Another old Paramount
 

Love these, but too rich for me...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Schwinn-Para...71142286218%26

Was it common for track bikes to be drilled for front and rear brakes back in the 30s?

No, unless riders used them on the road.

And many of them did, since they could only afford one bike and needed it to ride to work during the week.

Cool frame, but it doesn't hold a candle to Scooper's '38 Paramount. It's also interesting to note the ebay frame's geometry. Seller indicates it is 52cm c-t-c seat tube with a 57cm c-t-c top tube. By comparison, Stan's measured at 58.4cm seat tube and 57.2cm top tube. Looks like pretty thick powdercoat on the ebay frame as well.

Seem pretty similar except the stunning restoration job on Scoopers...

Mine is about 57.25 ctc toptube on a 56 ctc seat tube. Maybe all toptubes were 57?

Maybe it can hold a match to Scooper's. ;) The thickness of the paint on the ebay frame is off-putting to me. I also think the red head tube and full decals on scooper's bike make a big difference. And yes, scooper did a stunning restoration as well.

Its also worth considering that this is not a track frame... Paramount had a few different models in the 30s/early 40s, all had horizontal dropouts, some came with brakes.

Seems that every Wastyn Paramount is advertised as a track bike as they are likely more valuable. That just can't be the case.

You could be right...

Given the geometry differences you had mentioned earlier, I'd bee willing to bet the farm that the ebay bike was originally something more akin to this, rather than a track model...

http://www.bikeforums.net/webkit-fak...8855/imagejpeg

http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...0/1939_05.html