[CR]comments on making a bike better than it ever was

(Example: Framebuilding:Norris Lockley)

From: <Wornoutguy@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 23:08:29 EST
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]comments on making a bike better than it ever was

I am about to restore a pre war Superior track bike sold to me by a fellow list member. The original paint had been covered by some cheap car paint. Someone along the line drilled the back bridge for a brake and drilled the top tube for a brake cable internal routing. This bike is probably a 1938 though not worth huge gobs of money it is reasonably rare and something I have lusted after. It is obvious that there is no original finish to save.
   I have already repaired the drilled holes in the tubes by welding them shut I did not see this as any problem since they did not belong there to begin with. My question to the list is this: The bike is an early one and unlike later models I have seen the welds were not cleaned up that well, do I take it upon myself to make this bike better than it was or reproduce it as close to original as possible? Opinions? Sam DiBartolomeo In Riverside CA