Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Cinelli Flying C stem question

so along with a bunch of campy parts (headset, a double crankset, brakes) i found this cinelli stem in the basement of the house i live in now (completely abandoned).

i've gathered that it's a flying C (here - http://cgi.ebay.com/Cinelli-Stem-Flying-C-in-13-0_W0QQitemZ6606171238QQcategoryZ420QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

how the hell to i clamp down onto bars with this stem?
it seems that there is a piece that goes underneath the stem, which is missing (where can i get this piece?)

also, is there anyway to get my 25.4 track drops to fit in this, what appears to be, a 26 space?

To answer your last question, you can use a shim. Nitto makes them, or you can cut up a beer can.

Campy and Cinelli parts in the basement.
A Miyata track frame in the dumpster.
Who are you people who find this stuff?!!

its not a 26 clamp, it's 26.4. so that'd be a beefy stem that'd fit between your stem and your Nitto bars.

also, those stems kinda suck, even with a 26.4 stem. the clamping mechanism just isn't all that tough (which is why they went back to the "c" clamp style [1a and 2a stems]). I make those stems creak without even trying. and i'm a skinny wuss.

Also, those model 1-R stems had aluminum quill bolts. Some people wouldn't feel great about trusting that bolt. I think it's not a bad idea to replace them with a steel quill bolt.

Yeah, people do complain about them squeaking; but, imo, it's hard to argue with their looks. I'd probably forget about the shim though and look for some compatible (26.4mm) Cinelli bars. Model 65 maybe? Have you checked that basement carefully . . .

Campy and Cinelli parts in the basement.
A Miyata track frame in the dumpster.
Who are you people who find this stuff?!!

I was scanning myspace last night and stumbled across this guy who had been invited to this old guy's attic, in which were housed several pristine track bikes. The old guy sold him a completely pimp Yanginsawa and a Mercian for 900 bucks. Let me track down the links to those blog entries..

Edit: The guy's profile and blog entries explain all (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=825680)

That's weird.
That guys my friend on myspace too.
He's a good friend of one of my "real" friends.

In regards to him, the rich get ****ing richer.
He has some of the most ridiculous bikes.

Darn... lucky people... I have no friends in this sport so far... so darn I envy U guys that can fuind those kind of things almost for free... 2 bikes for 900 bucks? wtf??

Cya :)

where can i get the nut to fit into the stem to put bars inside of it?

where can i get the nut to fit into the stem to put bars inside of it?

Maybe you should post pictures of your stem showing the bottom and the interior of the clamp area so we can see what's missing. IIRC, there should be an allen head accessible from the bottom of the stem near the clamp area which moves the clamp inside the stem.

If you're really missing those parts, then I think it might be tough to find them. Keep an eye out on eBay for them, or look for a cheap, thrashed/cosmetically damaged 1-R stem from which you can rob parts.

There's an allen-head chromed bolt that inserts from underneath the stem behind the bars. It screws into a wedge shaped piece that in turn pushes forward on the little T-shaped piece that actually compresses against the bars. The T-shaped piece, which has a stem and a square face perhaps 2 centimeters square with the curve of the bars on it, isn't held in by anything, which is why that plastic shim is put in place whenever there aren't bars inserted. Remove the shim and the T-shaped piece falls out.

The comments above about the poor clamping and the alloy expander bolt are accurate. It wasn't Cinelli's finest hour. You just might find a replacement piece at www.bicycleclassics.com, www.yellowjersey.org, or www.renaissance-cycles.com; otherwise post on the vintage form and someone with a cosmetically trashed stem might have one.