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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle After |
Today began the restoration of John H's Schwinn Super Sport. For everyone who had a Schwinn Varsity (I would be one of them!) the Super Sport was so sought after. The Super Sport had the alloy everything, the alloy wheels, the Chrome Molly frame and of course the Brooks B15 saddle. It made all of us Varsity owners very jealous. The Super Sport still has a very large following and I have seen some incredible restorations and restomods. I hope I can do them justice.
John H brought his Super Sport to me from Peoria, Illinois, a fairly long ride. I am honored he has done so. John has also gotten a new Brooks B17 saddle in aged brown and aged brown handlebar tape to give his Super Sport a slight kick up.
The Super Sport will be getting a total restoration with new bearings, brake pads, cables, cable housings, new tire and tubes, the new Brooks B17 saddle and new Brooks handlebar wrap.
The Super Sport is in good starting shape, the sunset orange paint is a little dirty and dull but should really pop after polishing. The bright work is dirty and dull but will shine nice. With the new bearings and grease the Super Sport should ride fast and smooth.
It has been about 7 years since I restored a Schwinn Super Sport, I am very excited to get to work and see the results.
I stripped the frame of its components and was pretty happy to see the paint under the dirt. I did a deep cleaning of the paint and got to polishing. I started with a course grit then a medium grit then a very fine grit. The paint looks absolutely fantastic! This may be the best example of original paint on a Sunset Orange Super Sport in existence.
Below are the photos of the frame polished, it is stunning. The last photo is one of my polishing pads and discs, it cuts a very fine layer of paint to make a smooth paint surface to reflect the light and make it shine. What amazes me is how different the orange on that was cut with the polishing pad is from the actual color of the frame.
The headset and bottom bracket is pretty dirty and dull and the grease is very dry but the most important thing is there is no rust, rust pitting is one thing that can be polished away but there will still be the pitting.
I put the headset and bottom bracket components into the crock pot to loosen the grease. I then polished the pieces and replaced the bearings in the cages. Being a one piece crank I had to clean and polish the crank with the bottom bracket to complete the bottom bracket.
The crank has just some very minor rust, cranks like this are dangerous to polish with the power polisher so I did the safe parts with the power polisher and the rest buy hand. I am extremely happy with the results of the crank it looks fantastic and it spins perfect.
Because of the crank being a one piece crank the photos are out of order below of the actual work but the idea is there.
I grease all the fork steer tubes like this to prevent corrosion I just have not taken a photo of it in quite a while.
The shift levers where in pretty good shape, they took a lot of flushing but then polished perfect and with a small dab of grease function very nice. I have always liked the Schwinn Big Stick shift levers, they have always function very well. Big Stick is not an official name.
The crank polished extremely well as I mentioned above. The bottom brackets bearings where greased and installed and in the end I am extremely happy with the bottom bracket and crank.
The stem and handlebars where in pretty good starting shape however the stem had no grease and was rusted to the fork. With some work the stem removed, you can see the little bit of rust on the stem in the before photo.
The stem and handlebars polished beautifully, very nice. Some day I am going to paint the Schwinn "S" that is stamped into the stem, I would paint the relief circle an orange red and the "S" white for this Super Sport. I think painting the "S" would really set it out, I do not remember at this exact moment but i think Schwinn did that in the 1930's.
There are a lot of small pieces to the Super Sport, the most pieces I have come across in a bicycle in a long time, because of this I am building the Super Sport up in a little different order then I normally do. Polishing on power polishers take a lot of strength in the hands and arms and to give my hands and arms a rest i am working on the wheels today.
At this time I have had the seat post, seat collar and cable hanger polished I just need to clean the polishing residue off with soapy water and do a quick bugging. Everything turned out very nice.
Yesterday I finished the brake elvers and the brake calipers. The brake levers cleaned up and polished very nice, I did have to replace one small washer on one lever, it was worn to much. I installed the levers and I always like the copper color polished against the alloy, such a nice look.
The brake calipers where also completed, the alloy and small pieces polished very nice. I did need to replace one of the small red plastic bushings to get the rear caliper to work correctly. I assembled the brake calipers and installed the new Kool Stop Continental salmon colored brake pads. The brake pads will work very well and have the a pretty close look to the original red Schwinn brake pads. The brake calipers look fantastic against that sunset orange paint.
The derailleurs are the Schwinn Approved derailleurs. The derailleurs where in ok starting shape, the front derailleur a little rougher. I disassembled all the pieces and got to work on cleaning. The derailleurs have just about the most small pieces that is possible to come by in this business.
The rear derailleur is one of the better looking rear derailleurs Schwinn made. The rear derailleur has some brass pieces that when polished are very nice against the chrome.
