Murray Missile 

Or, How to earn your "Varsity" letter the hard way.

I had planned to drag this 1967 Schwinn Varsity to the curb, it had been out in the elements for years before I got it but when I went back to get it something snapped. I'm going to make it functional with parts from the rejects bin. The plan is to buy nothing except bar covering, it has those miserable 22mm steel drop bars so I bought some cheap Grab On style foam grips. Otherwise I think I haved everything to make it go. I'll give it the #0000 steel wool and WD-40 treatment to remove rust, polish the aluminum the best I can and wax it up. Why you ask? Damned if I know, there is no logical reason other than I want to see what I can do with it. When it's all done I'll probably give it away, Surely somebody will want a free functional Schwinn Varsity with braze on DT shifters LOL, I can't be the only looney out here.

I'd feel bad about leaving it outside for 2 years except it had been outside for a good 10 or 15 years before I got it. Surprisingly other than the BB bearings, chain and maybe the RD everything moves freely. Pedals and seatpost came right out and the chrome on the seatpost isn't even rusty! Here's the before, I won't post the closeups, they're too gruesome LOL.


--

sced

.....gulp...gulp

Murray Missile 

Trust me, it's as bad as it looks. Why do it? "Because it's there" and I can.

zandoval 

Fun, Fun, FUN! Don't know if you hand brush paint your frames but this is an excellent bike to test and improve your hand brush skills.

Search "bikeforums.net:hand+paint+frame"

I would go with Rustolium White Gloss Enamel and use DIY decals. Let me know if ya need help generating the decals...

Murray Missile 

No paint, just a good deep cleaning and maybe a clear coat to preserve its natural "beauty". Probably just a good wax job though. You'd be amazed at what's still under all that surface rust. I used #0000 steel wool and WD40 on some other stuff that I thought had no paint left and was shocked at how much paint and graphics were hidden.

Dug out the "functional but doubt I'll ever need them" parts box and founds LOTS of good stuff from a 70's Varsity I parted out. I have a set of low level aluminum 27" wheels I'll clean up and a pair of fair(ish) tires I'll be taking off another bike that's getting new Panaracers.

I'm going to name it Dave, as in Dave "Varsity" Letterman. Bad bad joke I know but so's the whole idea, might as well go all in.

pastorbobnlnh 

Your rock! I'm looking forward to the additional pictures of your efforts.

Plus, it has downtube shifters--- which makes it a "Fast Varsity!"

Deal4Fuji

I bought this girls Continental beauty just for the GB alloy bars.






+1 for beausage !!

SpeedofLite 

The Universe is using you for some reason. Don't fight it.

AdventureManCO 

Projects don’t have to make sense. I’m a fan of blue collar builds.

Velo Mule

Most of my bikes are lower end or middle moddle bikes. Working on them is my relaxation time. I also wasn't much of a Schwinn fan outside of their old cantilever and balloon tired bikes. But these older Schwinns can be rewarding to work on. Their paint and chrome seem to last longer than most other brands. Parts tend to hold up well, Better Schwinn parts are often available because they sold about a million Varsity's and Continentals. Better non-Schwinn parts can be substituted like alloy rims, better hubs, rear derailleurs and cassettes or freewheels. The front derailleur can be not so easy to replace because of it's skinnier seat tube, but the original usually works well, or at least well enough. I don't get headaches over getting things to fit on these bike. They always go easy. When they are done, they ride surprisingly good for what they are.

So with all of that good stuff, I end up keeping some of the Schwinn's that I acquire. And the others Schwinn's that I decide to sell, I get the benefit of fixing them up and selling them off with the only real profit is that I enjoyed working on them and sometimes some appreciation from the new owners.

The other thing with Varsity's and Continentals is that you can make them into triple chainring touring bikes, single speed, 3 speed, dropped bars, upright bars or even Sting Ray bars. Someone on Bike Forums, way back, welded on extensions to the dropout to make the wheelbase longer. You can do these type of things to Electroforged frames. For a bike tinkerer, they are great. They also make good loaner bikes.

Have fun with your Varsity @Murray Missile and keep us up to date with the progress.

Murray Missile 

I will. I plan to strip it down this weekend while I'm waiting on parts for my Technium and start cleaning up the fork and frame. I'm not going to go crazy on it, it's too small for me. I just want to bring it back to life and see what I can do with what's there then send it to a good home. Besides, I wouldn't want Big Bird getting jealous......

MeadMan2

Someone else who uses #0000 steel wool and WD-40 to clean up paint and chrome. I approve.

Murray Missile 

Well, bad news guys, this little endeavor is over. I'm pulling the plug on Dave, the bottom bracket is WAY beyond saving, it is nothing but rust and I don't have another one. I'll salvage what I can, which isn't much, but I'm moving on to the ones I can save.

Velo Mule

Too bad about the bottom bracket, but there are plenty more Varsity's, Continental's and Suburban's out there.

