Hello C&V. I did post this in the dedicated Super Course thread to celebrate the acquisition, but now I'd like to start a project thread, since this one is frame+fork and I'm starting out on the first page of a new chapter for this bike. I'll be sharing build deliberations and photo updates as I go through over winter (which has long since started here...) and I welcome your thoughts, suggestions, and/or condemnations, as applicable. The previous owner bought the complete bike in upstate NY, brought it back to Ontario and decided at some point to remove most of the original parts for other purposes, and never got around to building it again. The bottom bracket, handlebar, brake levers, and stem remain, and I think the original handlebar tape. The bike left Worksop with a cottered crankset. I've read about and directly experienced the randomness of Raleigh parts selection as evident across their 1970s lineup, and there are plenty of examples in the SC thread of square taper cranksets, forged drop outs, and various other tidbits across the years of production. It seems that I've found a bog-standard (for Raleigh) SC MKII. So much the better.
Please forgive my hasty living room photos. With a toddler running around I had only moments to get a photo and then tuck the frame away for later.
I like the green and white. I am not picky when I find a 531 frame Raleigh in my size. They do not appear often for sale and I decided to make a two-hour drive to get this one. It is my lot to have nicked, chipped, and otherwise well-loved but not so well cared for frames come into my bicycle life. I think what is here is very dirty and with a clean and wax will look great from a few feet away.
The build plan: I have a 27x1 1/4 Ukai wheelset with smooth Sansin hubs that I pulled off my '86 Miyata Two Ten. The wheels are in fantastic shape and the hubs of good quality. I am starting with a take-down and clean of the frameset and a service of the wheel hubs. I have a Suntour Winner 6 cog 13-30 freewheel from Pastor Bob that I intend to use, Suntour bar-end shifters, a Huret Duopar Eco (or Suntour Cyclone, I'm not sure which, dependent on triple or double). The frame came with the cottered bottom bracket - I am no stranger to these, and I own a BikeSmith cotter press - but I am planning to run half-step gearing, either with or without a granny, and chainrings in the right tooth count might be hard to get for the cottered crank. One part of me suggests servicing the BB and finding a Williams or Nicklin cottered crank and the appropriate chainrings for my intended use, but another suggests finding a period square taper crankset and making my life easier. I'm not sure yet.
I haven't built a derailleur-geared bike for a while, and I think the SC will make a fantastic commuter/day-rider, and there are wonderful examples of these bikes on BF pages. Thanks for looking, I'll post when I have updates.