My weekend foray to flea markets yielded a Benotto frame with a few parts and I'm hoping that someone out there might be able to help with a bit of info on the company and possible date/provenance. The first issue is whether the Benottos produced in Mexico are clearly stamped/marked as such. I searched the CR archives and couldn't find any leads on this. This frame has a seattube decal stating "Fabrica Biciclette Torino" leading me to think it's conceivably Italian, but I defer to the experts here on the list. There is also a small decal above declaring "Del Mundo 1977/San Cristobal". The Benotto name (white letters on a dark blue field) is found on the seattube, downtube, headtube and back of the seattube.
The fork is chrome with "Benotto" enscribed on the crown with traces of dark blue paint remaining; the paint is in reasonably good shape and is a dull gold with a slight greenish tint (underline "slight"). Bottom bracket has a clear "B" cutout and another which is more stylized (kind of like deco version of a "B"). There are two separate numbers stamped on the bottom bracket: "61" on the drive side and "1358" placed opposite. The lugs are fairly short pointed; those on the headtube have been additionally modified, forming a pronounced waist before reaching a point. Finally, the chainstays transition from oval to a shape approximating a diamond (or square on its edge) before tapering to the dropouts; the dropouts are Campy, fork and rear. The frame came with a newish Campy headset (I don't know the post SR models so can't identify), a very cool black Gipiemme aero-looking seatpost, and Ofmega cranks; no idea if any of the latter are original.
Curiously enough, there is no sign of a decal/sticker referring to the tubing used, leading me to wonder just what this thing is. If there was one, given the uniform shade of the paint, it must have been removed early in the frame's career, unless this particular metallic paint doesn't fade much.
Anyway, being a complete neophyte with this company's products I was hoping you all might be able to help me at least get a better sense of the relative quality of the frame--maybe even a rough guess as to age? It's going to fit me fine, so I'd like to build it up with components that are approximately period-correct. On the other hand, I paid virtually nothing for it, so I'm prepared to hear the worst.
Sorry for the length of this post, but figured that these were reasonably relevant details. Thanks.
Richard Jones-Bamman
Storrs, CT