juvela

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for a 1972-1973 date you would want a first generation 3TTT Record model stem

extensions offered in one cm increments on the half cm (i.e. 8.5, 9.5,10.5)

clamp size 26.0mm

if you find a used one with an extension a good size for you but with damaged or missing transfers they are available from the replica transfer vendors





https://bicycledecals.net/collection...oducts/3ttt_01

here is an image of second generation for comparison



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tiger1964 

Thanks, and looking through the deep gouges on the OEM (?) bars to decipher the original markings, that's a match... and I just got a reply on my WTB topic that sounds like a good match too, right down to mentioning the triangular decal!

juvela

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sizing tip -

there is somewhat of an "industry standard" for measuring the breadth of drop bars that they are measured centre-to-centre at the trail

3TTT is one manufacturer who doth not follow this standard

they measure overall

so if you should end up ordering a new bar it would be good to keep this in mind


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bikingshearer 

FWIW, a 1973 Paramount was listed in the catalog as selling for $450 (Pretty hefty jump from just a few years earlier). I found the 1974 Schwinn catalog and found Paramounts in it, but could not find a price. So $400 is probably in the right ballpark.

repechage

there were subtle changes to the 3ttt stem of that era, late 1972 used the Allen key bar fastener, early 1972, a nutted bar closure, 3ttt formed in the keyed forward end and a 7mm Allen quill draw bolt.
1973 Masi bikes used the next generation stem, with Faliero’s signature pantographed in, he had connections.

SJX426 

The original stem and bars from post 15 above.
3ttt Record Stem 105 RS , on Flickr
3ttt Record Stem 105 LS on Flickr
3ttt HB+Stem on Flickr

I may just buy the decals that wore off.

juvela

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since recent posts on the project have been in the vicinity of the cockpit it occurs to that which passeth for me "braine" that a note upon the topic of the Gaslos might not be out of order...

forum members have reported finding them to complete projects at non-astronomical prices via patient looking

so wise not to assume listings are all out of reach

keep a search on file with ebay.it

another resource to check on from time to time is that of subito.it


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tiger1964 

After too many sessions, I guess the chrome is about as good as it's going to look. Now the get the paint mixed and the frame sprayed -- I presume I'll be doing the masking of lugs and stays myself.

Huh?

tiger1964 

Thanks to Classic & Vintage bike forum members “marius.suiram” and “AdventureManCO”, I now have the chosen Universal Super 68 brakes (looking at vintage Legnanos, some seem to have Universal sidepulls and some have Universal centerpulls). I spent some time working on them: (a) fully dismantled, (b) cleaned in Simple Green HP, (c) subjected to a session in the vibratory tumbler with walnut shells to remove oxidation and the like, (d) buffed with Blue Magic metal polish on most parts big enough to hold, (e) coated in Wolfgang Metal Sealant in hopes that the shine will remain once the bike is in use, and (e) reassembly, and applying a thin film of Park Tool grease with a Q-tip to all moving-parts contact points like pivot washers. On the latter, between this lubrication and modern lined cable housing, I am hoping for a smooth-performing set of brakes if not exactly disc-brake stopping power. By the way, the provided brake pads are marked “Fibrax”, I am unsure after looking online if the holders I am looking at will accept Kool-Stop replacement pads or not.

Also, I need few things in rubber/gum like brake hoods. I tried composing a large-ish order from Rustines in France but their website keeps giving me error messages. Hopefully they will answer my e-mail with a solution, or I am going to need an alternative source for Universal and Mafac brake hoods at the very least.

Next stop: assembling the hubs and taking them to get laced up to 700C rims.

juvela

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replicas available at EUR29/pr -

https://www.ebay.it/itm/225264559500...Bk9SR5jmloulYw

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AdventureManCO 

Looks like they are in good hands Good luck with the build!

Trakhak

Built my first wheel in 1965 or 1966, or maybe swapped a new rim onto my existing wheel---I've forgotten which. Lots of built and rebuilt wheels since then, both for customers in my bike store days and for myself, and I'm pretty sure I never cut any spokes out of a wheel, or not more than once or twice.

Never understood the point of cutting spokes. For what: saving (at most) a couple of minutes of work time? Once you've backed the nipples off for the first nine or so, the rest unscrew easily. Assuming stainless steel spokes and undamaged brass spoke nipples, you have a pile of decent reusable parts. (As Jobst Brandt pointed out in his book and elsewhere, stainless steel spokes can be reused more or less forever.)

If there's a chance the wheel builder is going to do more wheels in the future, it's easy to measure, wrap, and label the spokes and nipples and save them for a later wheel build.

tiger1964 

Today was Hub Day. The photo shows them a wee bit rougher in close-up than holding them in my hands. Like the brakes, these were cleaned, buffed by hand with Blue Magic, coated with Wolfgang's, then repacked with Park grease. From 3 feet away, they gleam -- so I need to decide if electric buffing would help, at least around the outside of the flanges, anyway. One front hub locknut actually broke in half upon removal but I cannibalized one from The Wheel Stash. QR levers showed some rust but a white Scotch-Brite, Blue Magic and crumpled foil got them looking nice (and hopefully the Wolfgang's coating keeps the rust at bay); while apart, I put a thin film of grease on the QR's moving parts and they are quite smooth now in operation. Next stop will be taking them to be laced up, I keep reading that the TB14 rim is a nice vintage-look choice in 700C... any reason not to go in that direction?




Those look neat, I'll think it over but I think I am busting the budget already.

