Originally Posted by
3alarmer
...I have personally never seen a Tange fork that was French threaded,
but if there were such things, a Motobecane is where you'd find one.
I would definitely try out a standard threaded top race on that to see if
maybe you don't really need a French thread at all.
I may try this again. I'm thinking that if a standard fork was swapped in, (the fact that the steer tube is cut a bit long is a clue) and the top race and cup is french, that might explain the slight knock/play.
I'm not going to attempt a beer-can shim because I don't want to die.
I swapped the bottom cup with one I had lying in my bag of assorted crap and I think I pulled that off okay. The bearing cages look pretty decent, but suspiciously modern, The top cup also looks somewhat chinese in its forgery, no patina on it. The headset is also completely different from the way-cool one on my Super Mirage, which is another clue. (sigh.)