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Vintage Frame ID

Old 05-12-22, 04:45 PM
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Karl T
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Vintage Frame ID

Hi all, back again with another unidentified frame. I pulled this one from a skip after noticing that it has heart shaped cut outs in the lugs. It also has a brake bridge stamped "Cougar". It had Shimano decals on the downtube and chain stays and was two tone orange and yellow in colour. Very little in the way of components other than a shimano 600 crankset and quill stem with cinelli bars. Someone had inserted the wrong shape seatpost into the seat tube too. I've posted some photos below if there's any more info needed let me know and I'll get it posted ASAP. Thanks in advance.
Heart shaped cut out top tube/seat tube.

Brazed on diamond shapes on down tube.

Down tube/head tube lug.


Brake bridge.

Front fork


Drop out with derailleur hanger.

Decal
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Old 05-12-22, 07:17 PM
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Cougar was a brand established by British framebuilder Terry Dolan, circa 1980. He apprenticed under Harry Quinn and when Quinn closed his shop cica 1980, Nolan set up his own shop. They are highly regarded in the UK.
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Old 05-12-22, 07:50 PM
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It's basically NOS
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Old 05-13-22, 03:45 AM
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You HAVE to enter this in the Cluncker Challenge!

Basically NOS indeed,... I'd put it back on the shelf "just in case"

I think it needs an OA bath though. Nice find nevertheless.
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Old 05-13-22, 06:30 AM
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Looks like it was a garden sculpture.

be interesting what is the condition after rust removal both internal and external.
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Old 05-13-22, 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
Cougar was a brand established by British framebuilder Terry Dolan, circa 1980. He apprenticed under Harry Quinn and when Quinn closed his shop cica 1980, Nolan set up his own shop. They are highly regarded in the UK.
Thanks for the reply, I'd seen the cougar bikes while looking up the brake bridge but couldn't get a close enough look at pics of vintage cougars to see if the lugs looked the same. I emailed Terry Dolans today to see if I could get some info from them, no reply as of yet. The frame has holes in the dropouts for chain tension adjusters, I always thought that was a sign of a decent frame, it's got a couple of dents and a small hole in the top tube, I'm hoping it's not beyond salvation.
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Old 05-13-22, 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by P!N20
It's basically NOS
Not Overly Salvageable?...
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Old 05-13-22, 03:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Millstone
You HAVE to enter this in the Cluncker Challenge!

Basically NOS indeed,... I'd put it back on the shelf "just in case"

I think it needs an OA bath though. Nice find nevertheless.
I looked at that thread, there doesn't seem to be too many "clunkers" in it so far, I'd be doing well to stay within the $108 limit though.
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Old 05-13-22, 03:17 PM
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Originally Posted by repechage
Looks like it was a garden sculpture.

be interesting what is the condition after rust removal both internal and external.
It came from a hoard of vintage bikes that were being removed from a house nearby, it's a shame they were all in such bad condition
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Old 05-13-22, 03:56 PM
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-----

lug pattern appears to be the Prugnat S4





bottom bracket shell looks to be the BOCAMA Professional



-----

Last edited by juvela; 05-13-22 at 03:58 PM. Reason: correction
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Old 05-13-22, 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Karl T
It came from a hoard of vintage bikes that were being removed from a house nearby, it's a shame they were all in such bad condition
Fess up….raise your hand if you combed that picture until your eyes and brain glazed over. 🙋🏻
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Old 05-13-22, 07:15 PM
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Love those diamond bottle braze-ons. Had those on my ‘86 Paramount.
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Old 05-14-22, 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by juvela
-----

lug pattern appears to be the Prugnat S4





bottom bracket shell looks to be the BOCAMA Professional



-----
Thanks for the info, it'll be helpful to know what was used in the build and for any future finds.
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Old 05-14-22, 03:52 PM
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Originally Posted by RustyJames
Fess up….raise your hand if you combed that picture until your eyes and brain glazed over. 🙋🏻
I would have loved to take some more but just haven't got the space. Managed to salvage some parts before the scrap man came to take the lot away...
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Old 05-14-22, 03:53 PM
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Originally Posted by smd4
Love those diamond bottle braze-ons. Had those on my ‘86 Paramount.
Do you think they might be an indication that its an 80's frame?
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Old 05-14-22, 03:57 PM
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Found a 4 digit serial number on the bb, still no word back from Dolans, I'm hoping the number will do the job if I get a reply. Would I be right in thinking that 4 digit serial numbers are fairly generic?
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Old 05-14-22, 04:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Karl T
Do you think they might be an indication that its an 80's frame?
I’m not well versed in frame identification. There are folks here with way more experience/knowledge. I would say those brazeons are an indication of a pretty high quality frame, though.
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Old 05-14-22, 04:44 PM
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-----

serial -

it is sufficiently rough/uneven that one wonders if there could be a fifth digit there poorly struck or if that is simply a scratch visible to the right of the "3"....

keep in mind that the "3" may be a poorly struck "8"

---

date -

if it is "eighties" it is very early eighties

note absence of recessed brake mount

T-Mar wrote that Dolons operation & use of Cougar name began in 1980

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Last edited by juvela; 05-14-22 at 04:45 PM. Reason: addition
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