Well after much reading of this forum over the past year or so, I thought I would share my first project. The bike is my Dad's 1983 Trek 640 that he bought new when I was 5. I used to ride this bike growing up and for whatever reason, he has hung onto it for all these years. It hasn't been ridden in close to 15 years, so when I asked him to box it up and ship it to me in California, he chuckled and said "Sure". Best part about it, I unpacked it from the box, put it back together, pumped up the tires and took it for a spin around the block. Good times, sure did need a tune up though.

The bike has all original Campy Gran Sport, and would not be surprised if those are the original tires. The frame is in pretty damn good shape all things considered, and has only one or two chips in the paint with noticeable rust. My plan for the bike is basically to break it all down, clean everything up, build it back up with some upright bars and turn it into my city commuter. I plan on using as many components as possible, assuming they are all working well enough. I'll probably spring for a nice Brooks, new bars, and possibly bar end shifts, but other than that, I want to use what's on it.

Feel free to give me any tips, tricks, shortcuts, or advice as this is my first project like this. Some of my questions are:

What are folks' favorite general frame cleaner?

What's the best way to clean up the derailleurs and get all the old grease off?

Best way to use oxallic acid if at all? Especially on something like the rusty quick release (see pic below).

Ok, enough chit chat, pics!

Complete tear-down and rebuild. It's the only correct way. There are no shortcuts.

You get to inspect everything, clean everything, and repack everything.

+1 You will also learn a great deal about both bike mechanics and this specific ride. It will become your bike. I buy and sell a lot of bikes. But I still have my original Trek 660. This is a bike you should never let go.

thanks that's pretty much the plan. i have a mechanic friend who is going to help me deal with the headset and bb, but everything else i plan on doing myself. i bit the bullet and bought a stand too because i figured it would be a worthwhile investment. will hopefully start breaking it down this weekend.