TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed Jun 27, 2012 10:26 pm

oldschool64bus wrote: ok ok I know its not a SCWHINN but I finally got myself a cruiser :lol: 1959 JC Higgins Spaceliner

Cool bike!
Haven't thought about this thread in a very long time.

Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:16 pm

oldschool64bus wrote: ok ok I know its not a SCWHINN but I finally got myself a cruiser :lol: 1959 JC Higgins Spaceliner

I had a 64 Sears Spaceliner a long time ago. I think the higgins models were Flightliners.

Here's a pic of my 71 Manta ray-

Wed Jun 27, 2012 11:26 pm

Wanted one of those so bad when I was a kid.

Thu Jun 28, 2012 10:59 am

I thought Higgins made these FOR Sears?

Thu Jun 28, 2012 11:44 am

oldschool64bus wrote: I thought Higgins made these FOR Sears?

The names of the models depends on where the bikes were sold. Like Schwinn made bikes with BF Goodrich badges.

I think Murray made those bikes for sears and other retailers. I thought that Spaceliners were available starting in 64 and not in the late 50's but it's been awhile since I brushed up on that stuff.

Thu Jun 28, 2012 5:35 pm

I like em enough,
I've got a 1948 Autocycle.
And a coupe more
The 48 is a fenderless survivor, patina monster.
Original wheels, springer W/O lock, kickstand needs new spring.
The only thing not OG is the tires.
The seat is in storage, I ride it with a more comfortable seat.
It has a quickee paint job over the original, one of these days I'll dig into it.
To reveal the real patina.
I've got to source the parts first, don't want be without it.

I just got my 50's Excelsior on the road as a rat.
Yes, the same type that Gary Fisher used as his first mountain bike.

And my trusty rusty Young Bros 1978 Heavy Duty that I saved from the dump is up for a tune up.

Sun Jul 01, 2012 1:12 am

I wish I had seen this thread sooner. I'm sure custom schwinns are like nails on a chalk board to you guys, but if not, check out my YouTube video of my bike.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQzWD5GHJMI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:40 pm

Just picked up a couple of Schwinns today. I have always wanted one ( or two) but never found any in my price range. Today was my lucky day. I went to a swap meet here in Sacramento and I found a girls Hollywood bike. It isn't original as far as the seat and I believe the handle bars have been changed, but I fell in love with it because of the banana seat. It brought back memories of my first Schwinn when I was a kid. Anyway, I bought it and we walked it back to our truck ( we were selling too), then went out again. A little while later we found a boys bike with the same name as the girls bike. It caught my eye because there was another guy explaining to his friends that they made the bike so that one could ad a bar to make it a boys bike. Long story short, I did some wheeling and dealing and bought it too. :D

Here are some pics of them.

Here's a shot of the top bar on the "boys" bike. You can see how it is attached to the bike. I have never seen one like this. Currently I am trying to find info online about it, but haven't had much luck.

Now I just need to get a roof rack for the bus! LOL

Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:43 pm

i got a blue bike with the same bar on top

Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:58 pm

Sun Aug 26, 2012 10:07 pm

Just a '60s Typhoon, but it's been in the family since new. My father in-law used to haul his kids around in the child seat. The child seat is pretty cool as it folds down and you can use it as a storage rack as well.

It took my 6 years to get around to working on the bike.

The day I pulled it out of the field:

Today

Took it for a 10 mile ride today and it performed great!

Fri Aug 31, 2012 6:05 pm

Looks good Kelly--you did a good job bringing it back-- Bill

Sat Sep 01, 2012 6:31 pm

Thanks Bill. This bike is a patina monster. When I turn the bike upside down the red is still bright.

Someday I'll have 1/4 of the collection you have, but until then I'll roll the Typhoon.

Sat Sep 08, 2012 11:30 am

I have a few.

Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:54 pm

Here's mine. 1950 Schwinn Spitfire. Bought it on the cheap, but had sat outside for YEARS. The entire bike was covered in surface rust, but you could still see the beautiful graphics underneath. Stripped it down, blasted and painted the wheels and re-laced them, installed a locking springer, then slathered it in probably 15 coats of clear. Bike was originally red. Now what you see is the original paint/rust/patina under lots of clear.

Wed May 06, 2015 10:00 pm

Wed May 06, 2015 10:05 pm

Wed May 20, 2015 4:37 pm

My Mom decided that she wanted a 1950's Schwinn girls cruiser when I was a kid, so my Dad looked long and hard to find something for her. He ended up buying this frame with the fork, chain guard, fenders, and a junk stem from some old guy's backyard during a garage sale. It had sat in the dirt for many years and was twisted/bent/rusty, so 'Pops' bought it, brought it home, and started copying the factory paint layout so he could restore the parts in between all the customer cars he was painting.

He spent a ton of hours straightening the fenders and chain guard, laid all the stripes out, and did a complete color change from blue/cream to red/cream for my Mom (complete with clear coat). Grandpa (who owned a bike shop) assembled it with mostly new reproduction parts so it would at least be complete for her to ride while he sourced the correct restoration quality parts for it, and it was finally given to my Mom as a gift.

She was unbelievably excited when my Dad gave it to her, and the first thing she did was hop on to test ride it ...Dad just about blew a gasket at that point. :lol:

"ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU CAN'T RIDE IT, IT'S FOR SHOW ONLY!!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH TIME I PUT INTO THE PAINTWORK ON THIS BIKE?" (Her response of course was, "What good is a bike that I can't ride?!?! I told you I wanted a restored cruiser TO RIDE, NOT STARE AT!!!")

Anyways, I think it's a 1953. Never been ridden since it's rebuild, most of the correct parts were never located due to other stuff going on, and the bike has been sitting in this spot for 19 years, only to get washed off once in a while. Still a cool bike though.

Wed May 20, 2015 6:06 pm

that's too bad. what a waste of 19 years

Wed May 20, 2015 6:50 pm

skills@eurocarsplus wrote: that's too bad. what a waste of 19 years

The thing that disappoints me is the fact my Mother was terminally ill when my Grandfather learned of the bike parts and decided to "steal" the freshly painted parts in order to assemble the bike for her. The painted parts sat in my Dad's shop for probably 8 years (ready for assembly) before that happened. My Grandfather would have dropped everything and put that bike together immediately for my Mom, had he known.

When my Dad first painted the frame and parts in the late 80's, the old Schwinns had a fair amount of value, and then the internet came along... it's not nearly as hard to find a vintage girl's cruiser in decent (or even restored) condition now, they just cost more. I'm hoping a future Mrs. Youngnstudly will come along someday and I will be able to give Mom's cruiser to her to enjoy. :)