I polished all the pieces and did the assembly of the derailleurs. The rear derailleur is built in two assemblies and so far has turned out very nice but by looking at the cage I can tell it will need a good deal of fine tuning on the test ride. In the potos ou can see the brass and chrome pieces against each other, a beautiful look.
The jockey wheels on the rear derailleur have bearings that they run on. The old bearings where no good so I greased the bearing tracks and installed new bearings, the wheels spin very smooth.
The pedals are rough but functioning well. I did the best to remove a bend in one of the pedals but only good remove a slight amount of the bend, if I did more work on it I was worried the pedals pieces in that spot would come apart.
I cleaned the pedals and got to polishing, most of the polishing is done by hand on pedals to prevent a splotchy finish. With the pedals clean I lubricated the pedals and installed them, they turned out pretty descent.
The free wheel is in surprisingly good shape for the age, I did some cleaning and lubricating and it spins wonderfully. I also polished the classic Schwinn pie plate, it cleaned and polished out very nice andinstalled looks fantastic and brand new.
With the Super Sport this far along it was time to wire the bicycle. I had a perfect match for the original gray color, I did not have one for the original brake cable housings, the company that made a very close match changed their gray recently and it no longer a match. I tried some others and found nothing close so I installed brake cable housings that match the derailleur housings and I think it is a very nice look.
No comes the really fun part, the installation of the new Brooks saddle. John chose an aged leather look and it looks fantastic!! With the Brooks installed the Super Sport is really looking like a bike, I love it!!
The Super Sport is just about finished, if everything goes well tomorrow the Super Sport will be complete.
This morning has gone very well, I started with the chain. The chain is not original but should be okay, I had to repair one of the links. With the chain installed i did a rough stand tuning and could tell right away the rear derailleur was going to need work, but that is for the test riding to get it just right.
With the chain installed I got to work on the handlebar tape. John brought me the Brooks leather handlebar tape and in it is a perfect chose. Leather handlebar tape takes some care to install but it all went well. The Brooks leather tape looks fantastic installed, just amazing!
John also brought the matching aged leather Brooks tool bag. I installed the Brooks bag and it looks incredible installed next the Brooks saddle and handlebar wrap.
I could not wait to do the test ride. The first couple of miles it took quite a lot of work to get the rear derailleur worked out and the bicycle tuned. I have never tried the Kool Stop pads before, I did not expect them to work so well and I almost flipped the bike on the first brake test! They work really well!!
When I got the Super Sport fine tuned I was amazed with the ride. There has always been something about the Schwinn Fillet brazed frame, I have never been able to put my finger on the exact thing about them the best description has always been just "Rides Like a Cadillac!"
The ride is just fantastic but the looks are even better, It may be the most amazing Super Sport out there, or at very least the best example of a sunset orange Super Sport!! The looks are so classic and the aged leather saddle, tool bag and handlebar tape is amazing. There is something about a classic Schwinn with everything polished and shining and the colors, beautiful!!
I am very proud of the work on the Super Sport, I don't think it could have turned out better!!
I find the photo below of the front brake to be absolutely amazing!! It really shows how nice the sunset orange paint turned out and all that bright work makes it really pop!!
Thanks for the interest,
John Z.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Handlebars |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Head Tube Area |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Stem |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Fork Crown |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Front Brake |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Fork Star Burst |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Wheel Hub |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Wheel Hub |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Wheel Rim |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Super Sport Decal |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Original Brooks B15 Saddle |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Seat Collar |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Schwinn Logo |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Pedals |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Chrome Molly Decal |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Crank |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Derailleur |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Front Derailleur |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Cable Hanger |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Rear Brake |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Rear Derailleur |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Before - Rear Derailleur |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Rear Wheel Hub |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Before Rear Wheel Rim |
I stripped the frame of its components and was pretty happy to see the paint under the dirt. I did a deep cleaning of the paint and got to polishing. I started with a course grit then a medium grit then a very fine grit. The paint looks absolutely fantastic! This may be the best example of original paint on a Sunset Orange Super Sport in existence.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Frame Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Before -head Tube |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Before - Seat Lug |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Frame Before Bottom Bracket |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Frame Before Bottom Bracket |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Before - Brake Bridge |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Before - Drop Outs |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Frame Before Chain Stay - Poor Photo & a Cat |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Fork - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Fork Before - Awesome Star Burst |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Fork Before Chrome Fork Crown |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Fork Before Drop Outs |
Below are the photos of the frame polished, it is stunning. The last photo is one of my polishing pads and discs, it cuts a very fine layer of paint to make a smooth paint surface to reflect the light and make it shine. What amazes me is how different the orange on that was cut with the polishing pad is from the actual color of the frame.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Frame Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Polished - Head Tube |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Polished - Head Tube |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Frame Polished Down Tube Decals |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Polished - Seat Lug |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Polished - Schwinn Decal |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Frame Polished Bottom Bracket |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Polished - Brake Bridge |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Frame Polished - Drop Outs |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Fork - Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Fork Polished Fork Crown |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Fork Polished - Star Burst Decal |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Fork Polished Drop Outs |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Fork Polished - Star Burst Decal |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Polishing Pad |
I put the headset and bottom bracket components into the crock pot to loosen the grease. I then polished the pieces and replaced the bearings in the cages. Being a one piece crank I had to clean and polish the crank with the bottom bracket to complete the bottom bracket.
The crank has just some very minor rust, cranks like this are dangerous to polish with the power polisher so I did the safe parts with the power polisher and the rest buy hand. I am extremely happy with the results of the crank it looks fantastic and it spins perfect.
Because of the crank being a one piece crank the photos are out of order below of the actual work but the idea is there.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Headset Bottom Bracket - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Headset Bottom Bracket - Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Headset Cups - Pressed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Headset Bearing Cups - Pressed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Headset Bearings Packed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Fork Greased |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bearing Cup - Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Fork Crown |
The shift levers where in pretty good shape, they took a lot of flushing but then polished perfect and with a small dab of grease function very nice. I have always liked the Schwinn Big Stick shift levers, they have always function very well. Big Stick is not an official name.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Shift Levers Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Schwinn Big Stick Shift Levers - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Shift Levers Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Shift Levers Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Shift Levers Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Shift Levers Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Headset Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Headset Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Crank Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Crank Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Crank Exploded |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Crank - Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Crank - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bottom Bracket Bearing Cups & Bearings Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Crank - Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Crank - Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Crank - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Crank - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket Complete |
The stem and handlebars polished beautifully, very nice. Some day I am going to paint the Schwinn "S" that is stamped into the stem, I would paint the relief circle an orange red and the "S" white for this Super Sport. I think painting the "S" would really set it out, I do not remember at this exact moment but i think Schwinn did that in the 1930's.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Stem & Handlebars Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Stem - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Stem Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Stem Handlebars - Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Stem and Handlebars - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Stem & Handlebars - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Stem & Handlebars - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle So Far |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle So Far |
There are a lot of small pieces to the Super Sport, the most pieces I have come across in a bicycle in a long time, because of this I am building the Super Sport up in a little different order then I normally do. Polishing on power polishers take a lot of strength in the hands and arms and to give my hands and arms a rest i am working on the wheels today.
The wheels are in okay starting shape, a little rough in places and not so rough in others. I cleaned the wheels and then got on to polishing. For the outside of the rim I use the power polishers but this is easier on the hands because the size of the wheels allows for good leverage. I then polished the hubs and finished off the rest of the rims. The polishing turned out fantastic!
With the polishing done I cleaned the axle components and polished the bearing surfaces. I installed new grease and bearings and assembled the hub. The wheels spin extremely nice.
With the axles complete I trued the wheels, the wheels took a lot of tuning to get straight but now they are very nice. I installed the new tubes and Kenda K40 tires and polished the skewers. The wheels look beautiful and function very nice and look great next to all the chrome and orange paint!
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Rear Wheel - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel New Grease |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel Axle Componets |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration New Kenda K40 Tires |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Wheel Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Rear Wheel - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Front Wheel - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Old Grease |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Wheel Rim Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Wheel Hub Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Wheel New Grease & Bearings |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Wheel Compelte |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Front Wheel - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Seat Post Seat Collar & Cable Hanger - Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Seat Post Seat Collar & Cable Hanger - Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Seat Post & Seat Collar - Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Seat Post Area & Wheels - Complete |
The brake calipers where also completed, the alloy and small pieces polished very nice. I did need to replace one of the small red plastic bushings to get the rear caliper to work correctly. I assembled the brake calipers and installed the new Kool Stop Continental salmon colored brake pads. The brake pads will work very well and have the a pretty close look to the original red Schwinn brake pads. The brake calipers look fantastic against that sunset orange paint.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Levers Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Levers Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Levers Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Levers Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Levers Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Levers Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Calipers Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Calipers Exploded |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - New Continental Brake Pads |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Calipers Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brake Calipers Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Front Brake Caliper - Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Rear Brake - Installed |
The rear derailleur is one of the better looking rear derailleurs Schwinn made. The rear derailleur has some brass pieces that when polished are very nice against the chrome.
I polished all the pieces and did the assembly of the derailleurs. The rear derailleur is built in two assemblies and so far has turned out very nice but by looking at the cage I can tell it will need a good deal of fine tuning on the test ride. In the potos ou can see the brass and chrome pieces against each other, a beautiful look.
