Schwinn Racer 3 Speed Restoration for my Brother In-Law

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Finished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Before

This is a Schwinn Racer 3 speed for my brother in-law to go with my sisters 3 speed Raleigh.  The Schwinn Racer is a little more heavy duty then the Raleigh so a little heavier but still a good bicycle for getting around the neighborhood, running out for dinner or pulling my nephew and soon to be nephews around.

The Schwinn Racer 3 speed is in rougher condition then the Raleigh was, but should be pretty nice after all is polished, paint chips filled, and new cables, cables housings, handlebar grips and tires replaced.  The chrome is in good shape, the rims chrome is a little rough but I am hoping polish nice.  the fenders are going to need some metal work, the fender struts are bents and there are some dents in the fenders, with the damage the fenders are rubbing the tires, but everything should straighten and the dents should pound out easy.

The plane for the Schwinn Racer 3 speed is to completely restore it, replace the cables and cable housings, replace the tires is Schwinn S-5 26" x 1 3/8" gum wall tires.  They do not make S-5 tires in cream color.  Replace the rotted rubber handlebar grips with cork shellacked.

Below are some photos of the Schwinn Racer 3 speed before.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Before - Side View

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Bicycle Before - Angle View

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Before - Drive Train View

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Rear 3 Speed Hub - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Cables & Cable Hardware

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Bicycle Before - Handlebar View

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Before - Front Wheel

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Before
Rear Three Speed Hub

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Bicycle Before - Frame & Fender

As usual I broke the bicycle down into all its components.  The components came apart fairly easy, the headset took a little muscle but is in good shape.  The frame is in descent shape, there are some chips and scraps and the drive side chain stay is pretty nicked up, but everything should fill pretty good with a close match of paint.  The frame was dirty, I cleaned the frame and then polished it with my new paint polishing system I came up with.  The paint looks good after polishing, will look better after the chips are filled.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Frame Stripped of Components
Dirty

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Frame Dirty - Bottom Bracket

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Frame Dirty - Drop Outs

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Frame Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Frame Polished

With the frame polished i started work on the bottom bracket components, crank, headset components, quill and handlebars.  The bottom bracket bearings where in really good shape, the grease was still good but very dirty, the components cleaned and polished nice.  The crank is in descent shape, there is some rust on the non drive crank arm and a little rust here and there.  Most rust cleaned of nice with just a little pitting, I greased and packed the bearings and installed the crank.  The crank turns very smooth, I am pleased with it.

The headset also cleaned up and polished nicely, I repacked the bearings in grease and the headset works nicely.  The quill was dirty and had some rust on the under side, it cleaned and polished very nice along with the handlebars.  The handlebars where in great shape and polished nice.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bottom Bracket - Crank - Headset
Quill - Handlebars - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bottom Bracket
Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Crank Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Crank Before - Rear View

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Bottom Bracket
Cleaned & Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Crank - Cleaned & Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Headset - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Headset - Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Quill - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Quill - Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Handlebars - Polished
All Other Components - Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bottom Bracket Cups - Pressed

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Headset Cups - Pressed

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bottom Bracket Bearings
Packed in New Grease

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Crank & Bottom Bracket
Complete

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Headset Bearings - Packed
New Grease

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Headset - Quill - Handlebars
Complete

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bike at End of Day.

I got some work done on the Schwinn Racer 3 speed over the holiday and weekend but with travel and going to summer fest and all I did not get it posted.

The front wheel was first.  The rim had maybe acid burns that then rusted??  I am not sure, but the wheel polished okay.  The grease was old but the bearing cones where in good shape.  I replaced the bearings but used the same bearing cages and packed the bearings in grease.  I then tightened the spokes and trued the wheel.  The new Kenda k-23 Gum Wall tires where installed.  The wheel functions perfect and the tire looks great.  I am not 100% happy with the way the rim polished, I will keep an eye out for a replacement.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Front Wheel - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Front Wheel - Old Grease

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Front Wheel Rim - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Front Wheel - Components - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Front Bearings - Packed in New Grease

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - New Kenda K-23 Gum Wall Tires

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Front Wheel Hub Polished
Poor photo

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Front Wheel Rim - Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Front Wheel - Complete

The rear wheel was next, the rim was the same as the front but not as bad, it polished better.  I half broke down the rear 3 speed wheel hub, it was in fine shape, so I cleaned it and greased the bearings and lubricated the mechanism.  The chrome hub polished really nice.  I also tightened all the spokes and trued the wheel and installed the new tire.  I am pretty pleased with the results of the rear wheel.  It seems to function nice and will know more when cables are run.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Three Speed Hub - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Three Speed Hub - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Three Speed Wheel - Componets
Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Greasing Bearings

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Three Speed Rear Hub
Complete

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Rear Wheel Complete

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Wheels Complete

Next is the brake calipers and brake levers.  The brake calipers are pretty dull and dirty, they took some elbow grease to get clean for polishing.  After polishing they look great.  These older Schwinn brake calipers tend to not have enough spacing between the caliper arms and end up rubbing and not working smooth.  To fix this I added a slightly wider nylon washer.  They work great now, and of course new brake pads where installed.

