Suteki with Shimano 600, another barnfind?
 

Picked up this Suteki with Shimano 600 derailleurs and 1 Tourney centerpull brake at the local mission store for cheeps. Before I convert it to a 10 speed racer I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a rare collectable that I should restore to original condition.
It has 27 X 1 1/4 Araya aluminum rims & quick release front axle, Shimano 600 derailleurs, cam lever brake release and Shimano Tourney centerpull brakes that I'll keep. I'll drop the fenders, change to chromed drop bars, Rattrap pedals and a period correct seat.
Also, if anyone can tell me what peiod it is from (see pic of serial # om BB) & any thing else about it I'd greatly appreciate it.
THANKS
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Headbadge & cam lever brake release

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Go ahead and covert. Suteki was a Sears-Roebuck brand, though I must say that this one is quite nicely outfitted for a department store bicycle. FYI, based on the serial number and components, it would appear to be a 1985 model. The interesting thing is that the derailleurs are 1st generation 600 and by this time they were up to 4th generation. I know that the 1st generation survived into the 2nd generation and was still produced as late as 1980, but I wasn't aware it went on this late. I would really appreciate it if you could take the time to look for and postt the date codes, which will be a double letter, stamped on the back of the derailleurs. TIA. Good luck with the conversion.

+1 Sold by Sears, google it and you will find catalog page scans. Early Shimano 600 really had nothing in common with the new stuff, it showed up on quite a few entry level bikes. I would have guessed bike was older. TMar is King on serial numbers.

Keep the fenders and use it as a bad weather SS.

Are you converting it for your own use to resell it? Personally I would clean it up and shopp it around as an upright city bike before going to the expense of new bars, levers and tape. Back in the late '80s early '90s we converted alot of lowend "10 speeds" to uprights something like this but seldom converted uprights to drop "10 speeds"

Well, the serial number could also represent 1975, as opposed to 1985. However, the pedals and crankset are early to mid 1980s (appear to be Sugino No. 5 and Shimano Adamas AX). That's why I'm asking for the date code on the derailleurs.

I don't see any harm in converting it. I don't see much point to it though if selling it will fetch as much likley more kept as a classic city and the bike isn't light or nice enough to make a very good racer style bike. Considering its fairly nice orginal condition I would leave it as is.

Along with some great info T-Mar asked for the date codes on the back of the derailleurs. Here's what I found.

On the back of the rear derailleur:
SHIMANO
HA INDUSTRIAL CO. LTD. VIA
JAPAN
or the HA maybe a WA. The front just has:
SHIMANO
PRODUCT OF JAPAN
Thanks ,T-Mar, for all the info. :thumb:

Damn you're good, exactlly right on the pedals (here's a close-up pic) and on the back of the left crank arm is stamped: S 170 GC 6 and on the right arm is: S 170 GC 7
My guess is S for Sunigo, 170 for 170mm arm length, no guess on the GC and the 6 & 7 are part #'s specific to each arm---or is my guess way off?
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Do what you want with, it's not a valuable collectors item or anything like that. Road bikes with drop bars do seem to sell for quite a bit more than "town" bikes with those cruiser bars, so if you have the parts you might be able to make a little money on it swapping to drop bars.

Personally I would keep the fenders. They match the bike and look nice IMO. Someone can always remove them later.

Thxs! That's a January 1983 date code on the back of the derailleur. Assuming the bicycle is a 1985, I would have expected a 1984 or 1985 date code, but it's possible the manufacturer didn't do a very good job of rotating their stock.

Yes, the S probably stands for Sugino and 170 is the length. The 6 and 7 are likely die cavity numbers. The GC is assumed to be the date code though there's no consensus on the interpretation. Most people seem to think it follows the Shimano format and would indicate 1982 but it also possible to reverse engineer it to a 1983 code. The one thing we do know is that it turns up on primarily 1983 models.

It is a bit strange that two components, from two different manufacturers both predate the apparent serial number by more than a year. Maybe it isn't 1985, but it's not a lot older and since there's some question, I'd just call it a mid-1980s model. Again, thank-you for taking the time to supply the requested info.

& thank you very much for all the info!:thumb:

Final update: After letting this sit for 9 months I finally got round to this bike. First I got rid of the cheep Bell seat & replaced it with one that resembled a Brooks late model seat. The pedals were replaced with some no-name ol'skool pedals with rubber pads that looked more appropriate. The Shimano 600 deraileurs were taken off for another project & replaced with a more basic Shimano rear deraileur & a Suntour front deraileur. The existing Shimano Tourney centerpull brake was matched so the same is on front & back.
Sold on Craigslist for $80 as a Gentleman's Touring Bike. Here's pic of how it looked when sold. Thanks for all the replies & help. :thumb:

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