clysus

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i have a 83 gt bmx thats pretty small. its all chrome and all original parts except for the handle bar gripswhich were bright orange and the brakes which were so worn down it had to be replaced. It was a major expense for me as a kid and I worked a whole winter shovelling snow from the neighbors just to pay it off. i last rode it as a kid in 1992. i dont want to sell it, just looking to get a value out of curiosity. Its too small now and I cant even ride it but i still remember the good times and the times when i absolutely almost killed myself. any info would be useful.
thanks

mykesbykes

its a nice bike, prolly an Expert, with some refurbing/refinshing it will be nicer, the good news is parts shouldnt be to hard to find, SR stem looks good, sugino crank and spider could do with a paint job, if those pedals are shimanos, they are gold. Seatpost clamp is a classic and needs a paint job as well.

IMHO the value is around 100-150 bucks, but it also depends on the market, if you cleaned it up, NO sanding, and offered it up on BMXmuesum, it might go for more.

clysus

thanks Mike. if i did clean it up, what would you use? rustolium?

mykesbykes

umm, first clean it, you need this stuff..

1. 2 or 3 pails, disposable food trays are good for soaking small parts.
2. if you can get hot water running in a hose outside +1 to karma.
3. I use anything for soap, dish, laundry, shampoo, but best would be a
tsp alternative like Natura,s SAFEPREP, ussually I use MR CLEAN if I have it
but I changed to this SP stuff, and it smokes grease, oil and dirt, and its
cheap.
4. pile of rags, torn into strips and squares. DONT RUB DIRT INTO CHROME. Scratches bite...
5. bunch of flyers, old newspapers to soak up any run off, after you have used
the hose of course.
6. never sand anything...ever...
7. being tool reckless with steel is bearable, but be nice to aluminum, wrench buffet.
8. save everything, bag and label if you have the martha in ya. plus finding 1983 this or that
can be impossible sometimes, even a stupid little bolt.
9. be nice to decals/stickers, they are hard to find, and pricey.

so...take it all outside, hose down the bike in a seperate spot, bring it to your newspaper mat,
lighly brush down everything with sponge or rags dripping in 20-80 soap/hot water, after the dirt is gone, break the bike down to individual parts, place all small parts in trays of soap/hot water, polish/wash the larger parts, frame/forks/bars, buff dry with soft rags, let them dry and pull out the small parts and wash and buff dry, use a lightly oiled rag and rub down everything, reassemble using gease on bearings, oil on cables, once built rub down with rags again to get rid of fingerprints and water spots. test ride and adjust brakes/bar/stem/seat positions, tighten everything up good, and then give it to me.

fuzzbox

Simple green works wonders. I wouldn't paint anything on that if you were selling it unless it is professional or not spray paint. Honestly I wouldn't pay more than $75 if even for that.