Need an ID on this Bike

GoldenMotor.com

TANGO

New Member
May 26, 2011
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I am thinking about buy this Bike to Motorize . I just E-Mailed the owner with some Questions Such as Wheel Size and condition waiting on a reply .

First off does any one know what year this Bike really is . And would it make a COOL Rat Rod Motorized Bike ? Looks Like a Heavy weight that will slow it down some ?

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1950's Schwinn boys bicycle. Nice project bike. Email or call
 

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bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
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living the dream in southern california
looks like a schwinn panther style straightbar frame. Norm from Venice bikes, silverbear, and sportscarpat have all built up really cool ones.

the handlebars aren't original, and it's hard to tell from the picture what else might not be correct, but it has a skiptooth chain which would put it in the 40's.

schwinn serial numbers are well documented and can pinpoint the bike to the exact day it was made. usually.

at a good price, it's an awesome bike to motorize.
 

chainmaker

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2010
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Nice find.. Not an expert but it does look like a panther..You can check the serial numbers on the bottom brackett to online lists to find what year it is. If the price is good pick it up and motorize it.
 

TANGO

New Member
May 26, 2011
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I just picked it up for $70.00 Bucks . I checked out the serial # it was made 9/1/1948 . Handle Bars are not factory Rest of the part Look original . Front Fender was trimmed a bit . I Lubed up the chain and cranked it some no problem and brake works ok too . Needs Tires , Rims Look pretty straight Ha-Ha
 

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chainmaker

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2010
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Admiral (1920) Schwinn apparently manufactured for another seller who put the Admiral label on the bikes. These did not carry the Schwinn name.
(1918, 19??, 1937-1949) Schwinn manufactured an Admiral with their own head badge.
 

TANGO

New Member
May 26, 2011
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IL
It has another Schwinn marking on the seat post tube . I Live in IL and in the 70's went to the Schwinn plant and watched them build bikes . Maybe that Plant marked them it says Chicago on that Front tag . Ser# E221185
 

TANGO

New Member
May 26, 2011
91
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IL
How should I build it up ? I was thinking Rat Rod Black not sure about the Wheels yet . The Frame is not to overly Heavy .


Here is some info on the Schwinn plant in Chicago


Arnold, Schwinn & Co.
In 1895, during the midst of a national bicycle craze, Ignaz Schwinn (who arrived in Chicago from Germany in 1891) and partner Adolph Arnold (a Chicago meat industry veteran) founded a bicycle manufacturing company. They joined a competitive industry: by 1900, when the Chicago region made more than half of all the bicycles and bicycle equipment produced in the United States, about 30 different bicycle makers were concentrated along Chicago's Lake Street. In 1901, Arnold, Schwinn & Co. moved its offices to North Kostner Avenue, where it stayed until 1986. By 1905, the company had become one of the leading firms in the industry. Many of its bicycles were sold by Sears, Roebuck & Co., the giant Chicago-based retailer. In 1908, Arnold sold his interest in the company, and a new factory was built on North Kildare Avenue in Chicago. Even during the Great Depression, the company still managed to build more than 100,000 bicycles each year; annual output rose to nearly 350,000 by 1941. After World War II, the company was led by Frank W. Schwinn, a son of Ignaz Schwinn, who died in 1948. By the 1950s, the company, still known as Arnold, Schwinn & Co., sold about one-quarter of all bicycles in the United States. Sales reached $20 million in 1961, when the company employed about 1,000 people in the Chicago area. From the 1950s through the 1970s, a third generation of Schwinn family members led the company and changed its name to Schwinn Bicycle. The “Phantom,” “Sting Ray,” and “Varsity” models were Schwinn's best sellers. The Schwinn factory on the city's West Side, which made one million bicycles in 1968, still employed as many as 1,800 people during the 1970s. But the company's share of the national bicycle market began to shrink. In 1980, there was a strike at the West Side factory; three years later, it closed for good. By this time, Edward Schwinn, Jr., a great-grandson of the founder, led the company. In 1992, when Schwinn's market share had declined to about 5 percent, it entered bankruptcy and was sold by the Schwinn family to a group of investors led by Chicago's Sam Zell. In 1993, Schwinn's general offices moved to Colorado.
 

chainmaker

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2010
2,634
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Ma USA
I would just start getting the bike itself in top working order and read posts here and look at pics lots of pics...you will figure out what you want. Good Luck

Oh and I think that might be a DX model