Classic & Vintage - Schwinn Varsity - tools needed fro overhaul?

I'm tuning up a Varsity for a friend - think it's a late 60's early 70's model with downtube shifters and chrome fenders surprisingly. New cables and housing shouldn't be any problem.

Does anyone know headset and bottom bracket retainer sizes off the top of their head? I read Sheldon's site for ashtabula cranksets and it lists two potentials....didn't know if anyone knew for sure which it is. Or if the job on the crank requires a pin spanner.

Stuff like that....just wondering what tools I need to keep in mind ;).

Thanks folks!

Get a large adjustable wrench (it should be able to open up to about 1 to 1 & 1/4") and a flat-head screwdriver.

That is basically it. A pedal wrench is sometimes necessary, but generally a lot of 1/2" pedals can be taken off with a regular wrench. Tire levers are always good to have around for any bike too.

Don't forget cone wrenches for the hubs. Like Mos6502 said, Schwinns are pretty easy on the tool box. You will need a freewheel puller too but IMO it's better to pay a local bike shop $5.00 if it's a one time thing.

To adjust the 1-piece crankset I assume there has to be an adjustable cup that you need a pin spanner for? I can't see how else you'd adjust the bottom bracket otherwise.

Since it has down tube shifters, it can only be a 1966-1962 model. In 1967 Schwinn moved the shifters to the stem, and there they remained. In 1961 Schwinn used a suicide lever on the FD, so it had only one down tube shifter. While not super rare, Varsities in this earlier configuration are not plentiful. Take good care of it.

To adjust the 1-piece crankset I assume there has to be an adjustable cup that you need a pin spanner for? I can't see how else you'd adjust the bottom bracket otherwise.

On the non drive side, behind the nut, there is a washer, and then what would appear to be another washer with a groove cut into it (this is where the flat screw driver is used). This is actually the bearing race and it is threaded to fit on the crank arm shaft. This is the piece you adjust to set the tightness and the smoothness of the bearings (which are in cages).

The nut and this bearing race are threaded on with reverse threads. So turn right to loosen.

To adjust the 1-piece crankset I assume there has to be an adjustable cup that you need a pin spanner for? I can't see how else you'd adjust the bottom bracket otherwise.

I have always just used a flat head screw driver on 1 piece ashtabula cranks. That is the one real virtue of that design.

Thanks so much! He said he thought it was in the 1960's that he bought the bike, but I honestly thought that because it had downtube shifters that it was a later model....assumptions!

I'll take good care of it...no worries.

Also - it looked like the downtube shifters have to be in the "tight" cable position to replace the shift cable...which I thought was weird. ;) Maybe just a weird schwinn thing.

I have always just used a flat head screw driver on 1 piece ashtabula cranks. That is the one real virtue of that design.

+1, it's pretty simple.

I just took a Collegiate down to its frame with a large flat screwdriver and a 2" adjustable wrench in about 10 minutes. It's a lot like a big version of the POS BMX bike I had once...

One of the joys of 1 piece cranks.

..just wondering what tools I need to keep in mind ;).


For a Varsity??

A metal recycling bin or dumpster!:thumb:

For a Varsity??

A metal recycling bin or dumpster!:thumb:

Pshaw... Varsities are the greenest bicycles ever made. They're indestructible! I can imagine Keith Richards riding off into the sunset after a nuclear war... riding a Varsity, of course.

+1, it's pretty simple.

+2. That's how we did it back when I worked on them for a "living".

Easiest bike in the world to work on! As mentioned above, you don't need too big of a tool collection. Just picked one up myself. Made the same year as the one I my dad got me for Christmas when I was eleven, but in a different color. When I was a kid I used to do alot of repairs on it using a pliers and a butter knife in place of a screwdriver.

what color you got?! :-)

mine is red and started with straight bars a big goofy seat

Where'd ya get the crazy long stem for your Varsity and do you still have the old stem and handlebar?

Mine's yellow, and nowhere near as nice as yours at the moment.

long stem:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/opc.html
(they also have extensions in case you don't to re-wrap your bars)
http://harriscyclery.net/product/various-manufacturers-stem-raiser-for-traditional-1-inch-quill-stems-1884.htm

I work near that shop - they are terrific. If there's a new kid wiorking there and says they can't find a part you know they have - another employee can bring them back and show them where they are.

I can probably scare up that bar. What bar do you have now? Drop bar? I would offer to send you the bar in exchange for shipping, but I might want to make a straight bar road bike sometime so I'd rather hang on to the bar and brake levers. They're quirky and I like them, even if they are in a box. Hope that makes sense. If you get desperate I can be talked out of them - just PM me. But hunt around and I'll bet you can find a bar you like. Maybe Harris has one. This one looks pretty close. Just be sure you get the diameters correct.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/three.html

Thanks for the links. I currently have a drop bar for the bike. The frame should be my size but where things are at on it right now it feels small. With the stem on that site, I should be able to get more height if necessary.