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Vintage Typhoon to BMXish Typhoon?
So I picked up an old Typhoon, red, similar to what I had growing up. I wasn't really happy with how bad the frame looked, so I sent it off to have it powder coated.
When I took everything apart for the powder coater, I realized how bad many of the parts were... Been shopping on ebay and amazon for days now! This is going to be one expensive old bike, and I am not even doing a true restoration. What has happened with prices of vintage Schwinn parts? Gasp! I'll get some photos when the frame comes back, approx 3 weeks... As I mentioned, I am not doing a restore. So the frame will be powdercoated in dark candy apple red. The components that are available seem to be from the BMX world. And the wheels... what a disaster. The previous owner used either brillo pads or steel wool or sandpaper to get the dirt off the rims. Sure, the rims are clean and shiny, but they are all scratched up. I have not figured out how to handle that. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know. Mike... https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3648f023fb.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...96187479b6.jpg |
I almost, and I mean almost, bought a Merlin Newsboy wanting something cool, fast and light. Then I went the other route of thinking about building something like this with modern components. Ended up with a Van Dessel WTF with Jones bars after months of turmoil. I will be interested to see what direction you go with this. I dig it though.
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That Typhoon will make a great BMX, Klunker or Ratrod
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Looks like steel rims; pretty sure they can be dipped, blasted and rechromed. Probably expensive.
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Thinking about matte black powder coating...
Mike... |
For a restoration, you could clean and then paint the original Schwinn rims. Older Typhoons rims were painted white with black pinstripes. If it were mine, I'd get aluminum 559 etrto rims. Old school looking bmx would be anodized in a color, however, that can be hard to find and it could be pricy when you find it. I would then go with silver. I think that would look best with candy red anyway. Then you would have a great variety of tires to choose and light weight wheels.
I would keep the coaster brake and keep it simple when building new wheels. You go with an aluminum hub(s) and a freewheel. Then you will have to source a BMX brake. If you keep your forged fork you may not be able to put a brake on the front. If you can find a tubular fork, it is a good upgrade. Get a BMX stem and Cruiser handlebars. I like the one piece crank. A nice upgrade is to get the steel spider so that you can change front chainrings easily. It looks BMX too. Decades ago, I built a Schwinn Heavy Duti with a King Sting fork. I kept the Bendix coaster brake and built it with red anodized aluminum wheels, a red anodized chainring, a red anodized Schwinn rack and a BMX stem. The bike was painted black. So, it has the old Schwinn cantilever frame to BMX cruiser look that I think you are after for you build. I still have the bike. Some day I have to take it out and get pictures and ride it around. |
Hey Velo,
Pictures would be wonderful! Mike... |
I know mikeschn . It is buried in the back of the garage and I took the B72 seat off of it for another project. But I do have to get you pictures.
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Those rims are in good shape compared to most I find around here these days.
I'd either clean them up as they are and run them till something better comes along or bite the bullet now and get them re-chromed or powder coated off white like the older Typhoon models. The chrome on those old rims is pretty tough, some time with a buffer and some polish may make them acceptable. Some proper chrome polish and a good high speed buffing pad can work wonders. The decals are available, most of the other chrome bits were made by Wald for Schwinn. The bars, fenders, and seat post are all just off the shelf Wald parts if your not going for a restoration. I had a flamboyant red 1965 model as a kid, it was in mint condition when I handed it down to a younger brother, who proceeded to strip it down and beat it to death as a BMX type bike. No clue what happened to hit after that. Here's one I picked up a few weeks ago, found it in a dumpster behind an office building. I'm in the process of going over it bit by bit. The chrome luckily is in great shape, the rims have some scratching but their perfectly round with good spokes. The tires aren't original and made by Carlisle, the rear hub was so gummed up the bike wouldn't even roll. There's a few dings in the fenders but I can fix those. The paint has its fair share of scratches but not bad enough for me to want to or have to repaint it. According to the serial number, this one is a 1972 model https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...87bdb2f981.jpg |
Got the frame and rims back!
