So.. my beautiful German Girl "Olga" a 1963 Schwinn American Deluxe, is now pretty much complete. In Part One of this blog post, I shared some of the things I did to start getting her back in shape. In this post, I'll share the steps it took to get her back together. The last blog post ended with the poor old Gal disassembled and hanging on the wall of my garage. I started to subconsciously ignore her again, but I would then see old bikes like the ones below in my travels, and that fire started burning to once again move forward on the project.
Old bikes I stumbled upon that motivated me to keep going
I Pulled her down from her perch on the wall, and spent an afternoon prepping her or paint. I grinded, sanded, and primered the frame and forks, and let her sit for a couple of days to cure.
I went out and bought a beautiful Fire Engine Red paint to coat her with, and the results were stunning..
At long last! She was ready to start putting back together. However.. the bike then sat untouched from Fall 2018 to March 2020. Over a year! Why? Well.. I touched on the subject in a recent blog post, and for reasons unbeknownst to me, the closer she got to getting completed, the more I avoided working on it. This was my late Brother's bike and it's been in the family for years. My Father couldn't bring himself to do too much with the bike and gifted it to me. Now, it seemed as if I was experiencing the same dilemma. I had issues I never dealt with about my Brother's passing, and it was now manifesting itself by me procrastinating, avoiding, and even ignoring the unfinished bike.
Fast forward to the great Corona Virus lockdown of 2020. With no job to report to, I filled my days with projects to keep myself sane. Finally, one day I stood in my garage looking up at the old Gal and said to myself "That's it.. it's been long enough". After that, it probably only took me two weeks to finish the project I started two years earlier.
The bike was all there, but needed some finishing touches and upgrades. I ordered a longer seat post and new seat, and then began putting the rest of the bike back together.
Original 1963 Messinger Seat
In need of total reconditioning, I opted to buy a new seat so I didn't have to put off the bike build any longer.
New 'UPANBIKE' Springer seat
I love this seat that I ordered off of Amazon, but had two big problems with it. The first was the 'UPANBIKE' logo brandished across the back of the seat. This was NOT reflected on the images shown online. Nevertheless.. it's something which I will remedy very soon. The next problem was that it came with no mounting hardware!
Saved by my Bike hoarding tendencies!
Fortunately, I had several hardware sets from past builds and bikes I've owned. I was still pretty irritated, but was happy I could actually test ride the bike soon.
Tank Horn Works!
Hardly had to do anything except clean the battery connections.
Backup for the horn
I've owned this retro Electra brand bell for about seven years. It was last installed on a 2013 Schwinn Legacy Cruiser that I gifted to someone before I left Colorado. The bell perfectly compliments this bike, and adds some nice flair.
In the end, I opted not to restore the chain guard or tank. I wanted to leave some of the bike's character intact. A total restoration to me.. would look too clean, and I didn't want it looking like a reproduction bike bought right off of the rack.
Red Rocket caps I've owned & have been dying to use for years.
Coaster Brake Hub repacked and spinning fine
The thing I was most nervous about on this build was the coaster brake hub. I had not totally disassembled and reassembled one of these since 1985, and was scared I would mess something up. However, it all came back to me once I was in there, and was ecstatic to find it functioned properly on my first ride.
I still own the original pedals for this bike, but they're pretty rough. I installed these retro block pedals which work like a charm and look era specific.
Not the original grips, but rather.. a suitable simile with groovy metal flake.
Repainted Head Badge courtesy of my daughter
I was entirely ready to buy a new old stock badge for around $20.00, and then decided to give my artsy daughter a shot at hand painting the old one for me. She did a great job and I'm now waiting on new rust free screws to arrive in the mail so I can remount it.
Beautiful Retro Reflectors
I've also been holding onto these reflectors for about five years or so. I was waiting for just the right project to use them on, and this bike and reflectors are a match made in heaven.
The only problem I ran into was a bent axle and worn bearings on the front rim. In fact, my inaugural ride only lasted about four minutes for this reason. It felt and sounded as if the bearings were going to be ground into a fine powder if I didn't cut my ride short. I located a new axle set for a Schwinn S-7 rim for super cheap on eBay, but then decided to check my big box of spare parts. Lo and Behold.. I found one buried at the bottom of the box that worked perfectly!
BEFORE
AFTER
Here's a few things left to do that aren't necessarily pressing..
- Install a new Headset and bearings
(The current setup is incredibly worn and I've ordered a new one)
- Find an original Schwinn Headlight
(The current is aftermarket)
- Replace the cranks
(The originals are a bit bent)
- Replace the handlebars with a set that has no rust or damage
I may add some flair in the form of side mirrors and modified fenders, but we'll see. The thing I really love about this bike, is that I can change it back to mostly original at any time. It would be great to take it to some meets or shows this way someday.
After we're on the other side of this whole Covid mess, I hope to maybe join a local vintage or Schwinn group that holds meetups and cruises. And.. if there aren't any groups to join, perhaps I'll create one. All in all this was a great project that was very therapeutic for me. There are still a few things I want to do to the bike.. but for now it's ready to ride, and that makes me incredibly happy.
Lastly, I sent some pictures to my Dad of the bike once it was altogether. He was super impressed and said "Your Brother would be really impressed". After this two year journey to get the bike done.. this is a really nice thought to ponder. In the end, I guess it's partly a tribute of sorts to my Brother, and as long as I own it, I'll feel like a part of him will always be with me.
After we're on the other side of this whole Covid mess, I hope to maybe join a local vintage or Schwinn group that holds meetups and cruises. And.. if there aren't any groups to join, perhaps I'll create one. All in all this was a great project that was very therapeutic for me. There are still a few things I want to do to the bike.. but for now it's ready to ride, and that makes me incredibly happy.
Lastly, I sent some pictures to my Dad of the bike once it was altogether. He was super impressed and said "Your Brother would be really impressed". After this two year journey to get the bike done.. this is a really nice thought to ponder. In the end, I guess it's partly a tribute of sorts to my Brother, and as long as I own it, I'll feel like a part of him will always be with me.