Originally Posted by The Golden Boy

Here's my theory about this bike... This is a 400 level Trek- at the time I think it was the 2nd from the bottom of Trek's lineup. But at this time, it seems Reynolds tubing had lost cachet, so this bike which has a double butted Reynolds 531 main frame and I believe Tru-Temper CrMo forks and stays is somehow a 400 level frame. Prior to 1986 a bike with a 531 frame and CrMo fork and stays was considered a 600 level frame. Where I think Trek got down to that price point is the components. There's nothing bad on here- it's all good stuff and it all works well- but this bike is a wonderful bike with nice stuff on it.
I'm a really bad person to ask how much to drop into a project like this. I'd guess this is a $200 bike- if that and I have somewhere around $1000 into it. And I think it's worth it.