24" 1950 Spitfire, pic heavy.

[ruddigger]

Hey guys, new guy here, sort of learning as I go. I've been lurking for a few months now, and figured it was time to jump in. I've been working on this bike for a couple weekends now, it's going to be an Xmas present for a lady friend of mine. It's a 24" 1950 Schwinn Spitfire that I picked up off Craigslist in pretty rough shape. It had been badly repainted in red and black, the fenders were badly dented, the rear was sort of mangled, it needed attention. I brought it home, took off the fenders and front basket, flipped the bars and rode it around the block a few times. I loved the rat look it had, but I know my lady friend wouldn't appreciate it.

[ruddigger]

Sent the frame, fork, and chainguard off for sandblasting and powdercoating over the holiday, meanwhile my chrome wald fenders and crappy eBay wheels (coaster hub) came in the mail. Taped off a stripe and painted the fenders and wheels white. As a bonus I now have a black and white chair on my back porch. :/



As an afterthought I put a pink stripe on the fenders too. As a kid my friend had a purple huffy cruiser with a pink saddle, so I'm going to replicate that. I think the pink pinstripes will tie the seat into the rest of the bike.

[ruddigger]

I got the parts back from powdercoat yesterday and they came out okay. Theres some pitting that wasn't fixed, but I had it done on the cheap, and she'll never notice. I really like the color too.



Once I started assembly I ran into slight problem. The stud on the crappy ebay wheel was huge, it wouldnt fit into the fork.


A few minutes with an angle grinder took care of that.


The rest of the assembly went pretty smoothly. FedEx brought my all white tires just as I started putting this thing back together, so on they went, along with the pink saddle, white nirve grips, and streamers.


And then I remembered the basket, so i painted that white and threw it on too. This is where it sits as of now.


i have a new clover sprocket coming in the mail soon, since I'm converting from a skiptooth chain. Once that gets here I'll get a purple chain and throw on the chain guard and call it done. Should be finished by this time next week.

Thanks for looking, feedback and criticism always welcome!

[jalopyjimmy13]

how cute lol naw turned out good man

[smuve1985]

How much did you pay to get the bike powder coated and did they sand blast for you? Next time i wouldn't grind the fork like that for the axle to fit, just get the right axle

[ruddigger]

60 bucks blasted and powdercoated. Yeah, I felt bad grinding the fork, but I need to get this thing done by Christmas and I already painted the wheels, so I couldn't return them.

[SectionEightLife]

You know, there are always a lot of crazy builds on here, but I always enjoy seeing just a good ol' fashioned bike being built. It may not be the meanest thing in the world, but for what it is that's a top dog bike in my eyes. Keep up the good work!

[ruddigger]

Christmas has come and gone, and I just remembered I never posted final pictures. She was very surprised by the bike, and she loves it, so I'm happy too. I did keep some rat-style touches, such as the old plate, head badge, and seat-post bolt with the old red paint still on it. But the centerpiece is the tank, which was acquired from another member.

We took the bikes out today for the 14 mile journey to the ocean.