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 : http://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.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/proctor2.JPG

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

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/proctor3.JPG

Reynolds 753R tubing...

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/proctor4.JPG

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

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/proctor5.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/proctor6.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/proctor7.JPG

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/proctor8.JPG

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.

Whut ?

Eddy Merckx Corsa Extra - Columbus SLX- Campy mix with Simplex shifters
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...6/P1050696.jpg

Love those Deltalinear (I think that's what they're called) brakes!!!!

Wonder why the old record? crankset?

I loved those Campy Delta Brakes too. I wish that style would have caught on because it was much cooler then anything they have today.

My partner (32 years in the frame building business) was joking that many earlier 753 frames were supposed to look that way... :)

We'll make it right and it won't be coming apart again... and on the bright side the failure of the brazing preserved the main tubes.

You saved THAT ^ from the dump?!?
Oh yeah sure - I hear that the landfill operators are turning them away, in your neck of the woods.

(How did you acquire it, really?)

so many nice finds.... now to mine. Passed the scrap yard and pulled a 70's Sears by Murray 3 speed off the pile. Frame straight but nothing much left of the parts. Got it home and began to strip. Dug through the junk parts and came up with enough to put together a single speed camp bike.

I'll put it together to check for working order, then tear apart for painting- camo, maybe ?

Slow down there, 65er. 753 frames are not something to approach blithely. When I was brazing 753 frames at Trek, Reynolds told us the *only* tube that they would consider replaceable was a chain stay, and even then they didn't sound too keen about it.

That frame has a lot of problems. Not only has it taken front-end damage, but it appears somebody attempted a welded repair. I'd consider it a basket case.

Given the "wishbone" rear stays, it is conceivable that you could remove that from the main triangle, leaving the BB shell attached to the chain stays to minimize heat damage to the chain stays, toss the seatube and lug and entire head tube/top tube/down tube assembly and build a new frame around the rear stays.

If the fork is still straight, you could salvage that as well.

But a simple tube replacement is likely to be a disappointment -- potentially serious -- somewhere down the road.

Will let the boss assess things and if I end up with a salvage project and a sexy rear triangle for another project so be it.

The lack of any bent tubes makes me think that the top head lug separated from the top tube... pretty scary if one had been riding the bike.

Personally... I'd take a frame made of pretty much any other tubing... my Moulden mtb (local builder) was built with 853 and is a stellar frame.

I was given a '79 Ross Professional Gran Tour frame yesterday! It was their 2nd from the top, bike back then. Made in Allentown, PA.
The donor started a fixie project and got bored. He did strip most of the decals and paint. But the frame/fork/headset is all very good.
Unfortunately, it's too big for me at 62cm. I can take a 54-57cm. And I don't have parts to build it into a SS/fixie for flipping.
I know I'd make a killing with the college kids down at ASU.
Will post pics of it later, and likely put it up for trades in the ISO thread.

edit>>
here are the pics...
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...s/3379668b.jpg
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...s/787c83b7.jpg

Inherited a Schwinn Phantom in near perfect condition. No where to put it at home though so it's sitting in my grandma's garage 12 hours away. Can't wait to get it back to original. Also found a pretty good condition Huffy Sea Trails bike at the Good will last night for 35$. Needs a new shifter cable and a little cleaning but otherwise looks to be in pretty decent shape. Great find.

'74 u08 (?)
 

I saved this Peugeot from the trash a few months ago and am getting around to it now. I really like that the original paint is still vibrant despite the many chips. The frame has a kind of roughness I find appealing.

Someone spraypainted the chrome parts black, (why?!) removed the small chainring and the braze-on for the front derailleur lever is missing, so I'm planning to just make it a 5-speed with the original wheels and gear cluster.

You can't tell from these photos, but one thing I didn't notice about it when I picked it up is one of the fork blades is slightly bent back, which makes the front wheel point to the left. My question is whether this kind of thing is repairable/worth repairing or whether I should find another fork.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4827843_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._4822305_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6549339_n.jpg

Should be an easy fix. Either do it yourself or take it to an established bike shop. If you replace the fork you will need a new headset, stem and maybe handlebars as well, as your bike most likely uses some obsolete French-sized parts that won't work with a modern fork.

Thanks, Iowegian. I'll ask around about repairing the fork. If I do replace it, it'll be with another vintage fork--that way I can keep as much of it original as possible. I'd probably look for a fork from a similar year Peugeot/Motobecane that's the same height or taller so it would fit/could be cut down to work. Still, I'm hoping the fork can be fixed. Fingers crossed.

I got a really nice deal on this 1969 Hercules today. I'm going to fix it up and give it to my father-in-law. I'm excited to get this one ready.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._6468134_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._2740165_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3938117_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._1754499_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._8295349_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._5030716_n.jpg

I saw that one on CL, nice find and glad it went to one of "us".

Ha, yeah this one will get a lot of TLC. I was surprised how long it sat on craigslist, it started high in price but dropped fast. I was very, very tempted when it was listed at 35 dollars last friday but I decided against it. I could not resist it at 20 dollars. I wonder if it's because it's a Raleigh made Hercules that it was less desirable. Certainly it's not the most highly sought after 3 speeds but it is solid.