1953 Schwinn Panther Restoration
December 21, 20201980s Chicago Made Schwinn Cruiser Deluxe Restorations / Preservations
December 21, 2020Becky lives in Sydney, Ohio but vacations in Tarpon Springs, Florida. She found us online and came in with a Schwinn Corvette bicycle that she has had since she was a teenager. The bicycle was in pretty rough shape and needed a full restoration including re-chroming of her rusty parts. Since her husband bought her a 1957 Corvette automobile which was in the process of being fully restored in Ohio, she also wanted her bicycle restored. Noel quickly disassembled the bicycle and sent all of the rusty parts out for re-chroming. The frame and fork were sandblasted, primed, and masked off in preparation for paint. NOS Schwinn grips were ordered. The original Schwinn fenders were cleaned up instead of re-chromed since they were still in decent condition. Other parts such as tires, tubes, rim strips, and spokes were ordered as replacement parts. Schwinn dry transfer decals were ordered for installation on the chain guard once it got painted. Noel painted the bicycle frame and fork with a Schwinn Corvette paint scheme which included pin striping and carefully applied the dry transfer decals to the chain guard. He also painted the seat pan and recovered the saddle with new leather that he hand sewed. Once the chrome parts came back, Noel rebuilt the two wheels with new spokes and reassembled the bicycle. Becky loved the bicycle when she saw it and said that she fully intended to ride it to remind her of her younger days. So, when in Tarpon Springs, look for Becky on her fully restored Schwinn Corvette bicycle! It may even show up at a few cars shows next to the fully restored 1957 Corvette automobile!