This project seems to have landed on the back burner, but the recent acquisition of the Union-badged Polycarbonex donor bike just put it back on the map.
The Polycarbonex came with a short-reach, long quill SR stem which solves two problems: Replacing the original 7/8" clamp stem for a 25.4 North Road, and getting the handlebars up a bit more - being hunched over is a problem I have on my '51. Since this is more or less a duplicate bike, I'd like to avoid that.
The stem isn't polished just yet - it's still full of sandpaper marks. Polishing the pits out of these SR stems always seems like a fool's errand, but it appears as if it'll come out fairly decently in the end.
I also swapped the light mount. I was impressed by the headset bracket from the Polycarbonex - it is just as thick as an original Raleigh light mount and virtually unbendable. Swapping it not only does away with the fiddly lamp bracket clamp, but also positions the headlight higher up and closer to the frame. Looks better than propping it out halfway over the front axle.
I also mounted the rack from the Polycarbonex here. It's nor a particularly good one, but it's designed for Pletscher's proprietary brake bridge, which is built into the 1980 Sports.
-Kurt