Vintage Raleigh question - supercourse or super grand prix?
 

Hi there,
I'm trying to identify the model of my vintage Raleigh. The decals have all been removed but the paint is perfect - so either this is the factory paint (doubtful) or it has been professionally stripped and repainted.

It's a 63cm frame with bar-end shifters. It has Suntour GS dropouts and suntour AR and Suntour GT components. It feels fairly light given the size of the frame.

The serial # is WK9003073. I believe this means it is a 1979 Worksop production.
My sense is that it's a 1979 Super Course or Super Grand Prix.

Any ideas?
Thanks!
Carman

Hello Carman, I'm not one of the Raleigh experts here, but I'll give it a shot. I think it's a 1979 Supercourse. Going by the '79 catalog there was only two models that used Suntour dropouts. One was a touring bike, the other was the Supercourse, this isn't a touring bike. If it is a Supercourse there's been some changes made. Originally the rear brake cable was on the bottom side of the top tube. Also, the down tube would have clamp on cable stops, not braze-ons. These changes are easily made when the bike was repainted.

Thanks Brian. I just tracked down the online '79 catalog and see that the extras include "brazed on cables eyes" and "guides down tube stops". So maybe they are factory?

Anyway, this is a really terrific bike to ride and I'm happy to know a bit more about it. Thanks.

Kirk.