Hi all, New to the forum and this is my first post! I am hoping someone out there can help.
Recently acquired this Coppi frame and I am trying to identify its origins. I have done some digging and it appears that (and correct me if I am wrong) early Coppi's were made by Fiorelli (60's and 70's), at some point Maschiaghi took over production of the line(?), then in the 90's they teamed up with Giovanni Pellizzoli to develop the Fausto Coppi line of frames.
While there are some great examples of the fiorelli's and Fausto Coppi's online line I can't find any examples of the early 80's era Coppi's (which I believe I have). I think mine is an early 80's bike because i, it came with a Saccon Altex brakeset (first produced in the early eighties), ii, the cutaway "C" on the fork crown is identical in style to some of the 80's Coppi track bikes I have come across, iii, the frame has 120mm spacing (for a period correct 6 speed), iv, it is pre aero cabling, v, braze ons are what I would expect from that period and finally vi, the geometry is also what I would expect from the 80's.
Some interesting features on this frameset are heart shaped cutouts on the lugs and no serial number, just the number 62 stamped under the BB (assume it represents the size 62cm)
So... my questions are, who made this? what tubing was used (I would expect Columbus SL or SLX from that period but alas the decals are almost completely gone)? Also, I would have expected Campy dropouts but these are not stamped Campy. Maybe that is an indication it is not constructed of Italian steel?
Perhaps there is one clue, the remnants of the down tube decal says "Manufac__" and under that factor__". I assume it would read
Manufactured
__ Factory
Ring any bells on down tube decals?
She also gonna need restoring and I hope to do that this winter. Any ideas on sourcing identical decals?
Pics are here:
http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/...1f1a48e75g.jpg
http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/...71b179df5g.jpg
http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/...ce5a77205g.jpg
http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/...29672b025g.jpg
http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/...5923397b5g.jpg
http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/...7f8042525g.jpg