HELP - Old Campy BB bearing nightmare
I am restoring an old Paramount track bike - early sixties I think - The bottom bracket bearings were a rusty dusty mess when I disassembled. I am ready to re-install and for the life of me I cannot get this thing to feel right. Spindle has campy shield logo and says 70 SS on it. There were 14 small bearings per side and there was what was left of a bearing cage in there. When I try to reassamble, it is almost impossible to get bearings to fit nicely - spindle is difficult to nest into bearings, and once nested, don't spin smoothly at all. I checked Fleabay and can find no Campy BB set with small bearings - all seem to have 9 or 10 or so larger ones. My bearing cups are aluminum with steel inserts. Cups say 36 by 24F and are both right handed threads. I experimented with three different slightly larger bearings, but after I get 2 or 3 in there, it is clear that the spindle will be way off center. HELP! What am I missing here??? Thanks. --Andy