Well, the CB Allrounder frame I scored on eBay from Hilary Stone arrived today!
I didn't want to say much until I actually had it in my hands for fear of jinxing something. It's pretty rough (1951), see eBay item 130159646898, and will need a thorough stripping and refinishing. The worst areas are the ends of the non-drive side seatstays and chainstays, where the chrome has flaked and bubbled and the steel is quite pitted. It looks like it's been repainted at least once some time ago, so I don't know if I can trust what's left of the existing decals. Hilary promised to send me scans of the catalogue pages for this bike.
My first lightweight bike was a 1954 (?) New Allrounder, so restoring this one has special meaning to me. I vaguely recall how the '54 was painted and decaled. It had two bands of Olympic rings on the seat tube, but this frame has the chevrons. Hopefully the catalogue scan will reveal more. My '54 also had a metal headbadge, but this frame has a decal and no evidence of rivet holes.
Anyway, It looks like my work is cut out for me. I'll be asking lots of questions here about this bike and how to build it up in the coming months. If anyone has any gems to contribute, please don't hesitate to post or email me.
John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada