I may be talking out of my rear-end here, but if you just get a rubber grommet got the larger hole, you should have no problems. I would ride on it.

More frivolous threads have been started

From my time spent here, I'm guessing the concern would be cracks that might grow from the potentially rough edge if it wasn't drilled out perfectly.

ha ha ha, didn't feel like getting yelled at.

that was also my concern about cracks in the future.

^ It shouldn't be a problem. Install a grommet or crimp on a washer and ride.
You did real well for $10. Super Champs in 27" are rare indeed.

Saturday luck:
Took wife to catch Jeff Golub play blues and jazz in the East Valley. We each won 2 free tickets to a concert next month! Yay!
It was late afternoon and Mrs. WNG wanted to check out Goodwill because it's 50% off Saturday. Place look picked clean. I walk over to the bike section for fun. There is NEVER anything worthwhile. I see a road bike, dirty as heck. But see a familiar decal thanks to the posts on C&V. I made a bee line to the bike! It turns out to be a Specialized Expedition.
Looked complete and covered by a ton of dirt, with some scratches and chips. No dents though, and tubes are straight. Rims are 700C Super Champions (like jamesj's) and the wheels spun well and true. It has a dried out Brooks Professional, a Cateye Solar computer w/cadence, Mathauser brake pads, Superbe levers, 1/2 step geared Sugino AT crank, and Specialized hubs. Even a rack and a few spare spokes taped to it! Woohoo! With the 50% off, it came to $40 no tax. I wheeled it over to Mrs. WNG with a big stupid grin. She laughed. (and subsequently filled her shopping cart with her stuff!)
I'll need to hit up the Collective for advice on this one.

^^^ Very nice find!

If it fits, clean it up and ride the heck out of it. If not, clean it up and sell it for over ten times what you paid for it!

Lucky indeed! There is a YahooGroup devoted to this model (and the Miyata tourers).

https://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/MiyataSpecTour/

Congrats,

Bob

Just caught this before it got smashed. I'm not sure of the model, but it's a nice 80's touring Cannondale.
600 components,27 inch rims, Vetta seat. Must have been time to clean the garage.



86 ST500? Everything but triple crank.

OOOh La La!

Advice from the Collective? I'm not sure I like the idea of being in a 'collective'; but, as an individual I'll give my impression. For $40 you've found one of the top 3 vintage holy grail touring bikes. The touring bike trinity, as laid out by Sheldon and others as the best 80's production touring bikes are in my order: Miyata 1000, Specialized Expedition, Trek 520. I think the Expedition is the rarest of these, which ups its value. Yours is an 83-84 IMO, with its clamp-on shifters; mine was an 85 that I sold about 6 months ago for 700. They are very desirable! Yours appears to be in exceptional shape. It appears to still have its Mountech RD which is rare for a reason. You can go one of two ways with it; make it your-own and ride it knowing you are riding what is one of the most sought after vintage touring bikes that is only going to increase in value, or clean it the best you can and sell it.

^^ Thanks rothenfield1!
"Collective" is just a playful reference to Star Trek's the Borg. The C&V motto of n+1, where "resistance is futile".
It's reassuring to read that it commands such a reputation. I knew of the Expedition but not this special before buying it. Quite a following. After having a chance to inspect it closely, it comes as no surprise, it's finely crafted, and the previous owner configured it well. There isn't a that much wear, as the components are in very good condition.
I have decided that it'll be staying for a while.
I created it's own thread to solicit more info and nail down its original configuration. Also possible restoring tips for the Brooks that came with it.

Forgive my ignorance, but how does one go about saving bikes from the junkyard? Do you just show up and see if anyone has tossed any bikes? I ventured here and this thread has sparked my interest in building a classic/vintage frame for fun.

Hi Jaytron -
- I think a lot of these guys put a $15 bounty on anything worth keeping, and then leave their cel number with the old geezer at the metal yard... 20 minutes later, their phone rings, and they come back with their pick-ups to haul away loads of curly stay Hetchins, Vintage Bianchi's, '30's Paramount track bikes, etc.

Persistence and low expectations. I've rescued a few myself (well with the help of my dad), but never when I was looking for one. My dad goes to two dump/transfer stations a week (one town for his house and the neighboring town for my grandmother) and has a good relationship with the metal guy at each place who knows to set anything with two wheels aside for my dad to check out for me. 99% of the time it's a Huffy, Next, Magna...etc. and my dad just tosses into the pile. Sometimes it's a minty fresh 60's Raleigh Sports or a Columbus Tenax Schwinn

Helps when you are the Garbageman too.

I normally camp-out at the dump and wait for the trucks to arrive. I’ve found a very nice ‘real’ silver spoon, a seemingly little used 8-track tape player, and a NOS Miyata 1000 so far. I threw the Miyata back 'cause it wasn’t my size, but the spoon and 8-track are tits!

^

pulled this from somebody's trash on the way home from work today

My only great find was free, in a recycle metal dumpster. I was walking by this dumpster and a saw a bike laying on top of a heap of metal with more metal on top of it, didn't think much of it and kept walking past it. I went to a business there to do something and was walking back when I decided to have a closer look at the bike see what kind of junk it was. It was Kona Lava Dome with all Shimano SLX components, and it didn't look that bad. The seat was completely wore out, as was the rubber grips, the cables got torn maybe from being in the trash, and the pedals were bent on one side., but everything looked ok just dirty. Took it home, stripped the bad parts off and put new ones on, put a new chain on since the old one was rusted, adjusted the spokes and put air in the new tires that it had on out of the dumpster, washed it, waxed it and it looks brand new. I found on a web search that the model was only 3 years old when I found it last year. It works great, didn't have to do anything to hubs or bottom bracket, just replaced the bad parts and rode it. It's now my go camping trail bike while the other one I had is now my wifes. Dumpster plus about $80 in parts got a 3 year old $800 bike.

That looks like a heck of a find. Thats a fairly upscale bike. Post a drive side photo so we can see what it is a bit better.
Looks like Super Mity cranks, Suntour ARX derailleurs, Suntour Powershifts (probably the best pre index down tube shifters ever).
What dos the seat tube and forks stickers say its made out of?
Id guess that to be about 83. Here is how to date the bits like the Derailleurs : https://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm#suntour
It will give you a rough idea of the vintage as long as the stock was being rotated. parts dated mid to late year usually mean to date the bike as the next model year.

Frame builder's special... a custom built Proctor Townsend frame that will need it's front end rebuilt and may need a new top tube.



Love the rear stay... and Campy lugs are always nice.



Reynolds 753R tubing...



And this is where it gets hideous... those with weak stomachs should look away.









The main tubes appear to be straight as does the fork... would expect more frame damage but the lugs separated instead and the lower lug has a crack in it.

Time to fire up the torch...

Ouch! Well, from the other examples I've seen of your work, I think that baby is in competent hands and will surely survive to see many more happy riding days.

Awesome.

It will be a nice bike again... Proctor Townsend bikes were built here and would date this one to the early 80's and unlike "Proctor" bikes, were built in low number series.

A friend has one of these models and it is a delightful bike althoufgh his is a 50cm frame with that delightful monostay... at 55.5 cm it should be a damn near perfect fit for me.

Other than the head tube and that hideous repair attempt the rest of the frame is clean and straight.

during christmas I will bring my 20" wheeled proctor-townsed to EBC to show you.