David,
I'm curious why you are looking for more modern Japanese freewheels to match with a French threaded hub & an older French derailleur rather than just using a French (and French threaded) 5-speed freewheel.
I suppose it is possible that Shimano or Suntour might have actually made freewheels with French threads, intended exclusively for export to France, although I would think the domestic French freewheels of the 1950s to 1970s are and always would have been far more commonly found. Especially since the French would have been extremely reluctant to buy any imported Asian components as replacements for their own world famous components which they would have regarded as far superior in quality to any Asian parts relatively unknown in France.
As for the problem of fitting a 5-speed freewheel to your derailleur, it puzzles me that you would have any problem there. Simplex was the first to actually introduce a 5-speed 3/32" freewheel in the 1930s and I would presume they had offered a compatible derailleur that early too.
I've personally owned a couple 1950s TDF type Simplex derailleurs which had no issues when shifting across standard, full width, 5-speed freewheels.
Could your derailleur perhaps have a shorter plunger bolt... which may have been intended for a more narrow 3 or 4 speed freewheel?
By the way: Do these parts look compatible with your derailleur?
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/
BOB HANSON, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, USA
----------------------------------------------
David Snyder Wrote:
I'm looking for a Pro-Compe or Perfect Freewheel body or complete freewheel.
5 speed, French threaded.
I'll be building it up as a sort of Ultra-5, to work with my 1950's Simplex TDF derailer.
I prototyped the build tonight using an English-threaded body and easily got the width down to 23.6mm overall, the maximum that the plunger derailer will handle.
I previously built up a Shimano 5-speed body using 7-speed spacers with a re-machined body, and am still using that for now, but it's time to get the original rear hub back on there, hence my need for a french-thread freewheel.
I'll also be looking for an 18t (large-form, 4-spline) cog for it. Ratios to be: 14-16-18-21-24t.
Thanks for digging! David Snyder Auburn, CA usa
**************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)