The jockey wheels on the rear derailleur have bearings that they run on. The old bearings where no good so I greased the bearing tracks and installed new bearings, the wheels spin very smooth.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Derailleurs Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Derailleur Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Derailleur Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Derailleur Small Parts - Before - Photo to help remember small parts. |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Derailleur Half Exploded & Reference Photo to Remember Parts |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Derailleurs Exploded |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Derailleur Exploded |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Derailleurs Polished |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Rear Derailleur - Sub Assembly |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Derailleurs Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Derailleurs Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Derailleur Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Rear Derailleur Brass Pieces |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Rear Derailleur - Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Derailleur Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Derailleur Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Derailleur Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Front Derailleur Installed |
I cleaned the pedals and got to polishing, most of the polishing is done by hand on pedals to prevent a splotchy finish. With the pedals clean I lubricated the pedals and installed them, they turned out pretty descent.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Pedals Before |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Pedals Polished the best they would. |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Pedals Installed |
The free wheel is in surprisingly good shape for the age, I did some cleaning and lubricating and it spins wonderfully. I also polished the classic Schwinn pie plate, it cleaned and polished out very nice andinstalled looks fantastic and brand new.
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Pie Plate Freewheel - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Pie Plate Freewheel - Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Cables Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Cables - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Cables Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Cables Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Cables Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Cables Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - New Aged Leather Brooks Saddle |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Brooks Leather Saddle - Installed |
This morning has gone very well, I started with the chain. The chain is not original but should be okay, I had to repair one of the links. With the chain installed i did a rough stand tuning and could tell right away the rear derailleur was going to need work, but that is for the test riding to get it just right.
With the chain installed I got to work on the handlebar tape. John brought me the Brooks leather handlebar tape and in it is a perfect chose. Leather handlebar tape takes some care to install but it all went well. The Brooks leather tape looks fantastic installed, just amazing!
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - New Brooks Brown Leather Handlebar Wrap |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - One Side Handlebar Wrap Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - One Side Handlebar Wrap Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brooks Handlebar Wrap - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brooks Handlebar Wrap - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brooks Handlebar Wrap - Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - New Aged Brooks Tool Bag |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Brooks Tool Bag Installed |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
I could not wait to do the test ride. The first couple of miles it took quite a lot of work to get the rear derailleur worked out and the bicycle tuned. I have never tried the Kool Stop pads before, I did not expect them to work so well and I almost flipped the bike on the first brake test! They work really well!!
When I got the Super Sport fine tuned I was amazed with the ride. There has always been something about the Schwinn Fillet brazed frame, I have never been able to put my finger on the exact thing about them the best description has always been just "Rides Like a Cadillac!"
The ride is just fantastic but the looks are even better, It may be the most amazing Super Sport out there, or at very least the best example of a sunset orange Super Sport!! The looks are so classic and the aged leather saddle, tool bag and handlebar tape is amazing. There is something about a classic Schwinn with everything polished and shining and the colors, beautiful!!
I am very proud of the work on the Super Sport, I don't think it could have turned out better!!
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Complete - Front |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Handlebars |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Stem |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Complete - Front Brake |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Stem & Shift Levers |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Complete - Star Burst |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Front Wheel |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Complete - Front Half |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Super Sport Decal |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Brooks Saddle |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Complete - Schwinn Decal |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Drive Train |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Complete - Crank |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration Bicycle Complete - Rear Derailleur |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Brooks Tool Bag |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Rear Brake |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Rear Wheel |
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| John H's 1973 Schwinn Super Sport Restoration - Bicycle Complete Messing Around with Photo Angles |
John Z.
Hello- I am the owner of the above '73 Super Sport. I picked it up today, 8/10/14, and could not be more pleased! John Z has exceeded My lofty expectations.
ReplyDeleteNot only is He a skilled craftsman, passionate of His trade, but also an honest and professional business man.
Do not hesitate to leave Your pride and joy, and Your checkbook with Him. You will not be disappointed or taken advantage of.
John Z, thank You so much for helping create My dream bike!!!
John H
John H's 1973 Super Sport restoration is what brought me to John with my 1972 Super Sport. Schwinn made some great bikes in their day and John is bringing them back to life for us. These restorations are fantastic and I am grateful to have one of my bikes as one John has chosen to restore and document on his site. Thanks John H for sharing your bike with us and thanks John Z for all you do for us and these bikes!
ReplyDeleteNice job! I'd love to take it for a spin. Can you give any hints for restoring the chrome parts?
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful bike and restoration!
ReplyDeleteThis looks more Opaque Red than Sunset Orange to me.
Apparently these may have been stamped with 1973 serials and sold as 1974 model year bikes.