73' Schwinn Varsity Project Bike

[surfairsnow]

Hey Guys i'm new to restoring bikes and know very little about it so any help would be awesome!
Some things l know for sure l need help with:

1) Step by step where to start and what l need

2) Removing Rust ( l have heard a bunch of ideas wondering the best and least expensive)

3) Identifying the parts of the bike

4) After part identification how to tell whether they need to be replaced or restored.

5) Was thinking of getting it powder-coated blasted and putting gloss to make it shiny myself and stenciling/ re-creating the old lettering......good idea?

And attached are a whole bunch of pix to get a better idea!

Any help is greatly appreciated! I really wanna get this project going!

Thank You!

[Bill]

First things you will want to do is a frame assessment.
Make sure there is no rust pits in the frame.
Check the frame very closely for kinks, dents, and cracks. Especially on the bottom side of the frame.
Make sure the frame is not bent.

Something else which is essential is to make sure the seat post is not seized inside the seat tube.
If none of the above exist then it is a go for restoration.

The first step is to take a lot of pictures of where things are, this way if something does not look right when you put it back together then you have a referral.

After your camera battery is exhausted and needs recharged and you are satisfied with all the pics you need the disassemble process comes in to action. Make sure you have a big box to put all the parts and nuts and bolts into an old coffee can or something like that. Then just take it down to a bare frame.
The one thing you will experience a problem with I see now is that kick stand. Here is your answer http://cgi.ebay.com/Schwinn-Bicycle-Kickstand-Removel-Installation-Tool-/220627650464?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item335e6ec7a0 . Cheapest most effective looking one I have found yet. Park Tools made one, KS-1, but you will pay a much higher dollar. When you get all the races, nuts, bolts, washers, etc. off of the bike frame then it is time for the paint removal. Ia m going to stop here and see if someone else has anything to add.

Personally I think from the pictures and the age it is a worthwhile project .

[xerxes]

Strange that this should turn up. I was reading a couple of articles about Schwinn just the other day that might interest you:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/varsity.html
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chicago-schwinns.html
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/schwinn-braze.html

[Billy]

There are places where you can get accurate replacement decals for a lot of different vintage Schwinns. Check out:
http://www.schwinnbike.com/usa/eng/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=5
Do a search for something like "reproduction decals" or "replacement decals", but definitely come back here for the rest of the work, there's a lot of good info and helpful folks.

Chrome: don't automatically toss the chrome pieces just because of the rust you see. That can be removed amazingly well by lightly buffing with fine steel-wool and Liquid Wrench. See Alex's video tutorial here: http://bikeride.com/rust-removal/

When you start the dis-assembly, skip over WD-40 and start with Liquid Wrench or Kroil. Soak the old parts overnight with one of those /before/ you try to unscrew, twist or otherwise put stress on them. You'll save yourself a lot of effort and reduce the chance of snapping a rusty bolt.

Billy

[dochoot]

Starting same project. How far did you get?

[Bill]

(08-21-2012, 04:00 PM)dochoot Wrote:  Starting same project. How far did you get?

Awesome on your new restore project. I am wandering as well how it went!?!?