In a situation such as this one , opinions differ .
Original Only Once & Patina & History - completely disassemble it , clean everything , polish everything , replace as little as possible ( large amounts of fresh grease being an exception ) , dents & scratches ? clean them and polish them , and wax them ! reassemble with care and precision , ride with pride and / or display with pride .
Touch up paint ? Replacement parts which are correct for that year , or "Period Correct" ? New cable housing ? New tires ? Now you are beginning to get away from original , and beginning to get into restoration .
This can mean anything up to . . .
Complete Restoration To "As New" Condition - full re-paint , re-chrome , re-anodize , to perfect as-new condition .
Some folks replace parts with "New Old Stock" parts . The problem is , every time somebody does it , there are fewer and fewer "New Old Stock" parts left for everyone else's NEXT project !
But , no matter what anyone else may tell you ,
I have only this to say ,
Is it my frame size ??
:^)
Raoul Delmare
Marysville Kansas
> Guys & Gals:
>
>
> Looking for a recommendation. I have had a vintage Colnago Mexico fall
( or
> more accurately thrown) into my lap. A few weeks back, someone posted
some
> supplemental pics to an ebay auction. I forwarded those pics to a friend
of
> mine who bought it. It turns out he was in hot H2O already for too much
> bike crap. To prevent either divorce or a shallow grave scenario, I
bought
> it from him (as it was my fault to begin with, you see)
>
> Now the question is what should I do with it? In looking through my stuff,
I
> don't really have room for it. Its a genuine Mexico with full
pantographs.
> The frame is in so-so shape---a few dings, scrtaches etc in no means show
> room---the full SR Campy group and the interesting 6arm crank are in great
> shape. It even has Colnago embossed rims. Do I keep the bike intact or
> part it out selling the groupo as a whole? Is such a bike common,
somewhat
> rare, really rare? Shoule i make room to keep it or should I install a
> kickstand and safety levers and list it on ebay as 'vintage' 70's machine?
>
> Not to sound ludicrous, but does one have a responsibilty to preserve such
> cycling relics (or is this more commonplace). I tried finding Marc Boral
to
> ask him but have had no response...
>
> Any advise, philosphical or otherwise would be appreciated........
>
>
> Skip Sinatra, a distant cousin
> Frog Level, Virginia