First, the characters under the bottom bracket shell make no sense to me. I see WP4 toward the left side, then some space and 4286 towards the right except the "4" looks a bit odd to me.
Second, this bike has Nervar Sport cranks with no length indication. Are they most likely 170's? A set of modern pedals seems to want to go in only a few threads and not further so I did not force the issue - are the pedals holes French threaded? (Wouldn't that be odd for a Raleigh?) I've felt what English pedals into French threads feels like before and this feels like that. What would be the proper pedals for a bike like this, without cleats? The bike was a sport-tourer so I doubt many of its original riders used cleats and I don't intend to, either.
Were/are period correct cranks for this bike available in 172.5mm, my preferred length?
My best guess, based on the tubing stickers, is 1971 for this bike but a friend tells me he thinks it's later.
Many thanks in advance.
Steve "greasy fingers at the keyboard" Freides