Steven,
One website that I have found extremely helpful in identifying Chicago built
Schwinns is: http://www.geocities.com/
This is a site of Schwinn lightweight consumer and dealer catalogs and also price lists and owners manuals from 1960 (with the advent of the Continental) to 1979 (when Schwinn left Chicago) that Bob Hufford has put together.
I have a soft spot for these Schwinns that look good, last forever, and weigh more than my car and van put together. This affection started when my dad got me a 1965 Schwinn Super Sport for around $100 and I didn't know that their were alternatives to one piece Ashtubula cranks. That was big money for a bike in those days.
Doug Fattic
Steven Maasland of Moorestown, NJ asked:
"A friend of mine has an older Schwinn Continental frame that he wants to put on eBay, but is having trouble dating it properly. To the best that I can tell, the frame is likely from the 50's or early 60's as it was originally fitted with a suicide front derailleur, which I believed was only used up until about 1962-3."
"The decals are quite nice. The serial number is GO 15594"
"Can anybody tell me what parts would have originally been fitted to this bike and a more precise estimate of the correct age?"