Nice Varsity @Murray Missile . It looks like my comments above were preaching to the choir. I like the fenders on your Big Bird. The wingnuts are a nice touch on a bike of that time.

It is funny that I was not a fan of Schwinn's yellow until I got a Varsity like your blue Varsity above, but in yellow. Well the yellow doesn't look so good when it's dirty and banged up and has rust spots. But when I painted the chainstay, I realized that when it is in good condition, it looks great.

I haven't started on my Varsity yet because I'm busy with other things in my life now, and I need a concept. I'm thinking Sidewinder like. But we'll see.

Murray Missile 

The Bird is a '74 Varsity Deluxe. The original high flange wheels were badly corroded, it had been stored in a shed with garden chemicals and both rims were rusted completely through where fertilizer or something had been spilled on them so I swapped on small flange wheels from a '78 World Sport with the 6 speed freewheel from the same bike. I think since the blue one didn't pan out I may do some upgrades to the Bird like alloy wheels and bump him up to a 7 speed freewheel and better derailleurs. I have a NOS 1" clamp Suntour Spirt FD and very clean long cage Suntour RD. I'll probably swap the zinc plated seat post for the chrome one out of the '67 since it was so clean. He's a beast at 45 Lbs. and climbing even small hills isn't much fun but all that mass really soaks up the bumps.

Velo Mule

I went to alloy wheels on my Continental and it's a nice upgrade @Murray Missile . And I also upgraded the rear derailleur to a SunTour ARX long cage. The wheels, SunTour Perfect freewheel and derailleur came from a Fuji Espree. Lucky me.

I remember having a Astra bike with Huret Allvit derailleurs. They worked fine for the time. But the later SunTour work better. I still have the old Allvit in a box, if I ever want to go back to it. The older than mine, Allvit derailleurs are rebuildable and have ball bearing pulley wheels. The one that came with my Continental has the same geometry with some economical changes. Rivets instead of specially made shoulder screws and a big lip to prevent the chain from possibly jamming up the mechanism. This could be the reason why some say that the Allvit shifted well and some saying that they are junk. This is especially so since when Huret when to the non-rebuildable Allvit was also the time that Shimano and SunTour were gaining market share.

Anyway, the changes should make the bike more enjoyable to ride and more controllable to brake.

Andy_K 

Pulled a back muscle trying to lift it?

Seriously though, a few years ago for the Clunker 100 Challenge, I picked up this Takara which had literally been sitting on the bike rack pictured here out in the rainy PNW elements for at least 7 years before I asked the owner of the business if I could "borrow" it. Turns out it was his brother's and he was happy to let me have it, after restoration I rode it 100 km from my house back to the place I got it and gave it back to him.





Mind you the Takara was a much nicer canvas to start from than the Varsity. Best of luck with your project!

Chuck M 

Not as rusty as my Carabela, but the reason why I'm working on getting it back on the road is pretty much the same.

If it was anything like the Schwinn bottom brackets I've been in, it didn't have a chance with little to no grease in it to start with.

Murray Missile 

All kidding aside, not the bike but the tub of spare parts! I'm splitting them up into smaller tubs ASAP.

Unless I find a free replacement or find one I forgot about this has become an "ex-project"......

Deal4Fuji

Did they use the standard Astabula crank & sealed bearings in '67 ? I went over to the storage house & made these crank & bearings pics. I'll send you these from the Continental pictured above if you can use them to do my part to get a piece of history back on the road. They've been sprayed with cheap paint but that probably helped keep the rust from taking over and should buff off. The bearing are loose. I've also got the front & rear derailleur if you want them. Send me a PM and I'll get them out to you.

Murray Missile 

Enablers to the left of me, enablers to the right LOL. PM sent.

Looks like "Dave" gets a reprieve from the Governor.

sced

YAY... fish ON!

Velo Mule

That is quite the Varsity @Murray Missile . It looks great. I especially like the original looking fenders and the wing nuts on the axles. If I remember right, some of the Schwinn fenders were stainless steel. While big reflectors could be a distraction on some bikes, on your Varsity, they look right.

In the picture of the Huret/Schwinn approved Allvit rear derailleur that @Deal4Fuji posted above, the Allvit derailleur looks a lot more like a Svelto than I had previously thought. I know Schwinn wanted a protective cover on the derailleur and therefore may have persuaded or encouraged Huret to take the Svelto concept and beef it up with a cover on it. Interesting.

nlerner

I also think I have an Ashtabula crank from a Super Sport in the corner of my basement. Glad to send it along for the cost of shipping!

Murray Missile 

I got it from the original owner, they had originally had the matching girl's bike but their daughter took it to college and didn't bother to bring it home when she graduated. It's a Varsity Deluxe and those are the original Schwinn chrome steel fenders. It's not mint but it does attract a lot of attention when I get it out and has started more than a few conversations with total strangers. More so than any other bike I have in fact.