Originally Posted by
Otis
It's gonna cost money but go Campy Record. 151 cranks, steel rear derailleur, early headset, "no Record" hubs.
Universal brakes, sidepulls or Mod 61 CP's. Ambrosio Champion stem, or steel Cinelli if you can find one. Ambrosio or Cinelli bars.
Fiamme Red Oval label rims.
Your first 50's or 60's Italian bike is an eye opener money wise if you are used to 70's and 80's rebuilds. Go slow and do it right.
Don't need "no-Record" hubs for mid-60's - "Record" version was available circa 1963, even though the two styles seem to have overlapped for quite a while.
If you go with 144 BCD, the advantages in terms of low gear might be somewhat offset via a vis the chainring difference the Record derailleur will be happy with. You may want to go relatively small with the big ring. I have a bike with a Record rear and a standard 144BCD crankset, but I haven't really been able to ride it yet in order to judge how well it shifts. While the 144BCD cranks may indeed have been available in '66 (and on some pro bikes, i.e. Anquetil's, quite a bit earlier), I'm not sure how common they were on production bikes that year - my guess is not very.
If you're patient, the Universal brakes can still be purchased relatively cheaply.
You will need the Campagnolo shifters with the black backing plates to be correct rather then the silver plates that appeared circa 1970. You probably also want the Record front derailleur with the built-in cable stop. If you're patient, you can also find one of those without paying an arm and a leg (the ones with the slots in the stop are a bit cheaper). There's also a different top-of-BB clamp-on cable guide that goes with that derailleur - has a tunnel.
You'll also need a no-limit-line Record seatpost. I'm not sure about which logo would be correct, though there are a couple of "flavors" of Record posts.