Many of you may know that for a while I have been trying to trade or sell My Atala Frame. Problem was the paint is not in the best of shape and one of the BB shells (Drive) is stuck, So I decided I want to build it up.

The first question I have is trying to repaint the bike. I dont plan on selling the bike so keeping the original paint scheme is not important to me at all. I was planning on black. I was thinking about getting it powder coated but I want to keep the chrome. The place I usually go to said they can tape the chrome off but Im not sure I trust them. Is there a preferred way to repaint yourself?

The other thing Im not sure about is parts. I purchased some Campy Triomphe parts and I am not entirely sure they will work. Will I need a campy cassette or can I use a a set of wheels I pulled off a Schwinn Super Le Tour? Is it one of those things that i wont know till I try, or is it already a failure? I dont want to put too much more into the bike right now because I dont have a lot of money right now. Any help is appreciated.

Frame as is right now.

Triomphe parts on an Atala of that vintage (as the long horizontal rear dropouts seem to imply). that sounds to be a bit of a mismatch age-wise.
Ideally you might consider an NR based build up on an older frame like that, but that would be pretty expensive these days. I wonder if you could consider a mid level group from a company like Gippiemme or Galli instead, with some Miche parts sprinkled in. or maybe an older gruppo from Ofmega. IIRC, their crank looks like a nice copy of the NR crank. Top it off with a classic 3TTT bar and stem and you will have a nice bike that might not be Campy, but still look very nice and not cost too much to put together, plus be all Italian.
JMOs

Chombi

Why repaint? The current paint looks great.

I've seen that frame up on CL along with your other creations... Any luck selling the lime green one?

No I have not sold the green one. I think i am going to wait till spring around here.

There is a frame-builders' forum where you can get a lot of good info about painting. I just finished building up an Atala exactly like yours (w/Campy NR). It has a really nice ride, more like a sport tourer, if you like that sort of thing. I'm also almost done buiding up an Olmo using mostly non-Campy Italian parts like Ofmega, Galli, Modolo, etc. They look like Super Record, very sleek. Like Chombi says, they're very nice, and cheaper than Campy, although it'll still end up costing some mony if you do it piecemeal. Actually, it's a nice old frame that will look good with just about any vintage parts.

I have '72 Atala Record Professional. Its original paint is really beat up and all the decals and headbadge are long gone. Any Atala lovers out there with leads on where I can locate suitable replacement decals and perhaps get a salvaged headbadge from a trashed frame?

For the original poster- a spec sheet for the correct Vintage parts for the various Atala models is at https://www.classicrendezvous.com/Ita...ala_advert.htm
Triumphe drivetrain originally used freewheel and thread on rear hub, not casette. Campy casettes were not made until about 25 years after your frame was produced.
Triumphe parts while not period correct for a 1970's frame will work just fine to get it functional, they are much more similar to what the bike would have originally had than more modern parts.

The easiest cheapest way to repaint a frame is to brush paint it. Get a can of Gloss Black enamel and a 1/2" or 3/4" art brush and have at it. To prep, give the frame a good sanding with fine grit sandpaper. Wipe it down with some sort of degreser, and you're ready to paint. Mask off the chrome bits. Two coats of paint should do it. You will be amazed how nice it turns out. I have done several bikes this way and they turn out fantastic. I usually apply a couple coats of wax after the paint has dried for a few days. Gives you a super durable finish.

For parts you will save money by buying a donor bike that you can swap out the parts on. The LeTour wheels are probably your best bet, they are alloy right? Any other parts from the LeTour you can use?

Try this site:

https://www.vintagetransfers.it/home.htm

They confirmed they had decals for my '72 Record Pro but I haven't ordered any yet.

Scott

Well, it looks as though its not going to work. I guess the crank doesnt fit. When I tried putting it on it runs into the back stays. Is this normal or did I just not luck out. Anyway I guess Im looking for and 80's frame to build up with the triomphe. It might take a while but i guess im going to have to search foe the nuovo record.

I assume you're using the BB spindle that's already in the Atala frame? Measure it and compare it to the BB that came with the Triomphe.

Also, what is the make of the BB spindle? It's possible the taper is more narrow than that required for the Triomphe crank, so it's sitting deeper on the spindle than it should. You can compare the taper width to the original that came with the Triomphe. Or are you using the Triomphe spindle with the cups that were in the Atala? It's possible the cups in the Atala are thicker than the Triomphe BB cups, which effectively shortens the overall spindle length.

First I tried with the BB spindle thats is in the Atala. I placed them next to each other and the Triomphe one is like 1mm bigger. I tried then to put the Triomphe BB spindle with the original cups but the bearings rest at different spots making the BB shell not able to install. I am thinking Im just out of luck.

What all have you tried to do to get the stuck BB shell out? Take it into a shop if you dont have the tools to get the cup out. Your triumphe BB will probably fit right in and work fine with the crank and frame (assuming the thread type on the BB and frame are the same). With the right tools, even very stubborn shells can usually be removed. Usually works much better to put the fixed cup wrench on and then pile on a stack of very large washers, and tighten them with the spindel and cranks bolt to securly hold the fixed cup wrench tightly so it cannot slip off when you push. Then you can put a longer cheater bar on the wrench and torque away. Probably also a good idea to first soak the threads with PB blaster penetrant.

Yeah I could try that again. I read about it on sheldon browns website. I didnt have a torque wrench to use. Oh LBS couldnt do it!

Doesnt take a calibrated type torque wrench, you just need a big piece of iron pipe that will slip over the other end of your fixed cup wrench, give you a much longer lever arm for attacking the stubborn cup.

I used the Sheldon Brown method with great success on a drive-side BB that probably was never removed in 70 years. Read about the adventure here, https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...his&highlight=

Well I tried again and used a pipe to get some torque. I broke two socket wrenches and now can get it loose again because i have no socket wrench to loosen it.

It's probably Italian threaded (the Triomphe BB cups are English). Cup should read 36 x 24 if it's Italian. If that's the case, and you are trying to remove the drive side cup, you need to turn your wrench counter-clockwise. Same with the non-drive side.

I know its italian threading and have been turning counter-clockwise, but I dont think its going to give.

If you are using the Sheldon Brown method, you would turn the wrench clockwise,