Classic & Vintage - I love connections, even though nothing will probably come of it...

I'm on an Oldsmobile forum as well, and I mentioned the Chicago C&V ride, as I knew that a lot of the guys on there were from the Chicagoland area...Today, I get this private message:


I have an old Fuji in perfect condition from the mid-70's. Cost over $700, back then.

Maybe I'll dig it out and do some research about it. If it's anything special, I'll let ya know.



=============================

If Da Bears win tomorrow...LOOK-OUT

IT'S ON

And I'm freaking...

Over $700 in the 70's? Scott or Matt will know but that's probably a Professional or Newest at that price?

Who knows. He's a car guy - unless he bought it new, I'd be curious as to the actual price.

Over $700 in the 70's? Scott or Matt will know but that's probably a Professional or Newest at that price?

I've seen far too many exaggerations to buy into it immediately. A few months back, there was a local guy who was posting that he paid something like $800 for his S12-s. Still, Mickey85's lead is worth checking out. If you aren't interested, please let me know and I might be.

BTW, I cannot speak for all years, but it seems that the early Newest was somewhere around $399. The early Pro was somewhere around $599, when it first came out. (These estimates are from a former Fuji distributor, but he is not certain.)

If that does turn out to be a mid 70's Pro and you go look at it or buy it, please send me pics of the lugs. I want to find another that matches my 75.

Or, maybe he shopped at a Minneapolis LBS? :)

Beech, if I do get to see/buy it, I'll definitely post up some pics. the phrase "dig it out" doesn't bode well for the paint job, but if it is a newest or Professional, I'll walk in with $200 in hand to see if that wouldn't sway him a bit.

I looked up the catalogs at the Classic Fuji website, but couldn't find much info on what exactly they came with, component-wise. What could I expect to see on it, assuming it's from the mid-to late-70's? I'm guessing a mix of Sugino and SunTour components with silver or grey paint...is that about accurate?

If it is indeed mid 70's and high end, I would expect grey paint. I don't know too much about the Newest, never had one, but the Pro came with Cyclone early on. Later, 1977 maybe, they switched to Superbe. Either way, you are right about Suntour F/RD, Sugino cranks, Sunshine hubs, and Diacompe brakes.

Either way, they function extremely well, but Cyclone doesn't carry the value of the others. Functionally, I cannot tell the difference between Cyclone, Superbe, and Campy Super Record if all are tuned in well.

If you want more pics of a Pro, Scott has his on his blog (http://vintagefuji.posterous.com/1978-fuji-professional) and mine can be found in my signature below. I can provide more pics as well.

Sounds like another beater Fuji, like anyone is interested.

Now Da BEARS winning tomorrow, thats what I'm talkin about!

Da Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears, Uh, uh,uh,uh

Sounds like another beater Fuji, like anyone is interested.

Now Da BEARS winning tomorrow, thats what I'm talkin about!

Da Bears, Da Bears, Da Bears, Uh, uh,uh,uh

You know that's true! DAAAAA BEARS!

Anyway, about the bike, I saw in '72 that the Newest was listed as having 27X1-1/8 tubulars...is this for real, or were they just 700X27c tubulars marketed toward Americans?

I believe that early tubulars were marketed as 27", but they are actually 700C. Why, I do not know.

Edit: See this post:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=504101

Son of a...

The guy just got back to me. He believes it's a Grand Tourer from '79. Hi-ten frame, low end components, and the kicker - a 25" frame. Damn.

Thank him for his time and tell him to keep his eyes peeled for any nice old bikes that come his way. I've found that car guys always get offered interesting stuff....but you probably already know that ;)

Son of a...

The guy just got back to me. He believes it's a Grand Tourer from '79. Hi-ten frame, low end components, and the kicker - a 25" frame. Damn.

I didn't know the Grand Tourer went for $700 back then, but they sure seem to have sold a lot of them anyway.
I'm just surprised more people didn't opt for the $599 Professional.

:innocent:

Thank him for his time and tell him to keep his eyes peeled for any nice old bikes that come his way. I've found that car guys always get offered interesting stuff....but you probably already know that ;)

Yup :D He's a good friend, and he's known to be a bit of an exaggerator, but it got my hopes up anyway. Oh well...

Yup :D He's a good friend, and he's known to be a bit of an exaggerator, but it got my hopes up anyway. Oh well...

Keep looking ... they're out there. It's networking, networking, networking ....


Scott