I have the likely opportunity to buy a very nice vintage bike for a couple of 100 pounds. This being the sort of bike which might sell for £1000 when tarted up. The problem is this - I don't know a lot about restoring things. It has a Major Taylor stem, which I could get rechromed, maybe the cranks too. The wheels look ok, but they're 4 speed Sturmey hub gear, and I'm not sure it's right for the bike. Worst of all, the frame has been brush painted. What might I expect to do to sort this out, and, given the unknown state of all the bearings, how difficult is it to get replacement parts for 50's high end bikes?

not that difficult to get parts, especially S/A hubs, and given your
location should be quite easy.
You might want to speak to one of the older bespoke builders
(or even hilary stone of cycling +) about a proper restoration,
or a respray at minimum.
What kind of bike?
any pics?

marty

Figure it will take somewhere between 100 - 200 pounds to get the bike professionally painted. The parts really depend on what they are. Bearings aren't likely to present a problem, but the other bits might. Too bad TheOtherGuy doesn't post here any more, he would have a lot of input for you.

I don't wanna jinx it by saying too much! I'll let y'all know in a few days. I'm going to ask this advice on the CR list as well, and I'm sure I'll get Hilary's advice that way. I don't think this bike was hub gear equipped to start with, so I might be sourcing some odd old derailleurs. I've also never had anything rechromed before, and certainly never resprayed. I can probably manage to strip the frame and remove any rust, but what sort of paint to I need, and what kind of paint shop will handle it? What about prepping parts for chroming? I suspect I might need to go to some cycle jumbles....

Make sure you sign off properly.

There are several good painters in England. Some of your countrymen on CR have discussed the merits of some of them within the past 4 months.

Mick Butler (yorkshireman I believe)
Norris Lockley
are some of the CR members you want to talk about.
If this is a true collectable bike you really don't want
to skimp on the resto. Talk to them about
refinishing, there just might be original paint under
the bad brushed on job and a bike in original condition
(even with lots of "patina" is worth more than a repaint.
Chroming is rather expensive, well at least it is here.

Marty

I don't know about the UK, but in the US old bike restorations almost never bring in a reasonable return on investment. The most valuable old bikes are original examples in "like new" condition.

Failing that, a professionally restored vintage bike may bring in a nice chunk of change, but professional restoration is very expensive. In the US chrome plating is expensive due to strict environmental regulations.

A botched DIY restoration will surely ruin the value of the bike.

To sum up, I would only pay for a professional restoration if I really wanted the bike in my collection and not as an investment.

Hmmm. Any resto that gets done is gonna be largely by me, paintjob and chrome aside. We'll see.

The professional repaint job was by far the most expensive part of my 1959 Capo restoration project. For cost and rust (I live 1 km downwind of the Pacific Ocean) reasons, I decided to go for full paint coverage, instead of trying to recreate any chrome plating on the forks, stays, or head lugs. (I have seen Capo Modell Campagnolo frames with and without chromed head lugs, stays, and fork crowns, so only the full-paint fork blades are historically incorrect.) Since the frame is rare and high-quality and had already been repainted once, it was the ideal candidate for a professional repaint job, but I would not be inclined to have any of my other bikes repainted.

Cool.

If you try the cr list Nigel Land,Neil Foddering,or Noris Lockley sure know their stuff.But you won't find Mick Butler on Cr.
One good guy to talk to is M.Baker.CWM-Y-GEIST FACH
LLANBISTER ROAD
RADNORSHIRE LD1 5UW
PHONE 01547-550606

My 2cents is bikes that have been brush painted are ripe for the do-it-yourself.How can you hurt one that's already in a state of need?BBs are standard parts so replacement parts are easy to get.Same for headsets.(tang is often a modern replacement for a vintage headset)And many of the 50s english L/Ws were fixed gear/single speeds(S/A 4 speeds fit close as well as Cyclo chain pull derailers in 3 speed)Good rims are the weak link it seems.---sam

Well, that's an Ambrosio/3ttt alloy adjustable stem, not a Major Taylor. A Major Taylor is steel with a square horizontal section turned at 45 degrees.