spank226

I recognize that pretty much anything can be accomplished with enough $. But that's not really the box I'm putting around this.

I've hit conditions that find me waxing nostalgic for my very first race bike from the early/mid 1980s that was built of Columbus SLX tubing. Easier to find examples of this bike are selling for $2K as a frameset and I was privately offered a museum piece fully built up with practically new vintage parts for $3K plus shipping, which seems extremely selfish of me to throw that much money at something that will only serve to... well... I don't know what exactly it would serve other than a selfish desire to have in my hands something that I would have paid $3K for.

I found locally an example of this bicycle for less than half of the museum piece, and so now I have in my hands something I did NOT pay $3K for, but it measures 59.5cm c-c. Sure, I can ride it, but it's not ideal. It fits nicely on the wall and so it fills part of my perceived void. But now I'm wishing I could have it in my size as something I could occasionally ride and perhaps even enter in an Eroica event.

[edit edit snip snip-- I was typing way too much and getting long winded in details]

Anyway, I'm wondering how practical and reasonable would it be to explore having a professional framebuilder remove 3.5-4cm out of the seat tube (and necessary amount bottom off the bottom of the seatstays and 2-2.25cm out of the top tube (and corresponding amount out of the head tube and possibly down tube) So I'm changing a 59.5x58ish bike into a 55.5x56 bike.

I recognize that SLX has butting plus spirals / rifling and I thought I recalled that different tubesets had different length reinforcement depending on what size frame is was meant for.

I'd then have to have the whole bike rechromed and repainted, which is not something I really wanted to do (I like patina) but I recognize at the end I'd have a custom sized bike with the manufacturer pantographing and unique tubes/lugs/bridges AND a normal sized stem AND the bike I "wanted". Other option is of course just try to find one in closer to my size or see if someone has the same bike as I but needs a larger one and wants to trade.

Too expensive and/or too fooish a path? Would any framebuilder even be willing to take something like this on?