I say not.

I gotta agree with Jim here. That fork is ROUGH to say the least and will require a honing with a brake cylinder reamer. Otherwise the stem will never fit even after the oxalic acid. The most I would do to it would be a clean up, rattle can paint and ride. Not worth the effort or the cash to do more than that.

Thank fork is ROUGH!

So far, 7 for restoration:

unworthy1 - yes
Oldpeddaller - yes
old-and-new - yes
sykerocker - yes
mkeller234 - yes
EjustE - yes
southpawboston - yes

And 5 against:

miamijim - no
Nessism - no
RobbieTunes - no
Machin-Shin - no
wrk101 - no

- But the trend is turning against restoration (Where are all the O-A disciples now?)
...and on that note, I just may start dipping that fork tomorrow, to see how it fares.

I say, strip a bit of it, apply a little OA, see what it looks like, see if it seems worth continuing. Maybe start with the head tube area or the BB? Looks like a nice frame, if it's not so rusted that there's a structural problem.

I'd go ahead and clean it up and (cheaply) paint it and get it ride-able. The frame has many of the same qualities of my Japanese made Bike (Warehouse) Nashbar frame from the early 80s. Same lugs, BB, fork crown. I suspect this is Tange Champion 2 tubed.
I agree with Shin that the fork is in bad shape. I'd go with electrolysis rather than OA due to the level of corrosion. Then follow with the brake hone to smooth out the surface. A stem will fit.

A low-cost, but more durable alternative to rattle canning would be to brush on can paint that's thinned by 50%.

Hi WNG, High Fist Shin:

You bring up a point to consider - a cheap rattle can paint job:

While not as good as (the better) powder coat applications I've seen, rattle can jobs can look very good indeed, and durable enough when clear coated.
Also, it does not preclude powder coating later if it does not turn out.

It does however require near-optimal temperature and humidity, and good technique to apply, or it will sag, dry spray, bubble or haze.

Relative to the electrolytic rust removal suggestion for the fork - I already have most of what I need to try it and some great instructions here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Elec...val-aka-Magic/

Have to admit, I'm not super knowledgeable about C&V but the bottom bracket shell looks very rudimentary to me with a lot of thickness and the lugs look rudimentary as well. The better frames have nicer components to start with I think.

My further two bits ... or is it two cents worth?

I think each contributor has made a good point. Now what to do? One thing I learned from my fascination ... er ... mania ... in regards to vintage audio is this: seldom does the decision to restore vintage anything come down to a profit in the end – unless it is in regards to some revered icon that you somehow get cheaply ... say, your girlfriend gives you a 1965 Cellini her ex-boyfriend abandoned in their break-up!

It is all about the passion of the enterprise and seeing what you get at the end. Sigh ... the truth be known. Some of us may be luckier. Someone usually is.

But, usually ... and I really mean this ... usually the end product is worth the effort. It could be the learning experience ... the skills you develop ... something decent nearly always comes out of it. But it may not add up to a profit. Some of the most skilled craftsmen I have known have demonstrated this to me in their lives and in the way they pursued their interests. If it is a trade that applies to business, then we are in a different game. Things get serious in another way. And, I know that stuff too.

In my audio hobbies/obsessions, even my failures have been instructive. And sometimes they cost me something! Hobbies — stuff we do as dilettantes — usually come at a price. You wanna save some bucks. Buy a new Bianchi!

Anyway, if your new find turns out to be a decent frame — say Tange #2 with some nice forged dropouts, you will be able to use it in some part of your riding week. Make it your beater ... and you may yet fall in love with the thing ... say, for how it handles in traffic on the way to somewhere — whatever. Tange does not win shi-shi points. Twenty-five year old Nissan Skylines are virtually unknown outside of Japan. Hehehe ... secrets belong to those who discover them.

Some points:
* Machin Shin has a point about the steerer. Serious stuff there, but in my opinion not enough to seriously weaken the walls. BUT, as he says, you'll need to get a drill and a three/four block carborundum hone designed for larger brake cylinders and break the rust clean down to the pit walls. Use a can of WD-40 as you twist away! You do NOT need to polish it down to a perfect finish. Just get down to the pits.

