Originally Posted by
John E
Fix it up and keep as many original parts as possible. Campagnolo pushrod front derailleurs work well with half-step gearing, such as you have, and your Valentino should be as good as my 1960 Gran Sport. If you can find an early 1960s Campag. Record or Gran Sport, that would be a cool upgrade from that ugly Valentino rear. The frame, paint, and wingnuts are cool.
Disclosure -- my first road bicycle was a low-end 1962 Bianchi with wingnuts and Huret shift.
Thanks for weighing in JohnE. I'll keep your post to add your advice to my notes on the bike. It's semi-reassuring to hear that the Valentino of push-rod vintage actually did work okay. I was skeptical because it has kind of a steampunk, unreal Model-T quality, and maybe I assumed (erroneously) that it would be tempermental and unreliable. It is funky, though, so it could be fun to disassemble, clean up, and try out to satisfy my curiosity.