i recently acquired set of CR cranks with some damage to the finish, but due to their design i dont have the heart to give up on them. i do not really know much about them as i am a product of the 80's myself...

here are my questions:
-where did these things fall in the heiarchy of components?
-they appear to be 110bcd, could one call this an "early compact"
-what would a guy need for a bottom bracket to use these?
-would i upset the C&V guys if i "fixed them" with some wet sanding and polish?

i did some searches, but all i can really find is pictures of the cranks and/or pictures of bikes with these cranks.

if the finish is ruined you are best off polishing them. The quickest and least destructive way to get the anodization off is with oven cleaner (outside, and use rubber gloves). Depending on your success you may not need to sand at all, just polish with good aluminum polish.

thanks, ive polished before, i just dont want to go to all the work if i cant locate a bottom bracket to match...

110BCD was a common size for full size cranksets, but they do allow you to go with smaller rings and make your own compact crankset. I did this myself with a couple of donor rings from a MTB crankset.

This is my Lotus after the switch (along with a longer stem and Tektro aerolevers):



And with the original chainrings:

no one knows what bottom bracket i need?

this may be a great option for the girlfriend, thanks