Then flush the whole frame with a rust treatment. I couldn’t find anything here in Japan, so I’ve used ... yes it works ... vinegar! Blow a rust inhibitor into all the tubing, and/or a load of spray-on lithium grease. WD-40 is a good pre-treatment because it creates a sort of varnish. Let it dry out a bit before smearing grease or whatever into the rest of the frame.

High tension on the stem expander should break through the grease on the steerer and bite into the wall.

* There are a few ways to strip the frame. The cheapest way is to get paint stripper and then — I'm not kidding — get yourself two or three plastic PET drink bottles. And with a sharp box cutter, cut some shapes out and make several tools that you design to shave off peeling paint. This is not a theory — I've done it!

But ... sigh ... if there is 2-pack epoxy or Dupont Imron on it ... uh ... I dunno. But to me, it looks like a good piss would take a lot of your paint off right now! You are lucky; in America, you can get very powerful chemical strippers. In Japan, the best I can get is the most common oxalic? acid variety — or whatever it is. I could bathe in the stuff! But it works on common enamel that is intended for metals!

* Get some wet-dry emery cloth from ... er ... 400 to 1000. Elbow your way down to some nice metal — in your case. Then wipe it down with thinners.

* You can rattle can or brush. Which one?
OPTION #1: Polyurethane is a very durable finish ... but EVERYTHING depends on your undercoat/primer. If you rattle-can, use whatever a GOOD supplier recommends to be a primer that is part of the system for the final color spray. Allow generous curing times. Use 1000 grit and apply a final clear coat. This could use up to SIX bottles of expensive product — or more! Ugh! ... already approaching the price of a powder coat in some quarters ... (ah ... not here Japan though).

OPTION 2: So here is the skinny on a suggestion already made to you by one of your forum comrades: But, please ... excuse me ... even though WNG has presented a well-meaning idea, thinning paint past a certain point will weaken the coating. What is MORE important — assuming you will brush paint onto the frame — is to ask a professional supplier for an industrial metal primer that is compatible with the top coat — just as in the case of the rattle-can. Tint the primer to half the hue that you are going to use as the top coat. Paint on as many coats as it takes to luxuriously cover the metal. Allow some curing time. Then use the wet-dry emery and gently sand down to a smooth, even surface — without braking out the metal. You'll be surprised at how difficult this is on pipe.

Next ... thin your color enamel by no more than 10% — 15 % at the very most! No more! Now, you can use a brush, a sponge applicator, or a foam type mini-roller — or all three. (It would take too long to explain how to prepare textile rollers here.) Painting pipe is NOT easy! But after painting the undercoats, you will have gained practice.

Depending on your paint, temperature blah blah, the foam applicators may produce bubbles that will not dissipate. Be prepared and have a brush on hand. A sash tool is best — that is a brush that is cut on an angle. You can roll on and ‘cast off’ ... that is use the bristles to smooth out the coating. The ‘sharp’ end of the brush is the last to pass over any angles and corners, and so the bristles will not break way the coating you have applied in adjacent areas. And, the brush should be a NATURAL bristle ... or ... flagged nylon ... IF ... the paint is a non-water thinned variety.

I’m out of date with the chemistry. Water -borne epoxies MAY have come a long way in the last 20 years. Research it, or ask your supplier — a proper, professional paint supplier — not the home center! Believe me, there can be a difference! I’d use the paint that is used for oil refineries and so on. Then you Kknow it is the real stuff! And, back in the days, my supplier had the stuff cuz they were a pro-shop.

This is not easy, but the skill is a viable alternative to rattle canning. AND — if you go to a GOOD supplier and buy a GOOD product as is used in HEAVY industry, you will get a decent result. It will not look perfect, because you are not a 19th Century artisan painting coaches. But, it will not flake off the first time you tie up your bike to a parking meter either. And you will need only TWO pints of paint, a quarter inch brush, and a couple of foamy applicators, some cheap plastic buckets (we say kettles) and some thinners approved for the paints.

Foamies are cheap enough to throw away in the correct disposal, as opposed to using large quantities of environmentally nasty solvent to clean them. In between coats, brushes can be suspended in water to keep air from curing out the paint contents. A friend use to freeze them in Saran wrap over night! The next time you go to use the brush, mop out the water, or better ... spin the brush between your hands or use a professional brush spinner. The brush is reusable for the same paint and hue without having to rely on solvents.

