Parts Bin Schwinn No. 1: Postwar Straight Bar

[Bike from the Dead]

In order to help me scratch that creative itch that my current Build Off entry can't quite reach, I want to throw together two custom Schwinns out of the parts I currently have in stock.

This is "Parts Bin Schwinn" No. 1: a 1952 Schwinn straight bar I got in a trade for another 1952 Schwinn straight bar. (I also got a 24 inch 5-speed Sears Spyder in the trade, but that's a bike for another day and another build thread.) What makes this particular Schwinn straight bar an ideal custom bike for me is that most of the original paint is either gone or painted over, and there aren't any other original parts included with the frame, making it a perfect "guilt-free canvas," as I like to call it. What that means is I can build and paint this bike the way I want without worrying about "ruining it," whether it's by my or someone else's standards.

The finer details of my plan for this bike right now are still a little loose, but overall I plan to throw most of the parts on this Schwinn that came from my previous Schwinn straight bar build: The Kasual Klunker. Funnily enough, Kasual Klunker is the bike I traded to get this one!

I still have the bare metal handlebars and rat trap springer fork, which I plan on using with this frame, though I'm not sure if I'm going for as much of a klunker-inspired design. I'll know for sure once I start mocking up parts.

 

[Wildcat]

It might be a 46 model with the "B" serial and 5 digits.

But I just noticed the scroll type trim on your frame, it's probably a 52 Hornet, as the other models from then didn't show that pattern in the catalog. Leader had that pattern but was a DX style frame. 52 Hornet:

 

[Bike from the Dead]

It might be a 46 model with the "B" serial and 5 digits.
View attachment 237143

But I just noticed the scroll type trim on your frame, it's probably a 52 Hornet, as the other models from then didn't show that pattern in the catalog. Leader had that pattern but was a DX style frame. 52 Hornet:
View attachment 237144

Someone over on the CABE said it could be a 1946, 1947 or even a 1953 Schwinn. I am now really confused as to how old this Schwinn is...

 

[Wildcat]

47 began with C or D. There's no records before 1948 because of a fire, but the list before then has been worked on to verify how the numbers may have progressed. When production began after the War, H, I, and J numbers showed up, probably leftovers when production was stopped in 42, as H and I were used in 41 and into 42. "A" then started sometime after the war and they went back to an alphanumeric sequence and production took off.
They all used 5 numbers after a letter until late 1948 when they went to 6 numbers, then back to only 5 numbers in 51. My frame is K53332 and is a 53, but "B" was used with 5 numbers in 52 and 53. Schwinn switched the number from the BB to the dropout in the beginning of 52.
March of 52 or Oct of 53 looks like your bike's manufacture.
The old paint on the straight bar was the clue that makes me think it's a 52 or 53, instead of 46.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

47 began with C or D. There's no records before 1948 because of a fire, but the list before then has been worked on to verify how the numbers may have progressed. When production began after the War, H, I, and J numbers showed up, probably leftovers when production was stopped in 42, as H and I were used in 41 and into 42. "A" then started sometime after the war and they went back to an alphanumeric sequence and production took off.
They all used 5 numbers after a letter until late 1948 when they went to 6 numbers, then back to only 5 numbers in 51. My frame is K53332 and is a 53, but "B" was used with 5 numbers in 52 and 53. Schwinn switched the number from the BB to the dropout in the beginning of 52.
March of 52 or Oct of 53 looks like your bike's manufacture.
The old paint on the straight bar was the clue that makes me think it's a 52 or 53, instead of 46.

Thanks for the info! Do you know if they made "fat bar" straight bars up to 1952/1953? A lot of the guys over on the CABE are saying it's a fat bar.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I busted out my digital read-out calipers this morning to find out the diameter of the straight bar tubing. First, I checked the diameter of the top tube, which was 1 inch in diameter.

Sure enough, the straight bar's a fat 1 inch diameter! So it turns out I got a fat bar frame after all, which means that this frame's most likely older than 1952 if I had to guess...

I also shot a picture of where the headbadge was, in case that helps anyone I.D. the year of this bike.

