I haven't flipped any bikes yet but I have several candidates.
1989 Schwinn Sprint. Got it off the curb in January. It really only needs cleanup which I'm in the middle of right now. It looks like it was ridden a fair amount, then stored outside for longer than that. Even so, it only needs cleaning and some expendables (tires, cables). I am going to put tourist handlebars on it and a wider seat and give it to a friend of my wife's who needs a bike. I won't be getting any money back from it, but it will probably be the first bike I put back in circulation.
1960 Hawthorne, made by Hercules in Birmingham, England. This needs a lot of work but it is a very cool bike. It is a fairly lightweight cruiser. It's small, I think 21" frame and 26" wheels. The rear rim is badly out of true and cranks (and maybe BB spindle) are bent. This is a fairly long-term project; I may do my first wheel build for this one.
1970 Sears (made in Austria). I got this from the same guy as the Hercules above. It is a fairly typical example of Sears bikes just before the Free Spirit nameplate started. It has one unique feature though- It has a Shimano Lark 5-speed rear derailleur, and built inside the freewheel is an internal hub shifter, a two-speed that is automatically speed activated. So it's basically like a Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, except that when you're topped out.... CLICK! The overdrive gear kicks in. I messed around with this one a bit because the rear axle (a custom part for the 2-speed IGH) was stripped. I finally tried putting a second nut on the non-drive side where the axle was stripped, and it cinches up nicely. So now I need to do the cosmetic cleanup, true the rims, replace the cables, and try to flip this puppy. The cream-wall tires, one of which is original, look lovely.
1981 Fuji Royale Mixte. Got it off the curb on garbage day last month. I've had a couple people inquire about buying either the components or the frame but both of those fell through. It's kind of a good thing because in taking pictures and stuff while trying to sell the parts, I've decided this whole bike is really nice. The Suntour and Sugino components have Fuji markings on them. I plan to fix it up as original as possible and flip it.
