Grey Ghost

Just in time for Halloween, my Grey Ghost is almost finished. I especially like this bike for a number of reasons, most of all it's rarity. Schwinn produced the Grey Ghost only in 1971 as a coaster brake model (single speed, which this is) and a more popular 5 speed model. This bike has a build date of November 1970, which would make it one of the first one's produced for the 71 model year. Some lucky kid probably found it under the tree on December 25th, 1970.

Another thing which makes this bike rare is the rear wheel. Normally the rear wheels on these bikes have 2 rows of knurling all the way around. For some reason Schwinn made only one row of knurling in 71, making the one row wheels hard to find. The pedals are another thing. With all these one-year-only changes Schwinn did for 1971 models, they put white reflectors in the pedals. Luckily I found a set that is pretty worn out, to match the rest of the bike.

Since this bike is such a unique bike, I decided to not repaint the frame. A bike with all these chips and scratches will usually be more valuable to collectors as-is, rather than restored. Because the paint isn't perfect, I didn't have to search for perfect parts, making it much easier and cheaper to restore to it's former glory. I'm very happy with the way it's turning out, looking like a well worn survivor from 1971.