CR,
I have been reading with interest the list for several weeks and hope as a newbie, readers will understand that although I am not a collector like it appears most on the list, I am an aficionado of extreme prejudice to one "on list" machine.
I have a Moretti, Columbus steel, circa mid 1970's. I rode with a gentleman in Vail, Colorado in 1976, Caesar Moretti, Jr., who was in his 70's at the time. I was 24 at the time. Caesar was a 6 day racer, from the 30's and 40's. His father, Sr., raced as well. Here is a link to a program I found on the web from a New York 6 day race in 1939 that Caesar and his partner won:
http://www.unc.edu/
I was a cat2 and had a Grandis that he said was not right for me. He put me on this frame that he, "imported from Italy from the man who made his frames when he raced". Although I was a fairly seasoned rider up until that point, I had never been properly "fitted" by someone who really knew what they were doing. Caesar tweaked all the components I had at the time, stem, bars, crank arms and of course seat height and position. The end result was amazing. The moment I got on this bike it was as if it was a part of me. Of course I still have the bike and recently, after 30 years of carrying it all over the world, I have started seriously riding it again.
I researched the archives of CR and found reference to another Moretti in
Denver that looked exactly as I remember my frame originally with regards to
paint and decals. http://img42.exs.cx/
I have re-painted my Moretti since. I attempted to e-mail the gentleman with the other Moretti in the archives but did not hear back from him.
I put photos of my beloved Moretti on wooljersey to see if anyone can figure out who actually made the frame with the end result of perhaps restoring the headbage and decals. I'm not sure if this is possible. At the time I think I heard Caesar say he imported about 200 of these frames. It is definitely a classic Italian racing frame from the early to mid 70's. I believe Caesar passed away in 1984.
The rear campy stay has 62, I'm 6'4" and it's a 62cm, and what looks like a serial number stamped. Here are the photos on wooljersey:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
I am unable to put into words how I feel towards this magical machine. We have seen many miles, over mountains, hill and dale in many parts of the world.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
James Doolittle
Spring, Texas