This afternoon I stumbled across my first BMX project. I'm mostly a vintage freestyle guy, but I couldn't pass this up. I went to pick up my Master from the bike shop, and the owner asked if I was interested in another Haro. He had an early 90's Group 1. It was nice, so I asked if he'd trade for an vintage Sears muscle bike I have that he's seen. He agreed. When I came back with the bike, I noticed this old Schwinn in among all the Stingrays and other classics he had. I asked if he'd consider trading my Sears bike for this instead of the Group 1. He said if I threw in $100, it would be a deal. So I did, I was tired of the old Sears bike and didn't want it anymore anyway. It's an old Schwinn Scrambler. He said it was all original, minus decals. But, he also threw in some original Scrambler 36-36 decals. The bike is in good shape, some paint scratches and a little rust but not much.

I was really happy driving home with this in the back of my station wagon. My first bike was a Stingray framed bike converted to BMX. My Dad had found a bike, I think in a dumpster, brought it home, Kryloned it black, bought a new seat, pads and maybe a few other parts and it was my FIRST bike ever. So, it goes without saying that I'm excited today. I already own my all time dream bike, an 87 GT Pro Freestyle Tour Team, but now I've got a project like the one that started off my favorite activity. I'm debating what exactly to do. Right now I just plan to clean it up, re-grease it and put some new tires on (originals are bald and dry rotted) and ride it around this summer. I'm considering a restoration, the place I bought it from does amazing Schwinn restos. But, I'm really leaning towards stripping it down and getting out the gloss black Krylon, just like my Dad did when I was a tot. I don't know yet. Sorry this turned into such a long post, but I think some of you might understand how excited I am. Don't know if I got a good deal or a bad one, but now I've had it for less than an hour, it feels like money very well spent. $100 + an old bike I didn't want any more.

Dude, if you want to paint it black, I say do it. That's a cool ride as is if you just want to ride it.

WOW! Good job! I guess listening to Melvins can't be all that bad! JK LOL Hey just make sure you tape off the head badge! NO RUNS, NO DRIPS, NO ERRORS! LOL goodluck with the vintage project.

LOL G-Flash, see good things happen to those who believe in Melvins.

I just took it for a spin. I put some new tires on first. It was a lot of fun. I tried to ride a wheely and nearly threw the bike out from under me. Probably not a good idea anyway with that paper thin fork. I'm thinking I'm going to leave it as is for now and ride it around this summer. It's definately a fun bike, and I've got 4 friends who ride Stingrays regularly, so now I can be in their Stingray gang, lol.

I think the only thing I'll do to it after it's totally cleaned up is to add a number plate, and/or some bar and neck pads.

Those Scramblers actually came in a matte black and they look sweet that way if you care. There are a boat load of OG silver Scramblers out there. I love original paint and all but it needs decals already. The flat black ones look sweet. Those decals are everywhere. Send me your address and they will be there by the end of the week. Seriously.

Pat

Wow, thanks Pat. I PM'd you about the decals.

The guy at the shop was telling me about the matte black finish. That would look pretty slick. He was also telling me that silver was the Scrambler's most popular color. I've got 2 black bike already, but I guess that's just because I love black. I'm still kind of on the fence about what to do with the bike. I think the best thing to do is to ride it this summer, then decide what changes to make and have them done over the next winter. I hate having bikes down when the weather is nice, plus I don't have much money right now.

Change tires. Done. Disassemble, clean, regrease. That's all she needs. Trade that frame out for a stripped one if you wanna change the color. You guys are killing me. If it ain't rusted out or painted over leave it.

I'd actually like to hear more about the Sears bike you traded - (my first bike was a Sears)

got any pics?

Sweet Scrambler, my buddy had one just like that in 1976/7. Thats not a 36/36, just a Scrambler. The 36/36 is a diamond frame, came a couple years after.

Leave it silver! Or sell it to me.

Leave it with the survivor paint, looks nice

I'm beginning to think unrestored is the way to go too. It does look nice as is. Plus, if I repaint it, it will have a fresh paint job, with a few small tears in the seat, a few dings in the rims, and a some rust on the cranks, pedals and sissy bar. I'm not looking to build a show-quality bike, but I tend to get a bit obsessive-compulsive when I start a project, so I'd probably start hunting for NOS parts to match the paint job, exactly what I don't want to do. I know this bike is going to be a lot of fun, I'm afraid of making myself afraid to ride it.

Most of the paint scratches are on the top tube. If I get a full pad set, I can put a top tube pad on and cover most of the scratches up. The bars might need a repaint, they've got a little more wear than the rest of the bike.

Randy, looks like I'll be sending my 36-36 decals to STR-1 in trade for some decals for this bike. Thanks for the model info.

sanjosebmx, here's the Sears bike. This is a 10-speed version of this bike, the only 10spd I've seen, the rest were all 5-speeds.

wow - mine was nothing like that!

lol

melvinsarmy, I feel you're excitement coming through in your posts. Good for you!

For a long time, I wanted a vintage bike like I had, and it took a while, but one day the box arrived from the US, and nothing, nothing at all, could beat the excitement of opening that box and pulling out a bike, just like I used to have.

This is a great hobby