Schwinn Wastyn Paramount Project

[Mooks]

I am posting the "before" pictures on a project that has started in ernest.   I will post updates along the way.  This appears to be a 1949 ish Paramount Wastyn built Paramount. Serial #279.  The Chainrevolution.com Paramount Registry places it there.  It received a horrible re-paint at some point in its life, the oil port was brazed shut, and the crank arm was broken straight through.  The frame however is in excellent shape and so is the adjustable stem. 

I am going for a full restoration. and I am using that word cautiously. It will not be a perfect restore, but my intent is to take it as far as I can.  I would appreciate it if Forum members,  could give me advice along the way if I start to stray. Some of the posts may be duplicative from other threads. I am sorry about that. But thought I would try to keep a complete record here just for the heck of it.

Here is the Flickr photo stream for higher resolutions photo's and a complete library of progress. https://www.flickr.com/photos/31640551@N06/sets/72157645736415391/

Here we go.

[Mooks]

About a month ago, I had a rainy day and plopped myself down and went to work on the hubs for a few hours with chrome polish.  They were not too rusty, just very oxidized  (I wish I had a before picture).   They came out great. I recently snagged some original canisters that the hubs were sold in. I have never seen these canisters before. They are huge and beefy.

The hubs are re-greased with new bearings.  The front axle is not correct and that is something I will deal with later, or if one magically comes my way.

[Mooks]

Here is another picture of the hub. The axle looks a little long, but I have no way to tell if it is truly original.  The cog is a Villiers with Campagnolo lock ring

[Mooks]

The bike did not have rims or tires, so I had to order new wood rims from Ghisallo in Italy and some nice chunky tubular tires from a little shop in France called FMB.  Both the rims and tires were made to order custom by hand, and shipped to me within a week.

[JenniferC]

Hokey smokes, that's one heck of a project. The way they made those rims was a very interesting story. The tire story was too. Can't wait to see what this bike looks like when it's built

[Mooks]

I have been searching for a halfway decent Brooks B-17 Champion Sprinter to replace the trashed original. They are not out there.  Finally on E-Bay a NOS saddle was posted with four other very nice Ideale saddles from a collection as a package for an outrageous price. I called the guy and we made a deal on the B-17.  I am happy with it, but it is dated 1960, a little too new for the bike by about ten years.  But the size, model and proportions are spot on and it will show nice.

It is by far the smallest saddle I have ever seen, 110 mm wide by 275 mm long.

[BobHufford]

Ooohh ... this is going to be fun.   

Bob

[Echo_Delta]

Ooohh ... this is going to be fun.   

Bob

yes it is!

[Mooks]

The color scheme will be white with red accents in the head tube and fork window panes.  The first catalog from the 40's shows accurately the colors I am going with.

The decal scheme will be more in line with the 1948 catalog.  This version does not have the racing stripes on the seat tube.  I feel this is a little less fussy, and the stripes will not compete with the Schwinn Quality badge and AS Chrome Molly decal.  I have consulted with Richard Schwinn and he indicated that the blue bands are toward the inside, and red bands on the outside per the original specification, which he has.  This is different than the photo. So I am going that way.

The brazed over oil port is a curiosity. It is possible this was done at the factory, since it appears the work was pretty good and their was less a need for them post war.  Richard is going to contact Oscar Wastyn Jr. to confirm if this was the case.  If it was, I will leave it be.  If it was filled later, I will have to decide if I should drill it back in.  But Richard said there would be risks to the frames integrity if we went that way

[likebike23]

Looks like a heck of a project. I can't wait to see the progress updates and finished product.

[Mooks]

I know that the paramounts at this time were built by the Waystns and I also know that there were bikes built by the Wastyns that were called Wastyn Specials or Oscar Wastyn  Specials. I am curious as to why you are using both  paramount and Wastyn special to describe this bike?

You are correct.  It is a Wastyn built Schwinn Paramount. I changed the title of this thread.

Thanks,
Michael

[Nick]

Impressive stuff here.   

[Mooks]

These pedals and toe clips came with the bike. Pedals…unknown, but in good shape. Christophe toe clips with a lot of rust. Any ideas about these pedals would be helpful.   

[Nick]

I've never seen that type of pedal but it vaguely
reminds me of the Lyotard pedals that I picked up
at the Memory Lane spring show last year.

Mine were the 36F rat traps.

Lot of pedal manufacturers out there over the years.

[Mooks]

I found a replacement crank.  I thought this would take me years, but I got lucky.  It needs significant cleaning and polishing but it should do the job. It looks like the previous owner of this crank embellished it with red paint in the flute. I bet that looked pretty good.