SO I bought an old bike today with a way old coaster brake. I have no idea what year it is the seller says sixties buts im thinking 70s or 80s. anyway the coaster brake has a few issues. when you use it to brake and then start pedalling again it doesn't catch and you just spin the pedals and nothing happens. to get it to move forward again you gotta pedal backwards, so it hits the brake again, and then pedal forwards and it engages and then works again. Also occasionally it seems to work as a fixed gear but only at very low speeds, and then not always. What i mean is if i very slowly come to a stop and I pedal backwards to engage the coaster brake it sometimes actually pedals the bike backwards. most of the time it just acts as a coaster brake should though.

Is this salvageable? I'm able to ride it like this and I intend to just use it as a cruiser but if I can fix it I would like to. I'm taking it to a bike co-op on monday to see if they can help, but any advice is appreciated.

It sounds like there probably is either no grease, or dried up grease in the hub. Disassemble, clean all parts thoroughly, and repack with new grease.

Does the coaster brake arm have a model number or manufacturer stamped on it?

You would need to have the internals cleaned and greased, and the bearing replaced. The driver is worn and needs to be replaced. If you have a Shimano E-110, model is stamped on the brake arm, a complete rebuild kit is available without a new cog, but new cogs are available.

I once picked up a new c/b wheel for $24.

It says shimano b type on one side of the coaster arm and BF on the other. I was thinking of just getting a new rear wheel but its a 22 inch and I'm not sure where I would find those.

There's a B type rebuild kit on ebay right now, but you probably won't need it.

When you have it apart for cleaning, check the bearings, but I doubt they'll need to be replaced. This type of reluctant braking is typical of a bike that has been used a lot without proper regreasing, then left unused for a while.