Thanks to all. The responses were just what I needed. Bikedude and nlerner, you guys steered me in the right direction. A search for "Japanese Raleighs" led me to another post on this site indicating it came from Michaels's Cyclery in Ames, IA (now out of business). That thread led me to a copy of the original advertisement from Bicycling. As soon as I saw the ad I immediately recognized it as the frameset I bought. I'm pretty sure I paid $199 (a bargain in my opinion). I knew production had moved to Asia (Taiwan/China) but I had no idea that some Raleigh frames were built in Japan.

http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...aleisonic.html

Verktyg, yes, they are NR. I purchased those and all components separately and built the bike up myself. It has been a very faithful steed!

Bikedude, I agree with you. Normally I am anti-repaint. This frame has quite a few rust spots, although small, apparently on the exterior only. I will disassemble down to the frameset and give it a good inspection, to include the tubing interior. If I can find a suitable match for the paint and the rust isn't too bad, I will try repair the rust spots and touch up the paint. A good coat of wax will finish it off before reassembly.

So as a recap... This bike was apparently a one-off deal where Michael's Cyclery sold a number of frames in 1982. They were called "Competition 531" and "International MK II". Apparently these were not available anywhere else and were not in any catalog. So this is an '82 frameset, built in Japan, of 531 butted. The serial number and the ad (attached) and my memory seem to confirm it was 1982. And the color is "Midnight Metallic Blue".

Thanks to all for the input.

Nolan

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