Trek 510
 

I'm soo excited I had to post up some quick pictures of my new 510.
She's got a few issues, but I'm already in love.

Took a chance on E-bay with one crappy picture & one letter off on the serial number -F3C9D99-
(he had F309D99)

Had to throw on the seat, bars & cranks/pedals to check fit (Ya never know) & it does fit perfect
except for a tight stand over hight.... maybey fix that with 700c wheels?
Anyway, nothing I can't live with. I've been looking/lusting after a vintage Trek since stumbling on
Skips website. (he was a big help & dead on with that serial number by the way)

Well, without further ado...
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=263225http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=263226
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=263227http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=263228http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=263229http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=263230http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=263231http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=263232

It looks like the seat post may be backwards.

Great score, it's always nice to find a very early Trek! If the frame fits you overall (and judging by the saddle height, it does,) I wouldn't get too hung up on the lack of standover clearance.

Yeah, that seat looked odd to me in the E-bay ad also.
Was real worried about fit so I just threw that stuff on to check it.

I'm very tempted to just toss it together cause I want to ride it, but will try & take my time
& to do things right.

My 510 is a great ride! First bike I have with the Ishiwata tubing and I have to say I really like the feel.

Well, it looks like this frame is going to need more work than I thought.
Could have lived with some scratches & even gotten rid of some minor surface rust.
(the amount of rust does scare me a little, but I think it's savable)

Anyway, looking at all the dirt & imperfections under the blue got me worried.
Then I found very nice black paint when I took off the badge.
At first I thought it might be the Imron primer,but with all the other clues,
she had to have been originally black. :(

So I'll ask you.... Should I leave the frame alone for now, put it back together & ride her
until I save the money for Joe Bell to put his magical deluxe finish on her?? or....
Find someplace local for a quick bead blast & powder coat?

What about being able to just strip off the blue without hurting the black just to see how bad it really is?
This ain't a "flip bike" for me, so I don't mind spending more than what it's worth.
Just don't want it laying around in pieces for a year or two.

I'm not sure if I'd shell out the big bucks for a Joe Bell paintjob, but it's probably worth stripping and repainting. I believe there was a recent thread (from the last few months) about bike painters with info about an Ohio framebuilder who does very nice work, it might be worthwhile to get his advice.

I was going to say that didn't look like one of the original colors, but you could actually get whatever color you wanted during the early years. I remember the paint guy showing up with a whole stack of cans of Imron.

This is the shop I was thinking of: http://www.franklinframe.com

I'd get it mechanically sound and ride it a while to decide if you want to invest in the cosmetics.

- Mark

Thanks, I think that shop is just about an hour from here. The prices are cheaper than
Mr. Bells,but, if I get her painted,I'd kinda like to stick with the Dupont Imron paint & it
doesn't say wether they use it or not.... I'll shoot 'em an e-mail & see.

I think your right, it's not that bad (from 6 feet. :) ) & I don't have that much invested....
yet.

Imron has changed a lot since the days your bike was made. Now is a color coat/clear coat like everyone else

Definately a keeper! These old Treks are still to be found. I found one and hopefully will have the lady sell it....and I'd get rid of my 460 for it.

Nice rides. You'll love the Ishiwata tubing. It's got a good feel to it.