I also ran into 2 slight hiccups as soon as I started adding parts:
1. The inside diameter of the head tube is slight larger at the top than at the bottom, meaning that top bearing cup is loose. Not by much, but enough. I'm not quite sure what to do about that just yet.
2. The top of the seat tube is flared out a little, meaning I can't fit a seat clamp on it. Odds are I could squeeze it back to size, but I'm not sure how just yet.

But now for the main event: mockups!
First, I tried mocking up the racks that came from the bike that donated the rat trap springer fork, but I didn't care much for how they looked on the bike.

Next I went for the bare bones look, but with a chain guard I pulled off another Schwinn. Looks good, especially with how straight the chain guard is compared to the straight bar, but I still had a few other options to try.

If I was stretching the wheelbase of this bike, that Monark chain guard would look alright on this bike, but as it is, I don't think it's the right one for this build. Onto the next.

Another Schwinn chain guard. Not bad, definitely gives the bike a sort of minimalist vibe as it is, but I don't know if "minimalism" is what I'm aiming for this time.

This next one's kind of an oddity. It's actually the chain guard off my first vintage bike, but it was modified by a late relative of mine to fit these smaller diameter chainrings. It wasn't supposed to be modified, but due to a communication failure, he figured that was what I wanted. I'm not 100% sure if I want to use this chain guard on this bike, but it does look good on there.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to go completely fenderless on this bike, so I mocked up a rear fender to see if I might want to bob it and give this straight bar a different attitude from the last one. It's got potential, but I won't know for sure until I do a few more physical and digital mockups. For now, I think I'm off to a pretty good start.

 

[Wildcat]

Have you tried reversing the flanges on the springer to extend the front?

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Have you tried reversing the flanges on the springer to extend the front?
View attachment 237235

Not on this bike. I'm sure I tried it on another bike, but I can't find any photos of that mockup. As much as I'd love to flip the fork, I really want the straight bar to sit level with the ground, so the fork's staying in its stock configuration. If I could afford to make some dropout extensions to lower the rear a tad, I'd try it, but right now I'm keeping it simple.

 

[Wildcat]

That makes sense. You could also make extensions for the supports or make up longer supports to level the frame.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

That makes sense. You could also make extensions for the supports or make up longer supports to level the frame.

View attachment 237239

Yeah, but that requires some heavy fabrication that I have neither the tools nor materials to pull off, at least on my own. Plus this is the only rat trap springer fork I have, and I don't want to mess it up or modify it in case I can use it on something else down the road.

 

[Wildcat]

I never knew they had different size flat bars. So I've been doing some research on it, and it's like a lot of things from way back when, hard to verify info. I've found a lot of info that was just someone talking like they were an expert, with no idea of what it actually was.
But I did see this 47 model with the fat bar that had the same scroll paint accent as yours. It has an "E" serial number which shows as a 48 in my list. But that's from the missing numbers so it may be right.

So maybe yours is a 40's bike, since the letter can't be exactly associated with a year, but sometime in the late 40's. The fat bar was said to be from the 40's but some were made in the early 50's. Then I looked to see if they used different size head badges between those years and it looks like they were the same.
Do you have the original cranks?

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I never knew they had different size flat bars. So I've been doing some research on it, and it's like a lot of things from way back when, hard to verify info. I've found a lot of info that was just someone talking like they were an expert, with no idea of what it actually was.
But I did see this 47 model with the fat bar that had the same scroll paint accent as yours. It has an "E" serial number which shows as a 48 in my list. But that's from the missing numbers so it may be right.
View attachment 237245

So maybe yours is a 40's bike, since the letter can't be exactly associated with a year, but sometime in the late 40's. The fat bar was said to be from the 40's but some were made in the early 50's. Then I looked to see if they used different size head badges between those years and it looks like they were the same.
Do you have the original cranks?

I knew that the straight bars built before 1950 had "fat bars," but that's as far as my knowledge went. I'm learning a lot about this bike just from posting this thread on here and the CABE.

The consensus between the 2 forums seems to be that this bike is a 1947 model or close to it, so I don't see any reason to doubt that.

No, all I got was the frame and what was left of the kickstand. Someone cut part of it off.

