3ttt panto stem and Merckx bend bars arrived today. Very pleased, they’re exactly what I was looking for.

Exciting. The panto stem was shipped from the Netherlands. Took a chance on a seller with only 2 reviews, I'm glad it worked out.

Nooo...I am only getting that bottom bracket shell. Sorry, I was making a joke that the shell is as close to a Ghibli as I am getting...

and I have had great luck overseas. One bent drop adjuster screw and one small scratch in all my purchases from Italy, Poland, Ukraine France and England.

Haha, I thought you were just using the Ghibli bb pic only as a reference. That should make a nice shelf or desk piece though.

It was an impulse buy for sure. The seller apparently de-rusted it before sending so I might have to paint it red or something...

Here’s the bare frame after removing what was left of the original decals. Also, I found the serial number stamp on the left dropout. Always just expect the serial number to be on the bottom bracket, so I never checked back there.

I bought some 1500 and 3000 grit sand paper. I
can feel a very thin clear coat outlining the former decals. So I’ll try to level off the paint and buff it out, before installing new decals. Paint under the decals looks very glossy and smooth.

This is where the patience thing will come in to play. I expect this paint to be on thin side, so I don’t want to be too aggressive and blow through it. Baby steps.

Why not? If anything, you get a period correct, catalog correct, bike that works better than the available Campagnolo at the time. Of my three, the oldest one is 7400 Dura Ace, the solid color purple one is 600 Tricolor, and the latest addition was finally built in Nuevo Record. I still prefer the two Shimano equipped ones.

sykerocker I forgot to put a silly 'innocent' emoticon or something. I ride Shimano lots.

Just found this thread today - don't know how I missed it. What a neat project! In the end you're going to wind up with a super-nice bike, with components that have seen little use (those chainrings!) - and they were nearly free. Plus, a Hi-Low just happened to be lurking out back on the Cannondale? You can't make this stuff up.

Are you planning on replacing the decals or is it going to be a stealth build?

Looking good so far; subbed to keep track of further developments

DD

Thanks, I have had some good luck with this one...I think I'm due though.

New decals will be applied after I'm done cleaning up the paint. I was actually just checking what was available vs what it had (left) on it. Velocals and Cyclomondo have good choices for the white decals with all the bands. Both kits offer the top tube decal, but this bike didn't have it originally. I could always just leave it off though. I have only a small amount of prep work left to do, but so far the wet sanding has went really well and I think it's looking great. Once the sanding is complete I want to go over it with a buffer and some polish. I used some Mother's and a micro fiber clothe on one tube and was very surprised how good it looks, but I think I can do a little better. I'm not going for a concourse restoration, I just want it to look complete and cared for...but ridden.

Original paint looks in fine condition, and there aren't any of the normal chips associated with crashes or inept former owners (front brake hits on downtube, scrapes from leaning the top tube against things, etc...). As for decals, IMHO Rossins look better with less rather than more; a pair of down tube decals and a head tube decal would do it

DD

The only ugly stuff is hidden under the top tube. The bike came with a pump peg clamped to the top tube that caused a small corrosion spot, also wear marks from the pump rattling around. I think I'm going to just leave them. I live in a dry climate and I don't expect them to increase much.

Since my last post I’ve done some cleaning on the paint of the Rossin. I wet sanded the areas where the huge decal kit once was, starting with 1500 grit wet followed by 3000 grit. I was successful in leveling off the paint where there was a light clear coat, and it left a smooth clean finish with very little evidence of the original decals.
Today I used a headlight restoration kit from Harbor Freight with some Mother’s polish to bring back the shine of the paint. I’m not sure you’ll be able to get an accurate view in my pics, and I apologize for not taking up close “before” pics, but I’m quite pleased with the results.
I have new decals on the way, so hopefully can post up pics sporting those in the next few weeks.

Bro, nice base to restore it!

Rossin project continues on at a comfortable pace. After prepping the frame for new decals, there was a significant wait for the new decals to arrive. It appears the customs departments of Australia or the US have no interest in seeing this build completed quickly, as it took a month for the package to arrive.
I applied the majority of the massive kit today, but still have some left to put on. I did install the top tube decal that came with the kit. There’s lots of internet images that show the top tube decal on this model frame, but this frame didn’t have it when I bought it - nor did it have any ghost images that would have indicated it was ever there. I kind of like how over the top the Rossin decals are, so it fits. You won’t forget what brand of frame you’re riding, that’s for sure.



Another mini project was replacing the brake pad nuts. For some reason the Campagnolo brake hardware doesn’t stand up to weather very well, it always look pretty battered. I purchased a set of stainless replacements at the local hardware store, but the nut profile was a bit too tall. Fortunately I have access to a machine shop at work. I had a coworker machine them to the correct thickness and he was also able to replicate the chamfered shoulder too. They do not look exactly like the original nuts, but look much cleaner. I’ll hang on to the OG’s and the next time I have some chrome work done, I will get them replated.



I post up some more pics after I get the fork finished up and install the headset

The paint and those decals look great! Nice work.

That Campagnolo hardware looks good as well.

Thanks, I'm glad I was able to clear away all the old decal edges and even out the color. I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Ordinarily, Rossin decals can be a bit too extensive, but in this single color white on red, it looks perfectly Rossiny. Beautiful.

Since the decals were under the clearcoat, how did you remove them? I've used a hairdryer in recent past, but there was no clearcoat to deal with.

Most of the decals had been removed when I got the bike. The clear coat was so ridiculously thin, that removing them was fairly simple. I did use a hairdryer to make them more pliable, once warmed up they came off in just a few minutes.

Busy day today, lots of progress on the Rossin project.
Finished up decal application. Did the fork and rear triangle. I wasn’t sure I was going to use the seatstay stripes or not, but they’re easily removed if I decide I don’t care for them. Also touched up some of the pantographs on the fork crown and stem. Again, I’m not going for the full concourse restoration here - just a tidy rider. There will be chips and scratches.
With all that completed I was able to start some assembly, and it’s nice to see it coming together. I haven’t ordered cable housing yet, because I wasn’t sure on the color. I am usually somewhat partial to the stock Campy grey, but I can’t really see anything but white for this build, so I’ll get that on it’s way…going to have to be white bar tape as well.

Ok, here’s a few pics, plus one of the reworked brake pad nuts now installed.

Wrapped up the build on the Rossin yesterday. I’m really pleased with how it turned out and I’m going to give it a shakedown ride today. I did manage to use a lot of the parts from the Donor-dale, and that was cool to literally rescue a bike from a trash heap and keep it rolling.
You may notice I have a Super Record rear derailleur mounted and not the NR I pictured earlier. I used it because I already had it and it completed the group. Also the wheels from the Donor-dale, with the Hi-Lo hub need new rims. The brake tracks are destroyed with grooves the size of the Marianas Trench, so once I’m able to source some fresh(er) rims I’ll swap them out. These wheels came off of the sweet little Ciocc I scored for the wife, that she has never used…so I think it’s cool for now.
Here’s a couple pics, I’ll get some better ones soon.