I'm new to the Voyageur party. Just read the entire thread. Given all the beautiful bikes shown, I'd say mine is the other side of the bell curve! It was given to a friend of mine, and he already has plenty of bikes. I told him I wanted to build a gravel bike for riding dirt roads in the area (Fraser, Colorado), so I got it for the princely sum of . . . free.
Other than the Specialized Touring tires, which are dry rotted, I think it's original. I don't think the wheels have been swapped to 700s, but the tires are marked as such.
It's a 23" 1980 Voyageur 11.8 in what once was Black Sable. The frame is rough and decals mostly gone. I've been perusing the powdercoat thread. Might go that direction, might paint it myself, might leave it as is and just bathe the rusty parts in white vinegar. This is a huge learning process for me, as you all throw around terms of parts that I know nothing about. So, I'll have questions. Heck, I might even start a build thread to ask them and show progress.
I was in such a hurry to get going, I didn't even snap a photo of the bike in its given-to-me state. Here are a couple taken during disassembly.
The tripometer is hazed over. Might have to pop the cover to see mileage to date.
No braze ons for bottle cages and racks like later years. If I strip it for pc or paint, I may have some brazed on.
After reading the Voyageur thread, I've become a fan of the cantilever brakes. Another reason to strip the frame to have bosses brazed on.
I removed everything but the bottom bracket (and headset races). I have Park Tool's wrench on order to finish the job.