BigBossMan has a Gita confirmed 1985 that has the same bb shell. My wife's 1985 does not.

As far as the seatstay caps, yes some are not pantographed, but most are. By 'custom' I meant a mix of tubes that *may* be a bit out of the ordinary, perhaps made for a particular rider.

I'm not an expert, or a collector. Just a rider who owns a couple and has seen quite a few.

The rear brake cabling would make on think it is later than 1985, but there are bikes claimed to be 1985 that have the same routing.

A quick note to the Merckx factory should clear it all up.