hersefan@comcast.net wrote:
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> Hi CR folks,
>
> I have just taken ownership (once again) of the green 1964ish Masi track bike shown on Alex Clark's Vintage Velos site.
>
> This bike is curious. I believe it to be the finest built Masi Special I've ever seen - super clean brazing, with wonderfully sculpted fitting of the dropouts (one of America's best builders once commented that it would keep him entertained trying to match the workmanship there).
>
> This bike also has no serial number ID or location coding. Could this have been something special done at the Vigorelli by Masi himself or by a special builder? I have no idea. Does anyone have any idea when Faliero himself finally gave up the torch?
>
> Going through the archives, I sense a lot of conflicting views on what was going on at the time. Of course I'd love to know that Faliero built it - but maybe there was someone more skilled who did this one perhaps? Has anyone seen another Masi Special from the period with no markings (including no size markings) on the fork or BB shell? And if so, how was the workmanship on it?
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> Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
>
> Mike Kone in Boulder CO
The early 1960s Masi Special that I bought from Charles Andrews (he offered it to the list October a year ago) isn't stamped with a province code or size in centimeters so the generally held assumption is that it is a custom. It has a flanged 74mm Cinelli bottom bracket shell, eyelets for fenders front and rear and a chainstay bridge with stud threaded for fender mount.
Charles described the workmanship back then as: "Lug work, filing, and brazing on this Special are distinctly better than on any others I've seen. Quality on these varied quite a bit. Lugs are very crisp, and all shore-lines are completely symmetrical. Lug radii are perfect throughout. Filing on the bb shell is especially nice."
I'd add that the ears on the seat lug are very clean for the period; they have been filled in with braze and then filed so they have crisp edges and solid so they won't collapse when the seat bolt is cranked down.
There are only two things that aren't perfect on the frame... there is a 1/4" hole in the rear of the bottom bracket shell just above the chainstays and below the lug point that's not centered, and the holes for the headbadge are off maybe 5° from center. Other than that, exceptionally neat workmanship for a race frame.
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
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