 

[user 35233]

2. The top of the seat tube is flared out a little, meaning I can't fit a seat clamp on it. Odds are I could squeeze it back to size, but I'm not sure how just yet.

Put a bigger clamp on it and tighten?

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Put a bigger clamp on it and tighten?

I don't have a bigger clamp, unfortunately, unless a hose clamp would work.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Got some more progress to report!

Yesterday morning I managed to fix the 2 problems that were keeping this bike from being rideable. First, I fixed the wallered out seat tube so I could install a seat clamp. What I did was insert a seat post to help the seat tube keep the correct shape, then I rapped the outside of the seat tube with a few layers of cardboard. Then I tapped the seat tube with a hammer repeatedly until it shrunk the diameter down small enough to get a seat clamp on the frame. Didn't damage the frame, and I didn't need any specialized tools to get the job done! The seat clamp's a tad snug on the frame, but I'm sure it won't be so bad once I start tightening the clamp a few time during the mockup phase.

Next, I dug through my stash of bearing cups and crown races, and I managed to find ONE OF EACH that fit the top part of the head tube. Finding the bearing cup was easy, but finding a crown race that fit the cup, bearing, and left little to no gap; that was tricky. Fortunately, with that out of the way, I now have everything I need to make this bike functional.

I mocked up a few more parts yesterday, but nothing really stuck aside from the seat, and even that isn't guaranteed to stick. Problem is that while I have everything I could want to make this into another nice klunker-style build, that's not the direction I really want to take this bike.

This is my first "fat bar" Schwinn, and it presents a unique opportunity that none of my other Schwinns have given me. Since the straight bar is the same diameter as the top and seat tubes, that means that I could make a custom tank for this bike that doesn't need external mounts to hold it in place; instead, I can make the outside parts of the tank a little bigger than the tank opening in the frame, and they'll just squeeze against the frame, holding the tank in place.

Problem is that klunkers typically don't have tanks, as the idea is to lose weight by stripping the bike down to the bare essentials. I don't feel like stripping this bike down to the bare essentials; instead, I want to bulk it up with some custom parts! Heck, when I got this Schwinn, it was already practically stripped down to the bare frame! Even most of the paint was stripped off! So, why not go the opposite direction this time around put the "fat" in "fat bar?"

I also had another idea for this bike yesterday: why not try and build this bike using exclusively older used parts, aside from the tubes and tires at least. Sort of like a traditional hot rod, where the focus is to stick to a certain time period and build the car (or in this case, bike) using only parts that would've been available at or around that time. After I stuck that seasoned seat on the bike, I dug through my stash of handlebar grips to see if I had something that matched closely in age and/or patina. I found these 4 pairs of grips, and that's what really got this whole "period-correct hot rod-style" idea in my head. I like how these all look, especially the ones on the top left. I think between the seat, grips, and all the other parts I have in my inventory, this Schwinn could have a real "bare metal hot rod" vibe!

I just pulled more parts out of storage earlier this morning to try out on this bike, I just need to decide whether I'm doing mockups tonight or tomorrow morning when the weather's at its coolest. The summer heat makes it difficult to get any work done on my bikes, but I'm trying to get as much done as I can!

More updates coming soon!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I ended up mocking up more parts both late last night and today, and I think I've reached a decision on the direction for this Schwinn! I won't bother editing and posting every single mockup I actually photographed, but I'll instead focus on the mockups that led to where I plan to take this bike.

First, after mocking up the rat trap springer fork in both its stock and flipped configuration, I decided that I wanted a rigid fork instead.

I had brought a few rigid forks home from storage yesterday, but each one had various problems that prevented me from using any of them. I did mock up one aftermarket bladed fork, which sort of convinced me to go that route instead of using the tubular style forks I tend to use more often, but I won't be using that specific fork in the end.

Another part I mocked up along with the forks were some truss rods I pulled off my prewar Murray.

One problem though: I couldn't get these truss rods to work with any of the forks I mocked up. They were either too long, or the fork's steerer tube was too wide for the truss rod mount up top. I really wanted truss rods on this bike, but these just weren't going to work. If only I had some other bike I could pull parts from for this project...

