A charity that I do some work for from time to time contacted me to see if I'd work on a vintage Trek for them. I picked up the bike today and it's a winner. A 1984 Trek 760 with Reynolds 531 Professional tubing. Just to make it interesting, its a 56cm, my size. First thing I did was to check the seat post and the stem. The seat post is tight, but turns. When I checked the stem, the problems started. The good news is the quill is loose. It separated easily with a mild tap on the shaft. The bad news is, the stem won't budge. I know others have run into this before. Knowing the quality of the frame we're dealing with, I'm not willing to chalk this one up to "too bad". The stem is a Cinelli and the headset is Campy. Obviously I'd like to save the stem, but if it has to be sacrificed, so be it.
I just hit it with PB Blaster and Liquid Wrench Penetrating oil both top and bottom and currently have the bike upside down to let the penetrating oil seep in. The Campy headset can be loosened to allow PB Blaster directly on to the stem where it goes into the steer tube. Before I try anything else, I'd like to know if anyone has come up with a method that's successful in loosening the galvanic action that's occurred.