat I had sitting around to see how it would look...black is much much better.

The radiant blue paint is in a lot better shape than I thought it was. After a good compounding and waxing it should really shine.

Stay tuned for more updates!

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5

Dang boy you must get some dirty bikes . The ones I get...I wash them and they still look bad...May be that Dallas water or something.

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5

Ha Ha...you never know about this water.

Actually...the camera is pretty forgiving...hard to see the imperfections and the rusty spots on the chrome.

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5

so far so goood,allways had a softspot for those bikes.i've owned a few and plan on finding another some day..i'll be keeping an eye on this one very cool!

 

[user 135]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5

Nice score for the bike. Looks good. Are you keeping the shifter as is? or moving it to a thumb shifter?

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5

Nice score for the bike. Looks good. Are you keeping the shifter as is? or moving it to a thumb shifter?

I'm probably going to swap out the Positron derailleur and shifter for an index shifting unit with a thumb shifter.

Will keep the old parts of course in case I ever decide to sell the bike. :wink:

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5

Okay...finally got a little time to start working on the Cruiser 5.

Ended up getting a sweet Mesinger saddle from member Walker...way more comfortable than that rat trap that came on it.

Tore the whole bike down last night and wore my fingers out cleaning and polishing all the shiny parts.

Here she is down to just the frame...I used rubbing compound and then McGuire's wax on the paint...shined up well.

All of the chrome parts cleaned up well using #0000 steel wool...

Let the bearings and chain soak in Simple Green over night....

Bearings all cleaned up after the Simple Green bath...

Got most of the bike put back together this afternoon...

Now I just need to detail out the wheels...this back one is going to be a chore... :?

The drum brake housing will really shine like chrome if you hit it with some steel wool and then some Mother's Aluminum Polish.

I'm not looking forward to this part of the job, but the payoff will be big with a nice shiny drum brake.

Once I get the wheels all cleaned up and detailed she'll be ready to take on the road...stay tuned!!!

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (9-13-09)

Man that thing is cleening up nice !got a set of those wheels here's what i did with them..

sorry for the crappy cell phone pic.

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (9-13-09)

Your bike looks awesome A.S.!

One decision I have been struggling with is whether to apply a set of repop decals or not. I'd replace the fork darts and the "Schwinn" on the top tube.

The "Schwinns" on both sides are messed up enough that they make the top tube look more scratched up than it really is.

The seat tube and chainguard decals are pretty nice still.

 

[user 135]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (9-13-09)

Those are the best photos I have seen on this site yet.

I would leave the decals as is. Even though you have done a suburb job cleaning it up, it is still an old bike.

 

[BoLiles]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (9-13-09)

now i can learn how to clean up bikes the "right way".

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (9-13-09)

Thanks guys!

I got it all put back together last night and will try to post finished photos once it stops raining here.

We're going on Day 4 now of solid rain....my grass sure is green!

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (9-13-09)

We got two days of really high humidity and a little drizzle. Wish it would rain hard here again. I long to see my ditch full. Bike it turning out super.

 

[user 135]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (9-13-09)

We got two days of really high humidity and a little drizzle. Wish it would rain hard here again. I long to see my ditch full. Bike it turning out super.

I don't think I would be wishing for too much rain as it is Hurricane season in your neck of the woods.

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (9-13-09)

Only thing left is to get a gray Positron cable. This bike rides like a dream. :wink:

 

[CCR]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (ALMOST DONE!!!)

thats the seat behind smiling cheeks :mrgreen:

how do you like the drum ?

 

[Markm]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (ALMOST DONE!!!)

Sweet!!!

 

[Rat Rod]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (ALMOST DONE!!!)

how do you like the drum ?

It's awesome.

The bike must not have been ridden all that much because it stops really well.

 

[Uncle Stretch]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (ALMOST DONE!!!)

Did turn out nice , the only thing it needs is some blue tape on the frame in just the right places....a 6'' stretch and a nexus 7 speed :roll:

 

[deorman]

Re: PROJECT CRUISER 5 (ALMOST DONE!!!)

Those different colored cable housings must be embarrassing. Just throw it out. I have a trash can up here in VA.