As luck would have it, I happened to have just what I needed on a couple other bikes of mine!

My 1960s Columbia/Western Flyer Newsboy Special had some truss rods and a fork to match, so I figured I could rob those parts off of that bike.

Besides, it's not like I plan to put those parts back on when I start building that bike...

Unfortunately, while the truss rods were useable, one quick look at the fork told me to never use it on a bike unless I was ready to do some serious repairs...

I learned how dangerous a poorly modified fork could be back in 2021 when the fork on the Schwinn Dixie Dreamcycle snapped in half as I was test riding it. Conveniently, I had another bladed fork temporarily installed on that bike for ease of storage that happened to be just what I was looking for!

Now we're getting somewhere! Still, those handlebars are a bit too angular and high-up for my liking, and I'm curious to see what a deep dish bobbed fender would look like on the rear of this bike...

I pulled the handlebars I mocked up on my other "parts bin Schwinn" just to see how they'd look on this bike. I feel like I could put those upside-down Murray handlebars on all my bikes at this point; they just look so good! I also tried something different with the fender. I don't have a lot of deep dish fenders, but I have more front fenders in that style than I have rear fenders. So I figured, could I mount a front fender on the rear of the bike, so it's already "bobbed" at the right length? Turns out, It might actually be doable! I just ran a bolt through the seat stay mount and the fender's bolt hole for the mockup, but I bet I could trim the lower part to fit the frame better, and add another bolt hole for the chain stay mount. I might not even need fender braces!

One last thing I wanted to tackle for this mockup was installed some older chrome wheels I had in stock. They're not "period-correct," as they're off an '80s/'90s Murray, but they'll do for now until I make a final decision on the wheels. I also tried mocking up one of the handlebar grips I want to use, but it didn't install easily, and it's not even on all the way. Even using PB Blaster to lubricate the grips didn't help me get them on any easier. They were a weirdly tight fit. I'd still like to use them, as they have a cool look and still have a bit of grip left in them, but I may have to use a backup option in case these don't work.

Here's the "final" rough mockup out in the sun. I got to say, I'm pretty happy with how this is shaping up! There are still a few things I want to try on this bike, but overall, this is the look I'm going for! Kind of funny, as this is taking on a sort of "bobber motorcycle" look, even though the goal for this bike wasn't necessarily to strip it down, but to bulk it up!

Some detail shots of the parts I'm building this bike around. It all started with the seat, and just snowballed from there.

As the fender sits right now, there's a mount on top for what would've been a headlight, but I'm trying to think of what else I could bolt on top of the fender to help make it my own.

That's it for now. I'll be tracing over this in Photoshop to help determine the final look I want to give this Schwinn, but in the meantime, I need to finish working on my RRBBO entry before July is over.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

As cool as the last mockup went on this Schwinn, I just had to try a few other options back in December. I just wasn't satisfied with how it was shaping up.

So far, nothing's really stuck with this frame, but I have been tinkering with it between other projects.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I meant to share these earlier, but here are a few digital mockups I drew of the Fat Bar Schwinn back in 2023. I liked how most of these looked, but I was having trouble deciding what I liked best, especially since I was trying to limit myself to using only spray paint colors I have available to me right now.

Then just last week, I had the idea to build this Schwinn as a klunker bike for the Off Road Build Off. I even had the idea to paint it like one of the So-Cal Salt Flats coupes of the 1940s. But with that said, I wasn't 100% sure that was how I wanted to build this bike. So I whipped up another digital mockup this weekend to see if I liked this bike better as a stripped-down klunker, or as a built-up hot rod.

Ultimately, as cool as this Schwinn would look as a klunker, I really want a tank and at least 1 fender on this bike. Sometimes mockups help me figure out what I don't want more than what I actually want. That's kind of the way this bike's going, but I'm determined to come up with a plan for this bike.

 

[Mesquite Hugger]

Dang, it's fun watching all these mock-ups!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Dang, it's fun watching all these mock-ups!

Thanks! It's a ton of fun throwing the parts bin at a bike to see what sticks!