Hi T-Mar and all,
Well, to further confuse this issue...
I recently bought a well used Fuji Finest a few months ago. I've been trying to date the
bike but I'm having a lot of problems. Reading these posts has really got me wondering. The serial number is: 75B00213. So I'm thinking this should be a 1975 or 1976 model, right? Well my bike has the name: "Finest" decaled on the top tube. I thought during '75 and '76 the model was known as "The Finest". You might think that maybe "The" was scratched off? Well, I don't think so... on the left side of the top tube, "Finest" is so
close to the head tube that there is no way that "The" could fit. Also the frame has
three brake cable guides brazed along the top of the top tube and the shift lever
bosses brazed on the down tube. The last piece of mystery is the fork. The fork is fully
chromed, not just the several inches near the dropouts, but the entire fork. I can see
evidence of Fuji decals on the chrome portion of the fork. So despite the serial number
I'm thinking this is a 1978 or 1979 bike. The components are not helpful because they
are a hodge-podge of different makes and date codes. T-Mar, what do you think?
By the way, I'm the original owner of a 1981 Fuji Newest (serial # FA205516) with about 50 miles on it
but that's another story.
Steve M.