rbaisa

Hello everyone! I haven’t posted in a while, but have been lurking pretty consistently. Ahhhhh I finally found a paramount to save. Been looking for one for a loooong time, but I am on the short side and have never been able to find one in my size. I have wanted one of these since I was a kid. Well I was at a bike shop the other day and saw this hanging in the rafters in back. The price was right, so I picked it up. Paint is trashed, chrome is rusty, and the seat tube is dented, but I don’t even care. I am pretty sure the seat tube can be fixed. I will be heading to a bike shop in Chicago that says they can probably fix it. I am off of work today so I am going to see how well it will clean up before I go to the shop. I’ll post more picks later.

cb400bill

Congrats on your pickup. It looks like you have quite the project ahead of you.

It looks like it may have been used, and the top tube heavily sweated on, by someone on a trainer.

Which shop in Chicago are you speaking of?

khatfull

I've only been doing this for a little bit and have, admittedly, had some fine canvasses to work with but my golly, I look at that and I wouldn't know where to begin!!

Congrats and good luck...and please give us a good diary of the restore. I'll be very interested.

Maddox

Very very cool. Thanks for the photos - there's nothing worse than someone saying "I found X rare bike," and then failing to post photos.

Looks like a project, but a fun one. Can't wait to see some updates!

rbaisa

I took it to Blue City Cycles on 31st and Halstead. The guy that does the work is named Owen. I am pretty sure he is the owner and have heard good things about them. I told him about the forum and he said he would take pics of the process he will use to fix the frame which is pretty cool. I spent a good part of my morning cleaning the chrome lugs. Chrome polish and 0000 steel wool does wonders. They actually came out better that I thought they would. Mostly surface rust with some pitting though. I also removed the paint around the lugs so I could make sure to get all the rust out. I'll post some pics later.

EjustE

38th frame made on August, 1975. Great find. Looks like a P13. Here is the catalog page to help with restoration:

rbaisa

Cool thanks. I thought the F meant it was wade in February though?

Mike Mills

That is a candidate for a complete repaint.

I'd try to clean up the chrome plating first and take a look but it might also need to be rechromed. The fork, especially, looks like it will clean up well. The rest, ... I'd clean it first, then make the call.

miamijim

A=January
B=February
Etc......I think 'I' is skipped over.

I'd imagine you could grind a taper onto a properly sized seatpost and slowly tap the seatpost into the frame to open up the dent.

rbaisa

Here is how the chrome turned out after cleaning. I think they look rather good considering how much junk was on them. The camera picked up every little flaw. They actually look much better than the pictures I have posted.

AndyK 

How did you even recognize that as a Paramount hanging in a store? I'm sure after a full restoration, it will look like a beauty! Are you going to prime, and re-paint? Or are you having someone else do it? Good luck - do you have the Campy Record parts waiting to dress the frame with??

splytz1

Wow that's a shockingly good job on the chrome - and fast! What did you do?

cb400bill

Good chrome often cleans up well with Oxalyc acid. I've used Barkeeper's Friend with much success as it incorporates a small amount of it.

Photo tip, don't use the flash on your camera as your pics will show EVERY scratch and mark.

bikingshearer 

Great find. It's good to know another old Paramount is on the road to getting back on the road.

You will like the ride once you're done. I know I like the ride of mine.

Mike Mills

Soak the stays and fork in oxalic acid, clean and polish, then you have to make a decision. Do you oil/wax it or do you clear coat it to protect the bare steel within the chrome plated areas?

splytz1

As does Noxon and many other polishes and cleaning agents. I know how to clean chrome. I just want to know what the OP did since it's such a nice job from such a rough starting point.

rbaisa

I used Bix paint stripper and started with the paint around the lugs first. It’s a gel that I have used successfully in the past on painted motorcycle parts. You put it on let it sit for 5 or 10 minutes then scrape it off with a putty knife. It took about 3 applications to get all of the paint off. Then I used some 0000 steel wool with Mothers chrome polish as a lubricant to get the rust off the chrome. I then lightly used the side of a dental pick to scrape the rust out of the crevices that I couldn’t get at with the steel wool. It really didn’t take that long.

rbaisa

Owen said he has a 2 piece block with a cutout that measures the same outer diameter as the seat tube. You screw the half’s together and it puts the tube back to its original shape. He then also has a rod that is the same inner diameter of the seat tube that he uses to push the tube out from the inside. Between the 2 it sounds like it should work.

rbaisa

Don’t snarl, but I am going to powder coat it a pearl white. I have had a lot of luck with powder coating and I can’t afford to have it painted. I wanted to send it to Waterford, but they wanted $750. I don’t have that kind of cash. Its $100 to have it powder coated and it will look really good. My goal is not a museum restoration and I figure for that price if I ever want to have it done perfect, I wouldn’t feel bad stripping off the powder. I have campy stuff lying around, but most of it is actually from the 80’s and not the 70’s. I am not too concerned about it being original as much as I want it to be functional and look semi correct. I’m not gonna put carbon fiber on it or anything, but if it has some stuff from different decades I’m not losing sleep over it. What I really want is to have a vintage bike that I can take out and still kick the crap out of people with on a group ride. There’s nothing better than dropping riders on a 35 years old bike that cost's about $5000 less to anything else out there

I actually found it at a friend’s shop by the name of City Cyclery in Calumet City. He is one of our sponsors (I race for the South Chicago Wheelman). I was in the back messing around with some other riders prepping bikes for the next day’s race when I just saw the chrome lugs hanging in the air.

Bluetrane2028

I'm sure someone out there will have issue with your plan, but I for one don't.

Having the bike be a solid rider is a lot more than it was beforehand. Good job finding it and taking the initiative.

Rabid Koala

Congratulations, and you did a wonderful job on the chrome. Ride it and enjoy it!

Mike Mills

Do you plan to decal the frame after powder coating?

Let's recap:

You rescued an abused, top quality frame.
You're repairing gross damage to the down tube.
You preserved the original chrome.
You're protecting the steel with a powder coat in the original (white) color.

Sounds good to me. Now, ... about those decals?

Sirrus Rider

+1 I'm in with you! Paint might be more exclusive and original, but powdercoat is more durable. Besides, if powdercoat had been around in the '70's who says Schwinn would not have used it?

norskagent

waterford has the decals...

rbaisa

I plan on decaling the frame and then clear coating it. The only thing is I hate the decals that are on it now. None of the bikes I have seen from 1975 (not that I have seen them all) even have the decals that are currently on the bike? Whats the deal with that? I want to use the ones that are in the picture below. I called Waterford yesterday to ask about their restoration process and they said the decals are $70! It's like 4 decals? That's ALMOST more than what I paid for my Ciocc and Voyager 11.8 decals combined from velocals. Seems a bit outrageous. I don't know anyone else that sells them though, so I might be stuck. So I don't know if I should use the original type of decal or the ones below. Big pressure!!!