How did the fork sustain such a severe injury yet the frame and front wheel look undamaged? Weird.

More updates!
I took the bike to my LBS and after my new best friend Greg frowned at it, cranked on it, stated it looked like it might be hammered in. I asked what he thought about the dry ice trick, he asked if I'd ever pulled a bottom bracket. I told him no, and he said, well watch close cause you're going to put it back together.

He then flipped it upside down on the stand, pulled the dust covers, cranks, and locking ring. Out comes the bearings in a cloud of rust!

He hoses the inside of the seat tube with PB Blast and with a locking pliers and a pipe cranks on the seatpost.

After a while... It budged!!!

Just enough that some PB Blast leaks through.

So, with that he sends me out the door. The bikes been upside down soaking on my car rack since about noon, and I've meantime cleaned out the BB and it needs replacing. The bearings are lumpy and oval and the cups are almost as worn.

So, anybody have a BB they'd like to offload to a worthy cause?

But mainly that seat post moved! It is free-able! I'm going to let it soak for a couple days and bring it back. I don't have a stand or anything I can clamp to that would give me something solid enough to crank against.

Man, this is a character builder and lesson giver. I'm pretty psyched there's a light at the end though. After this I'm going to go through and check the rest of my bikes. I always thought if it felt smooth it was probably fine, but seeing what 30 year old grease looks like is an eye opener.

I'm VERY glad to have picked this thing up, my other bikes haven't needed this much of an overhaul so this is really getting my butt in gear.

Next step

"Honest Matthew's Bicycle Rehabilitation and Emporium"
"We'll fix your ride without taking you for one"

WOW!! That's... That's pretty good to see, I'd love to hear that story. Was the rack bent and straightened too?? The original rack looks great but I have to ask why people are so hung up on them? I have a Bontrager (sp?) that works fine, looks sharp... Where the originals that well made or is it just nice to have the OEM part?

Thanks for posting, awesome to see the same year and color 610! Gotta love that "Sherwood Green"!

That's some good news, great bike!

It gets easier after the 25th restoration. LOL

Measure your BB and buy a Shimano cartridge, UN26 for $15 or $25 for a UN55 if you are feeling spendy. Given your location on the Cape and Boston's often wet and salted road conditions, the sealed cartridge is the way to go. Buy the tool for installation too, Park BBT-22.

Where do I take the BB measurement? Would it be safer to bring in the old BB?

Also, I'm totally hooked on bike wrenching. I have a Ninja 500 and a 650 and bikes are everything I love about motorcycling but more so. Motorcycles (the ones I like) are simple machines, bikes are simpler. Motorcycles get you out of the car and in the environment, bikes do it better. Motorcycles are great on gas and fun to work on, bikes run on belly fat. Motorcycle parts are... Well, spendy. Every time I need a bike part it's 20-40 bucks.

Now that I'm focusing on the Miyatas and the odd vintage Cannondale I feel back into the swing. Thanks to everyone for advice both technical and philosophical.

Cheers.

You may think wrenching on bicycles is cheaper than on motorcycles, but I bet bike tools cost more since you have to keep getting new kinds of tools nearly every year.

The seatpost is out!!!
Took it to my LBS guy, Greg and he couldn't budge it after a two day soak. He sent me to a bigger shop with a bench vice, he tried and failed as well. I noticed it was a wooden bench and the whole thing was flexing so I went looking for a local garage. Walked up to the back of the shop, told 'em my story and asked if they had a big bench vice bolted to a steel work bench.

After the post head was clamped in, I cranked on the frame and with a nasty squeel it came loose! Yay!! But it was only spinning, boo. So twenty minutes of twisting that yielded about a 1/4" of exposed seatpost Mike says he's got an air hammer.

He gave it some braps, and got another 1/4" exposed. Back in the bench for a few full rotations, hit it with the air gun a couple more times, and it's out!! Scarred, but usable. Now to order a bottom bracket!

A stuck seatpost is such a pain, but when you get it out, it's such a triumph!

Even if I limit the time period of bikes I work on? I don't have much interest in anything outside of the ten years between '85 and '95.