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9861c3f5d.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9ba7cf9df.jpeg |
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So here's the other wheel, laced in black!
Which color do you like better? https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b27f9d19bd.jpg |
Okay, I had a chance to do a little bit more on the bike...
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bce6e1cbe8.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1c19acf4a8.jpg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...085930abca.jpg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3d11c499ca.jpg |
That burgundy paint looks so good. Good choice. Are you going to do decals? I'm guessing that you are not based on the fact that it looks so recognizable as a Schwinn frame and it looks understated and modified without the decals.
I always prefer silver spokes, however, I think that with the look that I believe you are going for, the black spokes would get my vote. I noticed that you painted the kickstand black too. All of your chrome is looking great. |
Great job! And, I vote for black spokes.
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Thanks Velo & Geezy,
All the parts came in... the handlebars did not fit the BMX stem, so I had to use a cruiser stem. So it's really more of a beach cruiser... at least for now. We'll see if the summer brings any changes! The cruiser stem looks like it's begging for some spacer rings, like on today's mtn bikes! https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...88504038e1.jpg |
The black kickstand really looks great.
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That looks great!! I'm guessing the stem didn't fit the fork? There's two sizes of BMX quill stems. Pre 1980 the fork tubing was thinner and the quill part of the stem was thicker and after that sometime they decided the fork tubing should be a lot thicker and the size of the stem shrank. That or did you try to put a 1 1/8 modern stem on the fork?
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The stem is 21.1 so it fit fine. But the handlebar is 25.4, and the clamp area takes a 22.2 handlebar. :(
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That looks awesome mikeschn . I was finally able to dig my Schwinn Heavy Duti out of the garage this weekend for a quick wash and pictures.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b96cd96b31.jpg This was put together in the early '80's which is why the colored alloy components were so available. I also had a fluted red alloy seat post that I replaced. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bf98d30273.jpg I worked at a Schwinn dealership at the time and was able to order the decals from Schwinn. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...514f9a5517.jpg I believe that the Heavy Duti had a wider rear triangle that could fit 2.125" tires that the middle weight Typhoons and all could not. Please let us know if this is not correct. By the way, these are Schwinn Typhoon Cord tires ordered from Schwinn at the time I built this bike up. They are showing their age. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f315dcf074.jpg The rack is a Schwinn branded version of a Blackburn style rack anodized red. I don't know how long they were available for. |
Originally Posted by mikeschn
(Post 21976074)
The stem is 21.1 so it fit fine. But the handlebar is 25.4, and the clamp area takes a 22.2 handlebar. :(
Its still a sharp looking bike even with the stem not working out. |
Originally Posted by dirtman
(Post 21905346)
Those rims are in good shape compared to most I find around here these days.
I'd either clean them up as they are and run them till something better comes along or bite the bullet now and get them re-chromed or powder coated off white like the older Typhoon models. The chrome on those old rims is pretty tough, some time with a buffer and some polish may make them acceptable. Some proper chrome polish and a good high speed buffing pad can work wonders. The decals are available, most of the other chrome bits were made by Wald for Schwinn. The bars, fenders, and seat post are all just off the shelf Wald parts if your not going for a restoration. I had a flamboyant red 1965 model as a kid, it was in mint condition when I handed it down to a younger brother, who proceeded to strip it down and beat it to death as a BMX type bike. No clue what happened to hit after that. Here's one I picked up a few weeks ago, found it in a dumpster behind an office building. I'm in the process of going over it bit by bit. The chrome luckily is in great shape, the rims have some scratching but their perfectly round with good spokes. The tires aren't original and made by Carlisle, the rear hub was so gummed up the bike wouldn't even roll. There's a few dings in the fenders but I can fix those. The paint has its fair share of scratches but not bad enough for me to want to or have to repaint it. According to the serial number, this one is a 1972 model |
Both of those restorations look great !
I have an old yellow Schwinn Heavy Duti that I plan on “modernizing “ with some alloy wheels . The price of All bike parts have gone crazy . . I need to get it down and start on it one day . https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fe394bcc4.jpeg |
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