Bought this '76 Viscount at the local flea market along with the parts bike I used and the other parts used to build this. The bar tape and cables are new, Total invested around $100, it has the shakedown pedals on in this pic.
Before:


After:

I wanted to post before and after pictures of my 1977 Motobecane Grand Jubile I picked up about 3yrs ago from a yard sale very late in the day. I got it from the original owner along with the owners manual, it was in sad shape from sitting in a garage near the shore for more then 30+ years, lots of surface rust on the components and scratches & chips in the paint. I have had this bike in my repair stand more times then I can remember always removing it and putting it aside as my hart just wasn't in it to get it finished just to sell because it was way to small for me.

I finally got tired of it being in my way so I decided to get it over with and build it up and as I did I finally got into it & the build came out pretty good. Originally I tried to keep as much of the original parts that I could only replacing what was needed like cables, bearings, bar wrap & brake pads but soon found that I wasn't happy with a few things and made a couple of changes. The biggest change I made was that I didn't like the way it shifted across the square block 5spd Suntour freewheel, I mean face it things have come a long way since 1977 so I installed a Shimano 6spd HG FW & matching chain, wow what a difference. I also didn't like the brown seat and tan hoods that it wore ( I love the seat & will use it on one of my keepers) & changed them to black using a NOS made in India Sadem leather saddle from the late 70's & Cane Creek black hoods. The only other real change I made was a new stem, I don't remember what happened to the old SR 80mm stem but at some point it wound up in my Glass Bead cabinet destroying the finish, I replaced it with another 80mm SR stem that was a lot taller then the original.The bike rides so smooth & shifts & brakes excellent thanks to the modern Shimano brake pads, FW & chain. Now to the Pictures which I may need more then the 10 allowed so it will be in two post if needed.

Glenn
Before,






After

More After Shots,

Glenn,
The Moto turned out great! I'm glad to see you kept those French 531 stickers. Cool.
This classic French bike must ride like a dream.

Thanks Will, Yeah I wish it was my size because it really has a nice ride to it, I hope my Dawes Super Galaxy rides as nice when finished then I will be stoked.

Glenn

An old raleigh I picked up on eslay and converted to single speed.

I like the orange and white, very classy looking.

Here's what the Cannondale SR500 that I picked up over the summer looked like before:



And how it looks now after rebuild/re-painting:



Not all that fond of the crankset and will be replaced as soon as my package arrives with the 600 set.

Love the color of that bike.

I just finished this one, need to try and find the original picture. I had the frame powdercoated and upgraded to some indexed shifters. i've done a number of single/fixed conversions but wanted a bike with gears too. scored a brooks saddle on my birthday to complete it. quite pleased with the final result and learned a few things along the way.

Definitely deserves better photos! Looks like a very nice frameset. Build came out very well too.

the string around the hub, i seem to recall that there was a purpose for this but i can not remember what it is

When I was a kid some bikes had leather straps hanging from the hub to keep the hub shiny and it really worked

This is a Condor that came to me painted as a Gios I have since repainted it has a bit to go before it is ready to be rebuilt

Great detail to that frame.

My Centurion Sport DLX

Before:


After:

Nice work on the old whale!

My $100 CL fine, 1987 Yokota Legend, , transformed it in about 1hr to a TT machine

Wow, quite a transformation. I opened the "before" pic and my first thought was "Yuck, that needs a different paint job!". Then I opened the "after"......... in that configuration the paint job works. Nice job!

+1 Nice transformation. It looks a lot better.

Hub shiner!
In my childhood every well-dressed balloon-tired bike had a little leather strap with a reflector on it dangling from each hub; kept the inside surfaces of the hub nice and shiny.
Brent

Thanks for the great comments , I hesitated when I first looked at it then I had a vision

I left them there as the original owner put them on when he bought the bike & they held up after all these years keeping the hubs clean, but I guess you need to ride it in order for them too work.

Glenn

If I wasn't a ridiculously slow, over 50 and a "Clyde" I wouldn't be ashamed to be seen on that, it's even my size, but seeing me on something that looked like that would be a "vision" that would have people pouring bleach in their eyes.