Again, thanks for the donation -- I'll look further into the various parts bins to see if I have any "pay-it-forward" items.

Fair enough! That said, the wheels were in nasty shape, and several front spokes broken out. Maybe, moving toward, I'll take the time and unscrew spokes instead of cutting -- just had not thought of it.

tiger1964 

...

juvela

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oh boy, replicazione di "Leggy green" AKA upon occasion "lizard green"

coming right along she be!


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tiger1964 

Thanks.

I do not think I mentioned it already, but finding a bike painter proved a bit difficult. There are a couple of topics on painter on C&V BF, not promising; I was not interested in shipping the frame to Ohio, for instance. Checking with a nearby frame builder yielded the same results. The car paint/body shop that I had used for car work before said they’d do it, but after he had me source the paint from a place of his choosing, stopped responding to me. Months wasted!

So I wondered, “what’s like a bicycle?” I did a search for “motorcycle painters in MD” and got hits, the first two miles from my house. A visit revealed not only would they do it, they were interested, and had done bicycles before. Time and cost were very reasonable in my opinion. After a few days, he called and said that once he started painting, sompitting on the top tube was really visible in the base coat so he felt he needed to stop, sand it off, and apply a film of filler to make it right. So, I got the call to pick it up and I arrived — looked great, but a problem. I had at first neglected to mention the white head tube paint, thinking I’d spray that myself from a can, but then asked if they could spray that too — and provided a photo of a Legnano those painted. What I was looking at was a Lizard Yellow frame all right, with a white head tube… and white head lugs! Well, mentioning this, he said the paint had just been sprayed, soft enough, and buffed it off with a rag & solvent. Cool! That left a haze I’ll polish off (the chrome is admittedly a bit tired) and a ghost of “lug lining” in white where the chrome lugs meet the top and down tubes. I need to resolve that; this was all my fault, not his, due to poor communication.

The color surely looks like what I remember (uh, 50 years ago!), and hope to start applying decals shortly. I addition, I probably should have cold-set the frame for the wider axle/freewheel before painting, not after, eh? I just wish the chrome was in a little better condition.

SwimmerMike 

Do you have a paint code/supplier/etc. on the paint? I've had a 1963 Legnano for about 18 hours that needs a repaint (has already been repainted poorly and with the wrong color). I'm thinking of doing a rattle can on it until I decide if I want to go for a full repaint with the pin striping etc.


Mike

juvela

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wrt finish -

dost thee envision replication of the rosso linin'?

this example of the Roma model from the same era has red box lining on all tubes -



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tiger1964 

I got the formula in post #13 if this topic: LEGNANO

The place I ordered the paint from, I do NOT recommend; local shop that the body/paint shops use, I was steered to him, took forever, most of the time not only did he not answer the phone but I would drive by during his business hours and the place was empty and locked up. Took forever. I can give you the number but strongly suggest trying some place near you.

tiger1964 

I've been looking at countless online photos of Legnanos. Many have the red lining, some do not. Mostly, those without seem to be newer, like after they transitioned away from their unique seat post binder, and this particular bike has a traditional binder. That's not conclusive. I asked the owner to rummage through his old photos, what we found with the bike in the photo is also inconclusive, not enough detail. Four of us were at a party yesterday, no one remembers from 1974 whether the stripes existed or not.

As I almost certainly do not have the skill set (I could buy Buegler striper and start practicing), the decision is almost moot, I think. The bike -- at least for now -- is not going to be striped. If someone wants to swing by and try their hand at it...

tiger1964 

Started a wee bit of reassembly. I got the rear axle ground to length and installed, plenty of clearance beyond the 6th cog now so hopefully setting up the shifting will not be a problem. As I misplaced my metric steel scale (ruler), which I use to measure against the string when cold-setting, I await a new one to be delivered tomorrow before I bend the frame. Interestingly, a rough measurement with the micrometer suggests currently 123mm at the dropouts and the rear wheel was not difficult to press into place — so it should not require a lot of cold setting.

The decals are on and, as I do not have a good enough photo of this exact bike BITD (and back then he photographed a lot of things, just not our bikes), the decal placement is am amalgam of multiple Legnano photos found online. Interestingly, and I’ve done this before on bikes, the downtube logo decal is a bit low (I tried scaling up from a photo) making it “interesting” to fit a water bottle cage. Both the downtube and seat tube large decals are applied and then a thick film is peeled off, providing good alignment between multiple parts. The film also makes it more difficult getting the decals underneath smoothed into place as easily, and there’s a tiny wrinkle in one decal but I won’t tell you which one. There will be no clear coat, but I’m waiting and then will use the “ceramic wax” that’s doing so well on our cars; probably insufficient if the bike was to be used on gravel rides or in a rainy environment, but not a problem here.

Headset was easy, I even got to use (barely) the bearing race press this time, as the head tube was just short enough. I probably used way too much grease. There’s a spacer in the headset, non-ferrous according to my refrigerator magnet, that strongly resists taking a good polish; it’s OK, just not great.

Apparently, after just a few bikes, I’ve worn out the automotive brake cylinder hone that I use to ensure a clear seat tube before installing the seat post — it took forever just to remove a film of paint at the very top. Seat post fit is now snug but smooth.

Not happy with the bar/stem installation. Both recently purchased and both TTT, but from two different people, and WOW, was the installation tight! I tried cooling, I tried heating, and prying. Yes, installed now. When I bought the bars, there was very minor scarring at the center, adjacent to the stem… well, there’s more now. Good place to mount the bike computer!