SpeedofLite 

I've been searching for a 26" golden Firestone 500 for 2 years. I recently found this one on eBay where the photos were good and the story was better. I didn't stand a chance.

Everything looked fine during the unboxing until I saw the weird angle the fork blades made relative to the head tube. Inspection showed the steerer tube was bent back and to the right (rider perspective), horizontal grooves in the steerer near the fork crown and about mid-steerer, damage to fork crown race, and damage to the backside of the thin metal upper fork crown plate. See photos in the Bike Forums album "Firestone 500 Project"

https://www.bikeforums.net/album.php?albumid=581


My thoughts:

FORK: The lower groove in the steerer tube was adjacent to the inner most edge of the lower cup, so I assume the front part of the bent steerer was jammed against that edge. The middle groove in the steerer was even with the level of two screws protruding into the head tube. It appears those screws are helping to secure the tank to the frame, but not confirmed yet. However, the groove in the steerer is along the front of the steerer tube and appears fresh, whereas the screws protrude into the rear of the head tube. Coincidentally, the bike was packed with the fork blade ends facing the frame and tightened in place. Still, it would take a lot of use to grind that groove into the steerer. Strange. Either way, I'm afraid the fork is now toast and unsafe for use.

HEAD TUBE: I wonder whether flaring of the lower head tube opening is severe enough to safely hold an undamaged replacement fork. The upper and lower head tube cups were easily pulled from the frame on both ends, but there was some friction holding them in place.

I thought for sure my search was over, now I think I have to continue searching and use this bike as a parts bike. Other parts not shown (wheels, tires, fenders, handlebars, etc) are really good. Sigh....

Any thoughts or advice appreciated!

The Golden Boy 

Damaged in shipping, or damaged beforehand?

3speedslow

Sorry for the disappointment. Are you going to talk with the PO?

dweenk 

I am thinking damaged beforehand. Possibly ridden with a VERY loose headset for a while. The seller should have known if he/she knew anything about bikes. Was the fork in the head tube or removed for shipping?

SpeedofLite 

I'm thinking most or all of the damage was beforehand too, dweenk. It sure looks like it was ridden while damaged, but that fresh groove in the steer tube is tough to figure. It almost seems like they would have had to ride with the fork backwards or twist the fork back and forth in the headtube with the fork direction reversed for that amount of groove to be cut on the front of the steerer. The bike was shipped with the fork inserted in the head tube facing backwards and tightened down in that position, but I just thought they were making all the parts fit in the box better that way.

I'm out $400 for the bike and shipping, but I really can't prove anything since I didn't take photos at the time of unpacking. I compounded matters by not making a detailed inspection until 2 months after receiving the bike. I just opened the box to ensure all the parts were there, but didn't bother to examine them trusting that everything was all right. I just looked at the old photos of the original listing of the bike today. I can see the abrupt change in angle of the fork blades in the photos now, so evidence of a problem was present, but I missed seeing it originally. Whether or not the Seller knew about it or considered it significant is not relevant to me now since my position is weak. I'm considering it an expensive lesson, hopefully learned though I'll have a hard time walking away from the next one too.

Metacortex

Post a link to the eBay listing.

wschruba

Doesn't @gugie build forks? I'm sure he could braze a new steerer on.

FWIW, you have options with the headtube. You can place the cups on a ductile iron pipe of the appropriate (read: just fits) size, and stake the pressed in portion with a cold chisel. A less(?) destructive approach is to use loctite 609, AKA green press-fit/retaining compound, but it requires specific critical dimensions that may be difficult to measure without very expensive tools; that you say the cups had some friction is good, as it means that you'll need minimal cajoling to get them to stick, and green will probably do it.

If you decide to use the retaining compound, assemble everything, wipe the excess, then put the headset/fork together (dry) and adjust it while the compound cures, so that everything is held coaxial in the position it needs to be in. If it hasn't been done, it would be prudent to face the headtube, to avoid the unknown third dimension of parallel/perpendicular. It goes without saying that the fork needs to be in good condition for this to work.

BTW, what size is the headtube (ish) and crown race?

mountaindave 

That's a lot of money for an improperly advertised bike.

It's soon enough, I would pursue a complaint with the seller.

SpeedofLite 

Thought I'd better close this thread out for posterity. Three mechanics from two different LBS said they wouldn't attempt a repair. They believe there is too much damage to be safe for anyone, let alone the 250 lb friend for whom it's intended.

CliffordK

Were you setting the bike up to be ridden or for show?

I wouldn't give up on it yet.

As mentioned, a framebuilder should be able to replace the steer tube. You'll lose the paint on the fork crown, but perhaps not a lot of paint.

You could color match the paint, or paint the crown white, and it would look like it was supposed to be that way. Perhaps "antique" it a bit.

Have you sent an PM to @gugie? Talked to any local framebuilders (not just bike shops)? I'm hoping to get to that point shortly, but not just yet.

You could also look for another fork, maybe a chromed fork that would look ok on the bike, either as a temporary or permanent solution.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Chrome-bicy...t/323296289986

You should be able to deal with the slighly loose headsets. They can't really fall out anyway.

There are also 30mm and 30.2mm frame cups. So, with some luck, you would have the smaller one, and might be able to go bigger.

MeadMan2

I had the steer tube on my Mead Ranger replaced by Chris Quale, a noted frame builder in Minneapolis. The crown is nickel plated with no discoloring from the repair.

wrk101

+100 just find a frame builder are get the steer tube replaced. I'd double check the time limit on a claim on eBay, but I think you are past the limit.

Glennfordx4

I think Ebays policy is 90 days but Paypal gives you 180 days to make a claim, there is no way I would eat $400 for someone else's mistake.

Glenn

Hudson308 

That's a pretty common design for forks in the 60's. You should be able to find a replacement pretty easily, I would think.

SpeedofLite 

Thanks all for the extra comments. I'm still viewing it as an expensive lesson. The good news is I recently found another mid-1960s boy's gold (properly called coppertone?) Firestone 500 with 26" wheels that looks like it was ridden very lightly and always kept inside. I'll soon post photos of this bike and the story explaining why my search was so specific in a new C & V thread soon.