Basso Loto
 

This one came up on my radar and is a good size for me so, I now have it in hand and will begin to "Honkify" it to my tastes. Some pics as it came to me from Shop Dog Bikes:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...baeef34953.jpg
Basso F&F at 53cm with a few patina items.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...84e54f5e99.jpg
The logo's are intact and seem to be all original. The paint scheme is a one of a kind for this frame.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bb2ff2afcb.jpg
Really nice tube set for this build , and as I am told second from the top of the line for the year.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8f731020b1.jpg
Regular Basso logos and pretty good paint up front.
This one is gonna get a few modifications to make it right for me. Smiles, MH

More pics as it came in to the shop:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...944c4da1f4.jpg
The patina around the BB that will need some touch up.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...66fc2105e5.jpg
Chain damage indicating some rough living for this frame before it came here.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2b3c119e73.jpg
More patina on both chain stays but I think some touch up will remedy the damage.

It is gonna be a fun journey building it back up to a nice rider. More to come... Smiles, MH

Love it. Nice getting to see what we were talking about the other day. I'm also jazzed to see that 720 in all it's crunchified glory.

Shop Dog Bikes? Where's that? The is/was a framebuilder in Highland Park IL called Shop Dog Cycles. Not likely the same outfit, but thought I should ask.

Awesome! Finally got to see it for real! And seeing it now, I agree, maybe sanding the DS chainstay and touching up would be the ticket. It looks great and ready for 8 speed Campy with brifters (eyeroll... hee hee)

I have a Basso Loto
SLX. GREAT riding bike!!!!!

Congratulations

Great score !!!

Love the color scheme!!!!

Ok folks,
I like the frame so far. And yes it came from shop Dog Bikes In IL, Skip. I find it a bit interesting but in all a nice frame. However it has a "nasty little secret" that has amped up my interest.... more to come later. Smiles, MH

Chomping at the bit here...what is it???


The collective is waiting to solve it. And. Grab those sandals. :thumb:

Dave,
Any progress or still cataloguing all of your Campagnolo stash? :innocent:
Best, Mooch

Ben,
Not so much cataloguing as being distracted from this one. The junk box build is complete and will go off to the Co-Op tonight, and the 720 has been sent to a final resting place at the scrapyard. So I am now back to the Loto and the dirty little secret is:
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ade93550d3.jpg
It came with this special broken rear drop out detail. I plan to work on it today and it will go to the stock car garage to be welded. I am hoping the weld will be an easy one with little damage to the paint.
Progress will be posted as it comes in. Smiles, MH

Subscribed. I love Basso's from this vintage and can't wait to see what you have in store.

Dave,
Ouch, Not sure that will buff out, at least it's all there. My Gios lost the hanger when the chain sucked the RD into the drop and damaged everything so no easy way to repair it other than replace the complete drop......time to bring out the welding equipment.....don't forget to wear a mask.....welder type that is.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b749bdd4d6.png
Still waiting to see the campy spread sheet.:innocent:
Best, Mooch

A little bit of progress as I get ready to torch the drop out. I have secured an axle to lock everything in place during the procedure and only need to cut a section out of the copper backing for the welding area. Tomorrow should be a good thing for the Basso. Smiles, MH
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...763a6e17fb.jpg
Spacing is set so just some minor adjustments before welding.

Looks like it is ready to get its shoes repaired! Then it is ready for its 8 speed brifter set up!

(I kid, I kid!)

Those damned Brifters! I can't sleep over the sacrilege of those things on a "proper bike". So I did a bit of work today cleaning and setting things up for welding. A bunch of pictures of maybe two entries to get them in. Smiles, MH
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4ae7d19a47.jpg
I used a wire Dremel bit to remove the paint for the weld area. Two stage paint application with white on the bottom.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ad7fade3b4.jpg
A second very minor crack at the seat juncture that looked like a paint crack until exposed. Pre-weld prep you can see a bit of brass in the joint.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a2dfaa87a3.jpg
Cutting through the drop out to be sure to get a good weld. If any residual grease or contaminants are in the joint it won't hold.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9aaab301ab.jpg
The tool of destructive reconstruction. The Dremel is the thinnest blade that I can use to cut the drop out apart.

The frame is bolted down to the correct drop out size and prepared for the welding. A copper plate under the weld keeps the weld area intact. and a few shots of the garage while welding.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c545e8350b.jpg
An old solid axle holds everything together for the welding process.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1a27168e5d.jpg
The patient on the table with a welding cloth over it to protect the paint from the heat of the weld, even though ti is quite localized
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...de38f3a2d6.jpg
Welder Steve has everything ready and gun in hand.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f3a74a66ad.jpg
The act of welding from the inside section on the drop out.
The weld is a success and now needs cleaning and some touch up paint. The color is a very subdued metallic blue so it is gonna be a tough one to re-create. Clean up of the welds later. Smiles, MH

Excellence! Let’s see the results!

Today I got to do a bit of clean up in the weld areas. There is surprisingly very little paint damage, and it looks like touch up may be pretty easy. The paint will need to be in more than a few places to be pre-emptive for rust protection. A few pictures:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1ae5557264.jpg
The weld needs to be ground down for a nice smooth finish but it is pretty solid and should not pose a problem going forward.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c2dbe734d.jpg
The weld is a bit fuzzy in this shot, but you can see how little paint damage was done while welding.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1708964ac9.jpg
This shot shows the weld a bit clearer and will need some grinding to get the drop out looking good again. This makes me feel like I have been able to save this one.
Now the job of finish grinding and sanding commences. It should be a good frame after this work. Smiles, MH

Today started with some needed rain and a bit of real work for me. and now on to the bike hobby. The Basso got the welding done and now I get to clean up the weld areas. I started grinding the excess off the seat stay and left a bit of the weld material that will be covered with paint and won't be notice-able unless close inspection is applied. I then moved to the drop out area and removed about 1/3 of the weld slag and excess material. In all just a couple of pin-holes in the weld that won't affect structural rigidity and it is solid again. I am going to have no problems riding it after the repairs. More pictures:
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fdb1762ab0.jpg
The seat stay weld with a little excess of the weld left for security. It has cleaned up nicely and will only need some work with a rifling file.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...80babc7abd.jpg
The rear drop out with a bunch of slag removed and part of the yoke filled in the process. I thin the excess material in the yoke will reinforce the weld area significantly.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c5c4061270.jpg
It took a few passes to get the drop out slim again but it is pretty close. Some hand filing is in order.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...86b25c777b.jpg
It removed a bunch of excess weld material to get the inner side of the drop out back to normal size.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9dd97b10d4.jpg
Some of the removed material on the inner side of the dropout and more of the extra material filling the yoke.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4af9303d53.jpg
It looks a bit rough but some work with a file and some sanding paper and it will be paint ready.
The next part will be finishing up the weld work and getting ready to repair the paint. I'm thinking the paint was a white pearlescent with Blue clear put on top. Likely a bit of work to re-create it. Smiles, MH

Glad to see it repaired! Keep at it a can’t wait to see it with some new paint!

very exciting! had one of those classic merckx that is really similar to this.
cannot wait to see more of the progress! goodluck repairing the frame !!

great job bringing the frame back to life.
the crack on the stay looks like it was rusted from the inside out.
Check the inside of the frame seat tube and bottom bracket area.
Take off the rear brake cable stoppers and check the status of the top tube.
If you you see any rust you might want to treat with a rust neutralizer before the build.

here is mine with DA7800 https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7798b1cd2d.jpg

Today after the grand-nephews and I did a wildlife relocation service to a groundhog that was eating the War Department's herb garden, I got to work on the Basso. I spent a bit of time cleaning up my grinds with the rifling files and then moved to preparing for protective paint. I used some old skool frisket and then a neutral white primer coat.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b318cd6923.jpg
Some old skool frisket to protect the chrome.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...41161721d2.jpg
Same method for the stay to protect the original paint.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5d693f7241.jpg
My attempt at Picasso on the drop out.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c09c9f03c3.jpg
More neutral white for primer on the bare steel.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1359264b68.jpg
I gave this BB an oxalic acid paste treatment with little success. I will use a wire brush attachment on the Dremel to remove this rust.
Mixing of a matching color for the finish paint will be next. Smiles, MH

Plans to needle file the inside of that dropout relief to match the non-repaired side?