A comment to conclude: my humble Miyata-310 that is stored 5000 miles across the Pacific may deserve a powder coat — maybe. But if I had something that was as doubtful as what you have presented — and if I had your doubts, I’d get the metal down to the bone. Then I’d brush on primer ... then brush on some color! What the hell! If it turns out that you have a gem, you can ride it awhile to sort out the bugs. Then you strip it and send it away for painting/coating! What is to loose?

If you hate the frame, you can always use the parts you bought on the next project and have the bumster frame melted down for razor blades and paint scrapers.

Now flame me — you purists.:) IMHO ... I think we are trying to have fun! And there is a win-win here somewhere! Anyway, I think that there is a nice frame there under that crud that someone blew on while overhauling the family John Deere — not a nervous twitchy racer, but a cool riding bike for covering the land. Paint it up and be proud. When some dude/dudette drops you on a $4000 carbon rocket on the way to work ... f’em. You are having fun and being healthy. And unlike them, all your dental fillings will still be in place by the time you slide in yer time card. And hpw much fun was it to spend $4,000 on something that looks like Darth Vader's gym equipment anyway? (Well, they must be an experience ... but for an old fart like me?)

Anyway, that is one take on one corner of classic/vintage planet. Some us of have De Rosa’s. Some of us have more humble bikes. But they are often CrMo/CrMg. Some are hand -braized. Some are machine/robot assembled — which I submit maybe be better than the one assembled by the apprentice who had a hang-over on a Saturday morning. Most are double butted. And they are all cool! Whatever you have, it is NOT gas pipe! Go for it and see what happens!

Let us know!

Lenton, I hearby flame you.

Seriously, you have some good points, many many good points. ;) If the OP would like to give this a try, I will help with the hone tool. Here is a link to the proper tool:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...112&zmap=97163

There is much to be gaining by attemping to get this bike rideable. But there is also much frustration, especially if the OP does not have the funds or the proper tools for the job. It will be a learning experience no doubt, but it might be wise to start with something a little less ambitious. I mean you have to play in the minor leagues before you get a shot at the majors.

Here's what I would do if I was in your situation. Save the frame and fork. Put it into storage and begin looking for a bike or frame in better condition without all that rust. Recondition it as needed and ride. Work on your original frame as time and money permits. I think most of us here agree that this is not a high end frame and that the most you will gain from this is knowledge and experience. It will serve you well should you attempt another resto in the future. It could be fun too.

And remember OP that Classic and Vintage will be here to help if you should have questions.

Shin.

Well Shin ... I gotta admit that wisdom is on your side! -Lorne/Lenton58

Well thank you Lenton53 -

I thoroughly enjoyed your little dissertation, and I have to say that I am philosophically aligned with you. No one could have captured it so eloquently. To wit:

"...Now flame me — you purists. IMHO ... I think we are trying to have fun! And there is a win-win here somewhere! Anyway, I think that there is a nice frame there under that crud that someone blew on while overhauling the family John Deere — not a nervous twitchy racer, but a cool riding bike for covering the land. Paint it up and be proud. When some dude/dudette drops you on a $4000 carbon rocket on the way to work ... f’em. You are having fun and being healthy. And unlike them, all your dental fillings will still be in place by the time you slide in yer time card. And hpw much fun was it to spend $4,000 on something that looks like Darth Vader's gym equipment anyway? (Well, they must be an experience ... but for an old fart like me?)" ...

And Hello High Fist Shin -

You must be telepathic because I was at Harbor Freight this morniing, long before I saw your post, and picked up the very same brake honing tool. (see lower right) . . . Also note that I have the Franken fork staged here in my Van de Graaff machine, that I dragged up from my laboratory here under the castle:
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...olyticRust.jpg

Acid soak rust...add a cheapy fixed gear wheel set like Mavic/Formula combo...Throw a cheap cartridge bottom bracket in and a good old used crankset...Can be done under 300$ and still perform as good or better than a bikes direct Windsor...

Screw the paint...ride it it to death.

Telepathy is just one of my many skills young Padawan. Teach you to fix bikes, we will. :D

Be sure your Van de Graaff machine is in a well ventilated area (outside is best). And post some pictures of the fork after the treatment and honing.

Shin.

Hi Sorefeet -

If I ever rode a fixie, I would look just like Humpty Dumpty riding an egg beater downhill,
And while I really appreciate the sentiment, I'm afraid that "riding it to death" would not be so rhetorical.