Centurion Super Le Mans
 

Hey all - I scored a nice trash pile find about 2 weeks ago, coincidentally on the last day I had to get my junk out of my old house's garage into my new place. I spotted the frame with wheels sitting next to it on my way to lunch and swung back around to have a closer look. I saw the barcons right away and some nice looking suntour VX GT components. Here's a shot as is, the worst part was by far the rotted gum hoods. I also thought the color was a crap brown but as it turns out, it's a nice deep red.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...LM_Old3qtr.jpg

I stripped it down to the frame and cleaned everything up. I decided to make it into a tow path runner, as I just moved to western NJ, with the D&R canal just outside my door. I'm really happy with how it turned out, it's only my 2nd resoration of any type but it was in great shape so it wasn't too much work.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...Cent_side3.jpg

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t...nt_Rr_3qtr.jpg

I'm going to cross post a bit in the centurion database thread, I dont have the serial number with me though.

mrejda - That is a beautiful find.

I figured that my best girl belonged here as I picked her out of a pile of bikes that were destined for the crusher back in the fall of '06 and have been riding her like I stole her ever since. The only original parts are the Mafac lever and the steel seat post... every clunky and non functional steel part was replaced with alloy bits.

I just took a ton of new pics after putting on a "new" Ideale model 80 saddle which was also saved from the tip... I think she looks good for being 46 years old.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...enew45view.jpg

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ttenewside.jpg

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...ttenewlugs.jpg

I was out on my Peugeot Hybrid that I got from the scrap yard a couple of years ago, was trying to fix the buckled front wheel.

A man came running out of his house and said he had a bike that he would give me.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2.../challenge.jpg
Is a Polish gents roadster, Challenge make.
Its 3 speed hub is dated to 92.
Is complete and in good order. Dont have the chainguard on it as I lost one bolt when I had it too bits.
Get one out of my spares box.
I did 25 miles on it on sunday

alec - sweet find !

Is an ok bike.

think its theif proof as its just a cheap bike
fitted the chain guard and fancy red valve caps today.
thinking of using it as a town bike.
Leave it locked in town, so I can jet about on it

All I have done to this one since I saved it on Saturday (4/19/08) is add new cables, housing and bar tape. The pedals and saddle were from the parts bin in my basement. I did a cleaning and frame polish and that's it.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2244/...e44397.jpg?v=0

This one didn't come from the dump, but it might as well have been there. Neighbor gave me this '76 Schwinn Voyageur II that was sitting on the side of his house. Says he put over 10,000 miles on it riding it across the country on several occasions (needless to say, he was the first and only owner of the bike until I acquired it).

http://www.jaysmarine.com/schwinn_worldvoy_day1.jpg

Some of you might recognize it as being the machine I recently gloated about having extracted the seatpost on.

Original paint had dried and was flaking off the chrome to such a rapid extent (top photo doesn't show it) that I decided that it, indeed, would be best to strip the paint off:

http://www.jaysmarine.com/schwinn_wo...ppingpaint.jpg

Haven't got it all off yet. Can anyone recommend a good, cheap paint remover? I was using Krylon OFF! until I ran out of it.

Photos to come when complete.

-Kurt

P.S.: Anyone notice the forks on these things as being perfect matches to those on older Nishiki Competitions?

Here is my latest dump find. I had to pay NZ$9 for it. It is an Oryx ten speed mixte with Cherry centerpull brakes and Selle Italia Anatomica saddle and Shimano Altus LT derailleurs and shifters and a Shimano Selecta chainring. The spare front wheel is an Araya 27 x 1 1/4 alloy rim in good condition with a couple of spokes missing. It has hit something front on at some point and the downtube is slightly bent. Now to clean it up and get it rideable. It is a mid-level japanese bike and a step up from the usual Healing & Morrison 10 Speeds (Bike boom gaspipe bikes).

Attachment 70188

This is an excellent thread, and helps me justify yard saling for more this weekend!
picked up 4 from free trash piles, the landfill reclamation yard, and thrift stores the other day. Should've started doing this last fall, it was a very snowy winter.
I just finished the specialized for my sister's junior partner, very satisfying
and a thrifty old raleigh
Very fun thread to browse

I've passed a few on the street--I always think that someone will have second thoughts and come back for them. Favorite sighting--I'm riding on a flat road. I catch a county garbage truck at a stoplight. Get maybe a 5 sec. look at a 1970's Raleigh Competition in the back scoop. I will never know if someone was really throwing it out or if it belonged to a trash company employee who was shuttling a truck between locations.

If it was on top of the "blade" then he went back and picked it up at the end of his route.

