I purchased a Paramount frame today! Will post pics Friday. It is a yellow P-13 road racing frame. Need help on the date code. The Waterford website was helpful, but my serial # seems to fit into two categories (maybe)?

Help Stan!

The number is K7226. I am thinking that it is from October of '72 and was the 26th frame of the month.

It has the original Campy BB and headset. The chrome is bad on the headset, but the BB is smooth as smooth can be. Obviously I won't ride her until I service it.

Only one braze-on is the RD cable stop. Nervex lugs, front ones chromed, seat tube lug painted.

Paint on the bike is not good in many areas but there are no dings or dents, just wear and scraped paint. Campy dropouts are beautiful and chrome looks like it will polish up nicely. I am very excited! After I post pics, I'd like opinions on whether to just touch up the paint for now or put clear nail polish over the exposed steel. Guess I could also just put a heavy coat of wax on her. Anyways, the owner used to be active in a bike club and had this bike and a P-10. He said he preferred the more relaxed geometry of the P-10 but the P-13 was definitely more agile in turns.

Now I have to figure whether to try and source period correct Campy bits or maybe put some 1st gen. dura ace on it. Opinions welcome!

Pictures, we demand pictures !!!

Joe

Yep; you've got the serial number nailed!

You can still buy Kool Lemon touch up paint from Pete at Hyper-Formance.

When I bought my '71 Kool Lemon P13 it had a mish-mash of components. Somebody had put a Williams steel crank on it, for example, and it had Mafac brakes and a SunTour RD. It was rideable though, so I picked up the Campy crank, a Nouvo Record RD, and other bits at swap meets and off eBay over a period of a few months.

I'd be inclined to look for the Campy bits you need and replace them over time, but Shimano parts will be easier and cheaper to find, and will function just fine.

Post some pix when you can.

OK, finally back home and took some pics on my Blackberry because my good camera's battery charger has shot craps. Anyways, here are some "before" and "after" shots. The before were after I had just bought it and had no time to do little else but rub the oily grime off of it. The after is after I cleaned it all up, took apart the headset and cleaned it really good and worked on the rusted areas of the lugs and headset. There's some rust that just won't budge after using foil and then 0000 steel wool. Any other suggestions? By the way, the inside of the frame is very clean, no rust evident. The fork tube was in excellent condition. Really the only thing "wrong" is the paint. BTW, there's chrome in areas where I didn't expect to see it under the paint. There is also a red color under the paint. Is that a primer coat? BTW the dropout adjuster screws are brand new SS that I bought on my way home.

OK, never mind, the Blackberry pics are way too big. I'm going to see if I can put them on a Photobucket link.

https://s915.photobucket.com/albums/ac352/teammoks/

Try the link above. For those curious the shots that come first were taken in the bottom of a three story underground garage under a hotel in Kansas City. The others were after I got home.

Needs a little TLC, but very nice!

Welcome to the Paramount club. You've become the owner of one of America's icons from the 1960-70s, at least in the bicycle universe.

If you decide to go Campy, I'm in the process of thinning out my spare bits, I could be helpful. I'll keep you posted.

Well crud! Did you find a '72 Kool Lemon Paramount almost in my own backyard??? (I've been on the hunt for a while myself.) Totally disgusted with myself for not finding it first! (But totally looking forward to the photos of a cleaned up rider when you get her the way you'd like. Good score!)

Thanks for the offer!

BTW, what is the story on the Campy headset? The races say England, I assume that means English threading as opposed to made in England?

Congratulations! You will soon find that one Paramount is not enough, it happened to me.

It's an addiction.