lots of the older schwinn's have one piece cranks. i have a beater 77 continental that does. while the cranks are a pain to replace if you ever need to, they do hold up well. i opened the bb up to clean and regrease the bearings and all (for the first time in 30years i'm sure) when i bought mine for $10 at a garage sale, and it was surprisingly well lubed and all the bearings were still in good shape. that bike there is a continental II, but i'll guess it has the same cranks. or more accurately 'crank'. the bikes were also ridiculously heavy, i weighed mine in at around 38 lbs. that's the biggest reason i never thought to convert it...didn't stop this guy though.

i'm guessing he converted it the way he did knowing that somebody knowing nothing about function and only cared for fashion would buy it. either way, waste of time and $ imo.