Originally Posted by
cudak888
I cannot agree more. The '50s stuff from Raleigh is truly remarkable and deserves that praise, despite the fact that I haven't run into a Schwinn collector who will admit it. They probably never worked on a '50s Raleigh in the first place...
-Kurt
A year ago I probably would have argued with you on this, having refurbished several Schwinns from the 50's to the 70's.
Last summer I cleaned up what was originally intended to be a parts bike, a 1951 Raleigh DL-1. It was a crusty rusty barn bike and wasn't nearly as nice as the OP's bikes. The chrome came back to life and after polishing the thick black paint on the frame, it's so shiny that it looks like it's wet. The fenders and chain case didn't come out as well but the bike looks quite nice overall. You can tell that this bike was made to last 100 years.
Paint and chrome on 70's Raleighs is another story though...