The brake levers where just dirty, they cleaned up nice and polished great, I then installed them on the handlebars.

Tomorrow morning I will be running cables and housings.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Brake Levers & Calipers - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Brake Caliper - Disassembled

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Front Brake Caliper - Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Brake Caliper - Before & After

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Brake Levers - Polished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Front Brake Caliper - Complete

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Brake Levers Installed

I took photos of the rear caliper and the nylon washer adjustment but I bumped the camera setting and need to retake them.

Next I polished the seat post and seat post collar and installed the chain.  The seat post was pretty rough but now looks better then new along with the seat collar.  The chain was in good shape for the age, hardly any stretch.  I now have a working drive train, tomorrow cables and a test ride before starting work on the rough fenders.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Seat Tube Collar - Before
Right Side of Photo

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Seat & Seat Post - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Seat Post & Collar
Complete

I am going to start here with the photo of the nylon washers that I installed in the brake calipers.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Nylon Washer

With the brake calipers complete I got to installing the cables and cable housings. I also cleaned and polished the cable bracket hardware.  With the new cables installed the brake calipers and shift all work flawlessly.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - New Cables - Housings & Cork Grips

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Cables & Handle Bar Grips
Installed

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Rear Cables Installed

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Three Speed Cable - Installed

The original pedals are in rough shape, they would be savable if they where not Schwinn pedals, but Schwinn pedals are riveted together and can not be torn down.  For now I am putting the resign pedals on, I would like to find rubber block pedals, but they are not as easy to find anymore.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Old Pedals & New Pedals

Below is a photo of the bicycle now with the pedals and seat installed and the bicycle in full riding mode.  The last things to do is restore the fenders and chain guard and shellac the cork handlebar grips.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Now

The fenders are in rough shape.  The fender struts are rusted and bent and there are some dents in the fenders.  The struts are riveted to the fenders.  I am going to drill the rivets so I can work on the fenders and struts separately, I will then replace the rivets with chrome nuts and bolts to make it easier for adjustments in the future.  The rear end of the rear fender has a lot of rust and dents and the paint is rough.  I am going to sand just that section down and repaint it white like the older Raleighs.

The chain guard is in better condition, there is a dent that will straighten easy, the old White Schwinn racer decal is just about faded away, the rest will polish away.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Fenders - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Chain Guard - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Chain Guard Dent - Before

The fenders have been done for a couple of days but things have been so busy around the shop i am just getting to the post now.

The dent and bend in the chain guard pounded out easily.  I then polished the chain guard and installed it.  It will need a good amount of touch up paint.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Chain Guard - Installed

The fenders took some work.  The struts where badly bent as you can see in the photo below.  It took some patients and if I do say so myself and little skill with hammers and an anvil to straighten.  I am supper pleased with the results.  You can see one of the struts having a twist in it.  I then cleaned and removed all the rust with a wire brush and then primed the struts with a rusty metal primer just to be safe.  With the primer dry I painted the struts a silver.  The fenders polished nice. I then replaced the rivets holding the fenders to the struts with chrome bolts, washers and nuts.  The results are very nice, but again the fenders will need a good deal of touch up paint.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Fender Struts- Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Struts - Pounded Straight & Primed

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Struts - Painted Silver

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Front Fender - Complete

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Rear Fender - Complete

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Fenders Complete

Just the touch up paint and shellac of the handlebar grips and the Schwinn 3 Speed Racer is complete.

I almost forgot the kick stand, it has a bit of rust, but after using a brass wheel and some hand polishing the kickstand looks good.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Kick Stand - Before

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Kick Stand - Polished

Next is the shellacing of the cork handlebar grips.  I tape all the areas I do not want shellac and apply 3 or 4 coats.  The cork grips look great.

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Ready for Shellac

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Shellac Applied

The bicycle is complete.  The Schwinn 3 Speed Racer turned out fantastic.  I really like the results, it not a return to new restoration but more of a preservation.  The Schwinn has been upgraded in a few ways and new important things such as tires, tubes, cables, cable housings, bearings and grease.  Dents have been pounded out, struts straighten, but in the end the character, the signs of use the history in the paint is still there.  The bicycle rides super smooth and easy, looks great and looks new and old at the same time.  I am very pleased!!

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Finished - Side View

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Bicycle Finished - Angle View

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Bicycle Finished - Front View

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed
Bicycle Finished - Front Half

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Finished - Drive Train

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Finished

Schwinn Racer 3 Speed - Bicycle Finished - Rear Hub

Thanks for looking!