honda_f3cbr

Just got my new winter project, its going to be a lot of work cause its really weathered but I'm
very excited about it. Its a 1965 Schwinn Varsity, sprint derailleurs, and the funny part is it has
original braze on down tube shifters. like all the other Varsity's its weight is extremely light and
is somewhere around that of a small bus but it should be fun. I probably paid a little to much at $40.00
but I thought it had a certain coolness to it and its completely original so I bought it. Anyway let me know what you guys think.
By the way I will be repainting it due to the poor condition of the paint so suggestions are appreciated
Also I may need help determining if its definately a 1965 so any imput there will help as well (LA20853)

FlatTop

I think it's cool, most of the Varsities that I see are the later ones with the big stem mounted shifters, and I never see that color.

The originality and the attitude of that bike, as shown in your first pic, really are substantial. Good choice for a project.

beakgeek

From Bob Hufford's site:


L A = November 1965

Bob or Scooper can veritfy for sure.

Cool bike.

Terry

East Hill

Too bad the paint is in such rough shape, that really is a nice colour. Love the pie plate on that .

East Hill

Old Fat Guy

Let's send all of our pie plates and dork disks to East Hill!

pastorbobnlnh 

Beautiful. 1966 was the last year for downtube shifters on Schwinn road bikes, with the exception of Paramounts, until the imported Schwinn Approved models started to appear during the 2nd half of the '70s.

I believe your color is Sky Blue, which can be bought from here (scroll down and look on the left side of the page): https://www.hyper-formance.com/paints.htm

Thank for sharing and best of luck on your project.

honda_f3cbr

I cant get over how heavy this damn thing is its pretty funny. I was talking to the original owner and he told me when he was a kid they used to run it through the woods over curbs down stairs and anywhere else it would take him. Its been sitting since 1981 and has been garaged since then but originally it sat outside for years when he was a kid (hence the paint). Tommorow morning Im going to start stripping it down. Mechanically it seems very sound the rear hub has a bad wobble in it but aside from that I think everything on it is suitable for restoration

honda_f3cbr

pastorbobnlnh, Thanks for the link, I want to go back to the original color so that link is going to help alot. Have you ever dealt with them?

barndoor

overpaid? ....nah, not at 40$!

Clean 'er up good and you'll be good to go

honda_f3cbr

Can I get opinions on (100% stock V/S Upgraded) upgrades would include a better wheelset, the BB conversion to lighten er up w/ possibly an old 600 or old sugino crankset (I have both laying around) a new set of bars with aero levers.
The other option obviously is 100% restore keeping as original as possible.
Not planning on putting a lot of $$$ into it but definately a lot of time and effort so what do you guys think.

barndoor

Shimano 105 and Mavic Cosmos wheels....

King of Kadence

The paint doesn't look too far gone to me. Some cleaning and a little rubbing compound will bring it around. I've recently cleaned up a similarly patinated 63 Continental.



I need to figure out why the front wheel is askew



cupcake protector

East Hill

Better than hubcaps on the fence!

East Hill

Old Fat Guy

Most hubcaps have salvage value as metal, and most of us are dumpster divers at heart.

I dare you to even give us a PO box.

You work for the PO, right? I'm a retired UPS driver, the last thing I wanted is more packages in December.

I have a box ready for you!

honda_f3cbr

King of Kadence
your continental cleaned up very nicely, how far gone was the paint pre cleaning. This varsity has a lot of little chips and some mild cracking you can really see it in the pics of the Down Tube shiftres, theres also some descent flaking on the rear triangle

East Hill

P. O. Box 5755
Kent, WA 98064

hehehe

You know, a long time ago I started a thread on how to identify your bike through pie plate/dork disk identification. Unfortunately, the thread died an unnatural death when we had the Great Server Crash of uh...well, in one of those server crashes. The thread was well on it's way to becoming an excellent source of incalculable value . Sigh...

East Hill

pastorbobnlnh 

You'll do fine with Hyper-formance. Schwinn has approved them to produce repop items, mostly for the muscle bike crowd.

King of Kadence, love your Coppertone '63 Continental. I have a '62 in Radiant Blue with the chrome fork and that same "cupcake protector." Mine has been Campagnoloed, so it is far from original.

retyred

The Schwinn Varsity and the Continental were the two most popular bikes in the early '60's when we were youngsters. Strong and well built they took quite a beating from all of my friends who rode them. Made to last as your Schwinn proves. Good luck on your winter project.

pastorbobnlnh 

Sometimes "little chips" add to the character. Try cleaning and polishing the bike first. I used Meguiars 3 step system after using their "Scratch X" first. Here's a '62 Continental with lots of little chips after the treatment!

honda_f3cbr

That looks great. Ill start with a rogourus cleaning and polish and see how it looks then Ill post pics and get opinions. I wish I could save the schwinn decal on the seat tube but it appears to be really eathered. Is the decal on your continental the original

honda_f3cbr

*rigourous*

ilikebikes

I love old Schwinns! Pie plates and all!

pastorbobnlnh 

My seattube decal is rather "yellowed" but still intact. This gives you a better view (including the Campagnolo parts).


I'm not saying "don't paint it." Just try a really good cleaning and polish before deciding. Painting and new decals will cost somewhere in the $300-$500 neighborhood.

King of Kadence

My Conti was in better shape than yours to start, but it was still pretty scrubby.

For me, my personal taste likes a little rougher looking original Schwinn rather than a newer looking restoration or respray.

I would strip all the parts off of it, give it a good bath & degreasing, then rub it down with rubbing compound. Not too much though, just enough to get the tarnish off. The compound works on the decals too, just work slowly and carefully.

Pastor, I'm familiar with your campied Schwinns. I actually de-campied my Sports Tourer I think I'm actually using a suburban derailer on it(it works better than the campy gran turismo)

Rabid Koala

The above is what a spoke protector should be. It will keep you chain out of the spokes in case of an overshift. Anything larger is an ugly dork disc. I love chrome but I make an exception for dork discs!