This 86 Bianchi Trofeo came from the original owner who purchased it new. He had used it up and most of the original parts were gone. It really probably needs a strip and repaint, but I didn't want to go there. So here it is with plenty of patina.
Before,



After,

Finally done. Yup, even with bicycles, 20% of the work takes 80% of the time. So the Saved From the Dump Trek 930 has become my home drop bar'd mtn bike. The Trek 850 that has served that purpose is going to my son's place to be my zero bike there.

As found, except I tore the shot saddle cover off first day.



And as of today. I just completed the brake lever hoods and the bar tape. Ready for adventures.



I really like the "Black Forest Green" and was able to conjure a suitable touch up paint. With the gold and purple in the decals I decided to lean towards the "low energy" end of the visible light spectrum with reds and browns for saddle cover, hoods, tire stripes, etc (except for the blue bulb on my clown horn). I've grown quite fond of the lugged frame, the last in the line. The "cockpit" is a direct transfer from my 850 which now has the flat bar this bike came with. I've also grown quite fond of the thumb shifters mounted in the drops. MANY miles that way.

some befores





some afters

before


after

So you only moved the chain lock on the Giant? 😀 Just kidding! Upon a closer look I see that you also swapped out the drivetrain. Nice bikes!

Thanks The original altus c10 drivetrain of this Giant Tourer was 32 years but still working perfectly but it was limited in some trails and the temporary alex rims I had on it weren't the best. The choice of rims was obvious for me Mavic A719 along with XT 780 T tranmission and Vbrakes. Not only , it shifts way more smooth, but also faster but the sti optical gear display from the touring XT version is more accurate than the mountain bike version. The XT 780 T vbrakes don't have the issues of deformable parallelograms and therefore brake hard as my avid arch rival.The tires remained the Schwalbe Marathon which are superb handling tires for gravely terrains and for road.

before

after

Did I reply already to this thread? I don’t care.

Before:

Spray bomb catastrophe!


After:

1985 Fisher Montare

I can’t believe you ditched the red dork disk! 😂

1983 Schwinn Super Sport the day I brought it home a couple years ago:



FINALLY did something to it today. 700 X 35c tires and I moved the cockpit and drivetrain from my '85 Voyageur over to it. The Voyageur had wheel issues and I just couldn't see putting more into it. Still needs some little stuff and a good cleaning but a big improvement over its "as found" condition.

Beautifully done!

1946 Higgins Ultralight

Here comes his little brother.




It’s time to take off all parts.


Now.

I got this Univega frame at the Monroe (Michigan) Bike Show and Swap in May. Someone was packing up their booth and offered it to me for a dollar. I had expressly told myself I was not looking for any more bikes that day, but I couldn't resist a deal like that. Especially since I already had everything I needed at home to build it up.


1977 Univega Grand Rally?

I put it together and rode it for a while to make sure I would like it, but I decided it was too embarrassing to be seen with it in that condition. In an effort to keep the cash outlay to a minimum, I used some paint that I already had in the cupboard.

1977 Univega Grand Rally

Here is the final product. I used a product called Pixie Dust to add some sparkle to the paint. It's a clear coat with tiny metal flakes that you can spray over a plain color.

1977 Univega Grand Rally complete


Better view of the Pixie Dust. I used some scrapbook stickers for the name until I locate some proper decals.

The wife's old TREK 820 at 8:30 this morning:




At about 5:00 this afternoon:

Looks brand spankin’ new!

Thanks, it has some battle scars but it still shines up pretty good. Already had a Marketplace scammer take a whack at it LOL. I quickly shut him down.

As bought, late in 2022:



Since this morning, ready for a vacation trip:

I posted this in the "Saved form the dump" thread last weekend and the 820 it's replacing here yesterday. I spent a few hours today getting it ready for my wife. It came without wheels or a chain. I cleaned up a spare wheelset for it and fitted it with an 8 speed cassette and new SRAM chain, swapped on the saddle from her old TREK 820 and swapped on a set of new bike takeoff Specialized branded platform pedals. I replaced the 3X7 Gripshifters with 3X8 trigger shifters, straightened the derailleur hanger and replaced a section of brake cable housing that had corroded inside.

Before:



After:

I posted this bike in its own progress thread, but this one seems to be the central repository for before and after pictures, so I'll add it here as well. Last year while on vacation, I found this bike hanging in and antique mall in Alabama. The fancy lug work and Campy dropouts pointed to it being something decent, but I knew nothing about the name. Googling FW Evans didn't turn up much, but it was only $40, so I took a chance on it. Once I got the bike home and did more research, I learned that I found a real diamond in the rough. FW Evans had a bike shop in London in the 1920s. Although he died during WWII, the shop continued to operate, first by his wife, then transferring to his store manager. They built bike frames in the basement of the shop and had a good reputation for touring bikes. The business is still in operation today as Evans Cycles. My bike appears to have been made in the early 1970s at the original shop in London. Evans bikes were only sold from that shop, first on Kennington Road, and later on Waterloo Cut. They were never exported, so it is a mystery how my bike ended up in Alabama. One theory is that someone came to England and bought the bike to tour the country and brought it home with them afterwards. There was a rack on the bike, so that is plausible. The shop was located near a train station, so it is not hard to imagine someone flying into Heathrow and taking the train into the city to pick up their new bike. Then they could catch a train out to the countryside to start their tour.

When I got the bike home and disassembled, I scrubbed the frame with Barkeeper's Friend and a 3M pad to remove the pealing paint and surface rust. Then I built it up with parts that I have on hand to see whether I had a winner or a dud. The verdict was I definitely had a winner. The shallow seat and headtube angles give it a stable, comfortable ride, but still sporty. I ended up riding all last summer in its "rat rod" condition. This spring, I took it back apart and started work on the paint. With other obligations and weather conditions, I was only working on it a little at a time, with long breaks in between, so the paint had plenty of time to harden in my hot pole barn. I used Rustoleum paint, with Color Shot Pixie Dust for a bit of sparkle, followed by Rustoleum clear. I used a gold paint pen to outline the lugs. The final build was completed just last week. I used a period correct SR crankset, Shimano Crane rear and 600 front deraileurs, Sun Tour Power shift levers, a Nitto stem, and SR Randonneur bars. The Campy seat post and Wienmann brakes are original to the bike. And of course it has a Brooks B17. I am really pleased with how it turned out.


The bike hanging in the antique shop. I was holding my phone up to try to get a picture of the name on the decal.


This was a little too much "patina" for me. Thankfully, stem and seatpost came out.


Decals from H Lloyd Cycles


All done! I wanted to emulate the 1960s Lotus team colors and highlight the beautiful lugs.

Did you paint it yourself?

I posted this bike in "saved from the dump" a few months ago. It was a one owner bike, and he had pretty much used it up.
1986 Bianchi Trofeo in Electric Rose with patina, rust, failing paint and swapped worn out components.



I decided I didn't really want to strip and paint, even though it needs it.
Replaced most of the parts, switching to Superbe for the shifting. A bunch of touchups and rust treatment later, it's a nice ride.

I think you made the right choice to save the paint. That rose pearl is cool and touch-ups just shows the character earned!

Yes, I used Rust-oleum rattle cans. I had not done a two color paint job before, so it was a learning experience.

Took a while to get the project going, but finally happy with it!