> I got this from a 1988 Falcon catalog. 453 is butted > Chromalloy-M like 501. It is heat-treated and cold > worked. Tensile strength is 802 N/mm2. Gauge is > 1.02/0.81mm. It looks like 453 was just the 3 main > tubes. 501 had all the tubes and the gauge was > different. Leonard, Thanks for info; so much for Reynolds' statement that the stuff never existed. Perhaps we should send Reynolds a copy of the catalogue to convince their modern employees that the stuff actually exists. But I'm not sure I follow your statement that "501 had all the tubes". I have a Peugeot made from 501 and I think that only the main tubes and fork blades are 501. I wonder if the 453 business wasn't simply an attempt to get away from the (undeserved) bad reputation that 501 had acquired. That is, it's the same material as 501 but rebadged in such a manner as to associate it with the vaunted 753. Cheers, Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia