>From Dave Moulton's web site: http://www.prodigalchild.net/
Frame Numbers on Custom Frames. (Custom only, not Fuso.)
These were linked to the date the frame was made which was an idea I borrowed from Masi. Im glad I did this because I can now say exactly when a custom frame was built. For example the number 7843. The first digit is the month; in this case July. The first digit was 1 through 9 for January to September, then O for October, N for November, and D for December. The next two digits is the year; in this example 1984.
The forth and last digit is the number frame built that month. I built on average eight frames a month, so this number tells me the frame was built the second week of July 1984. The number was always a four digit number with two exceptions. One month in 1983 I built eleven frames, so there are two frames out there with a five digit number ending in 10 and 11. Incidentally that month was early in 1983 about the time I moved into my own shop in San Marcos, CA. All I did was work and sleep back then; trying to get ahead.
Also stamped on the underside of the bottom bracket shell was the frame size. Usually this was in centimeters (Measured center to top.) but occasionally I would be asked to build a frame measured in inches. In this case the frame size would be marked for example (21in.).
I recently found my original frame number record book. It lists all numbers of custom frames built from January 1982 until July of 1986. There were a few custom frames built after that date but they are not recorded in this book. The numbers of these frames would follow the same format described above. The book unfortunately does not have full frame specs listed. It just lists the frame number, the size of frame, the original customer and bike dealer it was sold through.
There were only 216 custom dave moulton frames built in The United States. This surprised me; I thought the number was higher. In 1982 while still working in the Masi shop I built 69 frames. In 1983 after moving into my own facility I built 96 custom frames. I addition to this I built around 200 John Howard frames. (I dont have exact numbers.)
In 1984 I built 39custom frames. As production of the Fuso started the numbers of the custom frames built dropped dramatically. In 1985 only 9 were built and in 1986 the number of custom frames was 3. After that I built so few I didnt even record the numbers. Again a total of 216.
Of the 216 custom dave moulton frames built there were different models:
special PROFESSIONAL ROAD -- The most popular frame. Columbus SL or SLX; 73 degree head angle; 1 3/8 inch fork rake. 157 built.
special PRO CRITERIUM -- Built in Columbus PS (Pista Sprint) Track fork crown with special round oval/round fork blades; 74 degree head angle; 1 1/8 inch fork rake. 34 built.
special PROFESSIONAL TRACK Only 3 built.
special GRAND TOURING Braze on rack and fender eyelets. Only 19 built.
special LADY GRAND TOURING Ladies model with a dropped top tube. Only 3 built. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chuck "2832" Schmidt South Pasadena, CA
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