I've used a 3M product called "Safest Stripper", its low odor, so it can be used indoors. Its a gel that can be brushed onto vertical surfaces. A quart of the stuff should be able to do at least 3-4 frames and costs about $9. Here's a link of the stuff: https://www.hardwareworld.com/10101-...r-pW3AV2W.aspx

Saved this AMF Hercules cruiser from the trash yesterday, looking for a year on it... late 50's? seat tube serial number 210700... started it's own thread for all the pics.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/jqmello/SBPfcxk...0/DSCN6880.JPG

I'm giving it to my neighbor, who just bought her husband a cruiser and she's looking for one too... now she's got one!

thread with more pics!

Date should be on the rear hub. Approx '65-69, give or take a few years on that year range.

-Kurt

Very cool. Thanks. I'll look as soon as I can... it's already in our neighbor's garage, since mine has too many bikes / stuff to fit another.

Yesterday was our town's twice yearly 'bulk clean-up' day. I took a pair of old car brake rotors, and an old stroller as my 'price of entry' to the metal pile. Fortunately, the local guys know me, so allow me to park off on the side and ignore the large NO PICKING signs! I collected a bunch of little parts for the rest of our fleet that would otherwise cost a small fortune at the LBS, but then spied the real prize.

Under some light junk was a Raleigh Sprite 10 speed. Looking at Sheldon's page, I'd guess a DL95 in coffee brown, circa 1976. I need to take a picture, but there isn't much to do on it. It must have been carefully stored in a dry place until being abandoned. The vinyl Brooks webspring seat is near perfect, chrome is mostly bright, paint was a bit dirty, but wiped up nicely. Tires hold air. The only thing was that the front fender got mangled being thrown into the pile. I am going to have a machinist friend see if it can be hammered back into shape. Once I get that fender off, I will take it for a spin.

In place of the standard rear rack was a very heavy black Leco folding child's seat, also made in England.

While I am almost 6 ft, this must have been owned by a giant. The top bar brushes my, well, you know whats.... It was sold by a bike shop in nearby Bethel, Conn, so probably spent it's life in this area.

OK, now a question about Raleigh / English fasteners. Not SAE, not Metric. Thread count is odd (maybe 25) on the handlebar clamp and seat post. One was stripped (looks like an incorrect nut). None of my tools fit, and I hate the damage that my Crescent wrench is inflicting on the relatively soft metal. What standard is it?

Thanks!

Steve

Probably 26tpi and whitworth nut sizing...metric comes closest on the wrench sizing for the nuts, you will SOL on the 26tpi which was Raleigh specific and AFAIK not shared by any other manufacturers.

Aaron:)

Thanks, Aaron!

My thread gauge had a 24, then jumped to 27 tpi, that's why the guess of 25. Thanks for confirming 26 (good to know I'm not crazy!). 14mm boxed end wrench looked like it would seriously round the points, while 13 will not fit. Damn British! Guess I need to complain to my Mum about her people.

Any source for NOS on hardware?

Steve

Fleabay and removing parts from old bikes is the only sources I know of. The 26tpi was proprietary.

Aaron:)

For people in toronto, best scavenging is done the evening before garbage day in the neighborhood. The suburbs are the best, nobody knows what anything is worth out there.

Some frontyard finds include a green CCM mountainbike a friend is still riding around on, two road bikes that have come and gone, and an enormous pile of spare parts and groups. I had so much I had to put some of it on my own curb! Oh and some dirty fellow gave me my current bike, which I converted. I guess that counts as trash.

Real reason I stopped by this thread: I saw a bike on the ride home yesterday, it was dark and I only had a blinker light. Its missing its rear wheel, but the front one is intact, no chain, but it called out to me. After work im rushing back to see if its still there, it could be a hell of a project! It had cruiser bars, full fenders, and the frame looked really interesting. I will post photos if recovered.

Anyone know where to do some quality scavenging around Boston? The issue here is that there is no dump anywhere b/c it's all pick up. I've had my eyes open for years w/ people putting stuff out on the curb, but nothing so far. I want to do some restoring this summer, but there's so much crap on ebay, but the majority of that stuff is low end frames.

I am gonna work on my curb find today and if I feel up to it (pretty achy today) will see if I can't find some nice blue bar tape to go over the new old drop bars of the reach is acceptable and does not need to be adjusted.

It's so nice to have a picture of what she is supposed to look like and yes...I'll be taking her out for a spin too.

:)

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/plx10.jpg

No blue tape yet... :)

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/edithside3.jpg

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=412765

That is a beaut! The only difference between the "ideal" picture and the reality seems to be gumwalls,as far as I can tell. Very nice catch, Sixty Fiver!

I will have to match the angle of that scan...

The saddle on my bike is a model 92 Ideale and I think the stock saddle was an Ideal 60.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/edith45side.jpg