I saw a Frejus, apparently Tour de France model, for sale the other day at $400. I didn't inspect it that closely because it had a Tange front fork, mediocre '70's wheels and some NR components and I concluded that I didn't want it but might go back with a low offer if it doesn't sell. It allegedly had original paint, no tubing identification and "decals" that actually looked hand painted -- "Frejus" written high up so that the ends were just covered by the gear lever band and "Torino" written vertically down each side of the seat tube. The seller was convinced this was all original. The rear dropouts were "Allez" Campy look-alikes. The only braze-ons were rear derailleur cable stops. The aluminum bits of the derailleurs had been shot-blasted giving them an ugly matt appearance. Does anybody know when this frame might have been made and what sort of quality it would be? The front derailleur had 4 holes in the outer cage plate. Is this rarer and more desirable? The derailleur aluminum bits didn't seem to have lost much definition in the blasting -- how would one go about trying to get them back to soemthing like the original, or would it be a waste of time? Should the foregoing set you drooling sufficiently to want to pay close to the asking price, I am prepared to see if I can get it for you.
Thanks
Hugh Thornton