George,
Hate to be the bearer of bad news but that's some of the worst corrosion I've seen on a bike frame. It looks as if it may have been under water for some time, maybe even salt water which will cause that kind of pitting.
Many Colnagos were built with Columbus SL tubing with a .9mm wall thickness in the butted ends. With rust pits that deep on the outside, it's very likely that there is similar or worse corrosion on the inside of the tubes too. The head tube area is highly stressed so unless those pictures are exaggerating the corrosion and it is only localized I'd have it checked by a competent frame builder before ever riding that bike.
The tubes and lugs can be replaced but corrosion that severe is seldom limited to just one area. The seat stays are a frequent area of internal corrosion. I've seen quite a few old bikes that looked OK until the paint was removed which exposed pin holes from internal rust that corroded all the way through the tubes.
Chas. Colerich
Oakland, CA USA
> Hi all, I just traded a mid 90's Basso gap frame that was a little big for me for a 1983ish Colnago Super that may be a little small for me...
>
> Anyhow, the Colnago had been thickly painted over seemingly with a paint brush but ONLY on the front 1/2 of the frame (starting about midpoint of both seat and top tubes.) I was wary but probably under the spell of the club shaped cutouts. Then I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I had possibly made a bum deal. I found myself in the basement in only my robe with an open container of Jasco! (Never a good idea at 3am or any time really). I stripped the paint off a part of the frame expecting to find it was made of bondo. I didnt see any evidence of that but there is a lot of "pitting" at the junction of the top/head tubes. I have uploaded photos here...
> http://www.flickr.com/
>
>
> Can anyone tell me if this is just corrosion or does it look like a potential frame repair area? Assuming the former can it be polished out before repaint or should I just paint it as is?
>
> Also, question on dating the frame so I can seek out proper decals...it has the sloping "aero" fork crown (1983), it has cable guides under the tt, shifter bosses, 2 water bottle mounts and a braze on for the front derailer. Were all those other features available on 1983 frames or is it perhaps later (gulp...off topic.)
>
> The original color is the candy wine red with a fully chromed fork and a chromed drive side chainstay. Rear dropout Campy, fork end Colnago.
>
> Thanks all
>
> George Ramos
> Portland, OR
> USA