cudak888 

Last weekend, I went to see this - despite every known reason to mankind to run the hell away from it:



…the seller didn’t show up, so I visited the thrift stores nearby. There are three in a row in this mall.

The first two shops are not so great. The third has stuff like this on the shelf:



…and they also had this:



Mind, I’ve been farting around with C&V stuff for about 17 years now give or take a few years, and have never found anything earlier than 1970 at any thrift store (that I can remember, anyway). Only the trash piles and “free” signs have yielded anything of the kind.

The score - a 1960 Schwinn Racer dressed in black and wearing the winged Schwinn badge discontinued the previous year:



Only obvious modifications since factory - some useless reflectors for misguided peace of mind, probably added in the early 1980s.

Front one is a Schwinn piece, so this thing probably didn’t stray too far away from a local Schwinn dealer.






The biggest surprise: The original Schwinn 597 tires - capable of holding 50psi with no major dry rot.



More pics in next post…

-Kurt

Reynolds 531 

That thing is awesome. I think you will really like bombing around the neighborhood on it.

cudak888 

Fast forward to this weekend - I had a chance to clean it up.

Long story short, it looks great and the saddle is a close cousin of the Worst Saddle in The World that @pastorbobnlnh currently has on hand.

It is a typical electroforged boat anchor, but it has that “whitewall fizz” going on that Schwinns do so well.

I still have yet to find the PD SN engraving that it claims to have, and I wonder what era the Morton Grove, IL “we hate bicycles so we tax and overregulate em” sticker hails from.









-Kurt

cudak888 

I’ve had a few fun jaunts on it, but there is no way it’s replacing the 1980 Raleigh Sports. Or any Sports, for that matter.

-Kurt

daverup 

cudak888 You would think that someone trying to sell a XJS Coupe wouldn't miss an opportunity to meet a possible buyer. Not much demand for those these days.
Nice catch on the Racer.

The Golden Boy 

As someone who enjoys MCM stuff a lot, as someone who loves that "hat in the ring" bravado, and as someone who has said on multiple occasions that bicycle weight doesn't matter to me- there was a Racer like that in a local shop- and I was enthralled with it- and asked to take it for a spin- as soon as I moved it I was completely shocked at how heavy it was.

cudak888 

“I’ve been collecting bikes just shy of 20 years now. There are bikes I would gladly spend an entire day riding. Thanks to the saddle, this isn’t one of them.”






“Schwinn Approved.”

Kurt rejected.



-Kurt

Kilroy1988 

I've had two XJSs and they're wonderful cars, as long as they're on the road and not in the shop... Which is frequently. I'm on my fourth older Jaguar right now and have spent $2,000 on repairs in the last month alone. Even with untold free time for DIY repairs the parts typically add up to more than half of the costs I put into them.I would not wish this level of asinine compulsion upon my enemies.

-Gregory

bikingshearer 

What I have heard about older Jaguars is that you do not own it, you borrow it from your mechanic every other weekend.

Rick_D

Now march right back there and get that 8-track!

If the Jag is a V12, best no-show you'll ever have.

Kilroy1988 

My current one is among the most reliable models built in the last few decades, and it's still a headache... I drive them daily and for work purposes, often in natural and agricultural settings, so they definitely see miles and wear and tear but that's part of the fun with the older ones. They depreciate so much you don't have to worry about some rough edges. Really, they're gorgeous cars that drive very well and the rock-bottom pricing keeps them attractive despite all of the mechanical issues that plague them.

AdventureManCO 

And to think - the vintage Jaguar hunter is the man that gave me so much ribbing about a Huffy


But maybe all that fun had an effect? I see you can't say 'no' to a good boat anchor, just like me!

zukahn1 

I like both the car and the bike and they are both awful and great really great looking not so great performance.

SirMike1983 

Those vinyl saddles have a period look but they aren't comfortable. I swap them for a leather Brooks 66 or Gyes triple spring. Nice bike.

Pompiere

I had a younger co-worker who learned this lesson when he got what he thought was a great deal on a used BMW. He was happy for a few months, but then he had a lot of expensive periodic maintenance items come due.

cudak888 

Seriously, if anyone here wants it, I'll go over there and see if it's still available. It'll probably cost more than a bike to ship it - it is as massive as the XJS's bonnet.

I'm genuinely curious what tends to go wrong on the X350's. I've poked about but never quite memorized their faults - though I assume the self-leveling air suspension is about as reliable as a Sturmey AW with heavy grease on the clutch. Do tell, I'm curious.

Same for the XJSes. I know they were trash when first released and that the '89+ Marelli injection is both brittle (wire insulation) and loves to fail independent per cylinder bank, melting the cat converter in the process, but am still fairly ignorant to the rest - are most of the problems mechanical or electrical? I don't mind throwing originality to the wind and radically modifying the drivetrain in one.

Granted, the '88 in the picture turned out to stink to high heaven. The proxy claims he is selling it "for the owner, a lawyer in ill health." Presumably stored for seven years and has 20k on the clock. The date of title issuance to current owner, a lawyer of 56 years of age, is 2021, and it was reissued just a month ago (I presume the prior paper was lost). Now add this with the fact that when the proxy finally showed up, 30 minutes later, we convoyed to the storage unit and found the front gate locked. "They never keep it locked...fellow can open it but it'll take 30 minutes."

Far as I'm concerned, the trip was to ensure I wound up with the '60 Racer, and to ensure I wouldn't go home with a Jaaaaaaaaaag sized project..

Shut up or I'll make you ride this thing. On the original saddle.



I knew I forgot to add an AdventureMan disclosure in here. Boat anchors, ahoy!

"Aren't comfortable" - that's the understatement of the century. @Noah Scape said it right:

​​​​​​
It's as if Troxel and Persons-Majestic were owned by General Motors; just another arm of their mid-century manipulation campaign to get everyone in a GM car or bus. Given what old ballooners came with, it is quite astounding that acceptable saddles became this bad throughout the 1960's.

-Kurt

chain_whipped

Ha--- Doesn't matter what brand of British car, you got to love to hate all of them to own. Then repeat. From Range 'dog' Rover's, vintage Rolls Royce, modern Mini Pooper's... and yes, still two Jagwhaz' in the family. '74 w/ V12 and millennium XK8 convert. Still sane after all DIY ownership.

thinktubes 

I pick up the train in Morton Grove if I’m headed to the Loop for work

Sierra

I'd have a Brooks B72 on it in a New York second.

repechage

XJS V12’s we’re known to drop valve seats, especially if ever overheated. I know of two, both cars had a Chevy V-8 transplant after.

the straight 6 convertible was not as bad, the present you can open everyday was the billboard tag line.

SirMike1983 

That's a beautiful, dark green (coach green as Schwinn called it?) Racer. The saddle makes a big difference. The one downside is that tall frame (the 23-24 inch size) Schwinn 3 speeds prior to 1965 are difficult to find. The standard 21-22 inch frames aren't bad, just a bit small if you like the tall frame. The frame angles are laid back so they feel a little larger than the comparable Raleigh Sports. They're heavier than a Sports and the climbs are a bit tougher. Downhill, they're great - very stable and solid feeling without being twitchy or bouncing all over the place. Those heavy steel frames and wheels seem to soak up bumps pretty well. I like to mix it up between my Raleighs and my Schwinns. They're each something a little different. Some people love them and some hate them... different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes.

Steel Charlie

It's not a Racer until you turn those bars upside down

cudak888 

Fun with Metra, I take it. No chance you might know if the City keeps old records, do they?

Same. Not sure I want to waste a B72 on it though

Wonder if there's any sanity in dropping in one of the later 6 cylinders in one of these and running it off Megasquirt.

If this was one of the 24" variety, I'd probably excuse it a bit more. Granted, the earlier handlebars are much nicer in overall bend than the cartoonishly oversized North Roads on the later "tourist" models across the Schwinn range.

If it wasn't for the saddle though, the simpler experience makes it much nicer and (clearly) the butt of less ridicule than, say, a Varsity, despite being essentially the same frameset.

-Kurt

thinktubes 

It wouldn’t hurt to check. Morton Grove is still old school and you might luck out if you get a sympathetic clerk.

eeuuugh

Nice score in incredible condition! There's a market for those old Schwinn saddles, especially looking almost unworn as this one is.