Bought this Schwinn that the seller got from someone else who painted on it super thick (so I can't read the serial, I think it says FG **8645) and they removed the badge. Seller said it was late 70's-early 80's, but a search online of serials suggests '71. I know it's not much to go on, but any suggestions would be appreciated! Can add more photos if needed.

FG is june of 71.... looks kinda like a varsity to me....I have a 72 and your bike looks alot like mine as far as components

According to the forged fork and one-piece cable stops on the downtube it would be a '76 or later Varsity model. Since you read the 2nd character as a "G" (which is incorrect) I suspect it may actually be either a P ('78) or Q ('79). Post a close-up pic of the serial number and we should be able to confirm the frame date more closely. The original badge would have had a 4-digit number indicating the day the bike was built.

Thanks for the reply. My second guess was a Q, and a '79 makes more sense since the shifter cables are on the top of the downtube and not the sides. I tried taking a close-up pic of the serial, but the camera couldn't even pick it up it is so close to smoothed over.

For whatever it's worth- it's a pretty blue and a nice paint scheme.

I think I bought the same bike today and mine is a 1974 Schwinn Varsity. I think Continental Most likely yours because of the fork was also availble in the same color. Could also be a Super Sport. All 3 of those bikes used one piece cranks. Roger

The OPs '79 Varsity differs from your '74 in the downtube cable stops. Other components like the derailleurs are different as well.

It can't be a Super Sport or Continental since it is clearly an EF frame with a forged fork, plus it has late '70s Varsity components.

It appears that a previous owner of your '74 replaced at least some of the decals with '76 or later versions. Fortunately the correct decals are readily available should you decide to restore it to an original configuration.

Roger what rear derailleur is on that bike? Post a close-up pic if you can.

The photos of the two bikes in this topic/thread seem to show Schwinn Approved variants of the Huret Allvit derailer.

Post-~1974 versions had a cage with extensive chain-guiding features formed out of what looked like bumper steel, so were heavy beyond compare.
Those features helped beginners to avoid damaging derailments when a rough shifting technique was used.

Hope you got it for less than $3.00/pound.