Black Panther

[B607]

I bought this '41 Schwinn for the same price my buddy Dino (pictured) paid for it...$25. I had to throw in a set of Phantom decals though. 8)

I disassembled it and stripped off the nasty black paint...

...and got a surprise when I stripped the front fender. "Just Call Me Squirt".

Here it is in primer and reassembled before I painted it.

I had some leftover paint I wanted to use...Sunset Orange and Plum Safety Purple...both Krylon. Tested each on the frame. The plum purple won.

For the second color it was between black and cherry red so I tested each on the frame. I decided on black with white pinstripes.

I changed the springfork to a locking regular fork but changed back after buying new truss rods from Memory Lane.

This is how it came out...my winter project is nearly complete.

I got this drum brake from the salvage yard for $3. It came off of a moped, I think a Vespa. I had to cut slots in the 11mm axle so my fork would fit. It won't throw you over the handlebars, but almost. :shock: Tires are 1959 originals that I painted white letters and the red lines on. The red lines were a real pain.

The badge is the one I used in the "How To" section sticky under "Paint Your Badge". Speedway was the name used by Louisville Cycle and Supply in Louisville, KY. Owned by a family named Lipski. Note the new stainless rods from Memory Lane. Nice!

I looked in my decal box and had Black Phantom decals and also found a Panther decal. Hmmm? 8) I hope Stokely Carmichael doesn't get upset. :mrgreen:

I said heck with the one speed hub it came with , I need gears! Decided on a Nexus 7 by Shimano.

The bars are outrageous 30" Torrington's I had rechromed. Grips are jewelled originals.

So that's it. Now I need to bend a seat post for a better fit and get "Speedway" decals made for the tank. Should have those items real soon. My trusty dog "Roxy" the Giant Schnauzer is standing guard. Thanks for looking. B607

 

[aka_locojoe]

Wow that looks great. What kind of paint did you use on the tires?

 

[socal_jack]

Very nice, great color combo and execution !

 

[sensor]

i like it :mrgreen:
are you going to run fenders on this one?

 

[user 135]

Very cool and very 50's. The Paint is perfect.

 

[B607]

Thanks for the flowers guys! I have the fenders in primer but they really need rolled badly. I think I'll send them to Memory Lane soon and see how they come out. I used Dupli-Color Hot Tires tire paint markers. Very hard to use. It's way too thick and doesn't flow. I had to put it on by doing dot dot dot instead of like a brush. It took 2 coats for each stripe. I figure it took 8 hrs or better to do the red. :? The "plum safety purple" Krylon is one of their OSHA colors. It's nice because you can paint when its 50 deg. or above. I'm also shopping for a rack. I found one on the bay that is original prewar with the correct long struts but it's up to $140...gulp! :shock: I might use a postwar and make my own struts. I'm also thinking about some sort of lights. I'm also going to send the prewar crank and ring off to get rechromed somewhere. My chrome guy died a few years ago so I'm not sure where to send them. Who's good? Regards, Gary in Illinois

 

[muddywater04]

LOOKS FAN FLIPPIN TASTIC

 

[Uncle Stretch]

It just goes to show you ....Its the details between a nice and a really nice bike. Turned out super! I know it was alot of work ,but the end result was worth it.

 

[cashman]

Great job!!! That's a sweet looking bike. Love the color flow. Thanks!!!

 

[Rat Rod]

Great job!!!!

That Squirt decal you revealed on the fender is so cool.

 

[necessaryevil]

Awesome job! I have to say the tires are my favorite part about the bike.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

your bike came out awesome, you sure are talented and have a great attention to detail. I gotta say, I could not have kept going after finding the original paint underneath, and that squirt decal is the coolest.

 

[B607]

Someone looked it up on the net and the Squirt boy came out in '38 IIRC. I honestly tried really hard to get that decal off in one piece. Used chemicals and heat, soaked it for days. No way...it was petrified. You've got to remember I bought the bike and stripped it almost 20 yrs. ago. The Rat Rod forum didn't exist yet! I think if I found the decal today I would have to save it for a Rat Rod Bike. You guys have corrupted me. :mrgreen: B607

 

[Gold Street Customs]

I love it, I just set the front end shot as my back ground 8)

 

[RZ94]

totally sweet. You are a talented Rat Rodder!

 

[stretch]

Man, that is a really cool bike, a nice find. but the name black panther doesnt exactly fit the kind of pink bike. So its proper name should be naturally, the "Pink Panther" IMO

 

[CCR]

that was my first thought too

*edit: unrelated photo removed *

still a mean looking bike *unrelated text removed*

 

[HutchXL24]

Pure class.

 

[B607]

Pink? PINK!! Are you colorblind? :roll: I'm an alpha male, I'd don't own pink anything...except maybe an eraser. 8) The color is plum safety purple...not pink. Why don't you take another look...

Once I get the fenders rolled I'll reverse the colors of the frame and paint them black with plum and white trim. That should give it enough black to justify the name. Gary

 

[stretch]

i am far from colorblind, and that isnt exactly pink, your right, but its pretty close to being on the edge of pink.