Rabid Koala

I'd thrilled that someone else actually remembers them. For the money it wasn't a bad bike, at least on par with other entry level European bikes. Most discounters sold junk like Huffy and Ross. In the mid to late 60s, another popular "10 speed" was the AMF Hercules, I believed sourced from Raleigh, that had 26" wheels like the 3 speeds did, they were equipped with Huret Allvit derailleurs and John Bull sidepull brakes, both calipers and levers were steel.

juvela

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recall the Jaubert as exhibiting black and white transfers

come to think of it the name on the down tube appeared to be stencil painted

this was something Mercier did in the '60's on their economy badges such as Ency and Cote d'Azur; perchance Jaubert was one of their names

does that agree with your memory?

the forum has had two or three threads, or at least mentions of them

if wished, you can use the search function to bring them up


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OldForerunner

Picked her up yesterday and had a great talk with Mr. Cheakas. She came out fantastic! Never looked this good new. I showed her to my father this morning and he was amazed how well she came out.

Will get more pictures later but for now just a teaser with the head badge.

Before restoration:


Neither David or I could find a reproduction head badge with 'Dole Jura,' only this version:


So I asked Mr. Cheakas if he would trim the chrome frame away leaving just the Jeunet shield which is kinda close to my original sans the 'Dole Jura.' This is the result:


Super pleased with the result. I'm almost afraid to build her out now.

More to come...

OldForerunner

Weighed the frame and fork again to see if there was any differences after restoration. She is (still) no lightweight but somehow manages to be a hair lighter than the Super Record Huffy project: https://www.bikeforums.net/22830091-post280.html

Before and after weights:
Frame 2495g / 2489g
Fork:840g / 847g

Close enough for government work, differences most likely due to scale accuracy or lack thereof.

French threaded frame:


Fork:


Also cleaned up and removed all the rust from the original headset. Not weighed here are the loose bearings (man, I hate those things):


And the new headset:

bikemig 

This is one of my all time favorite threads on BF.

OldForerunner

Cleaned up and removed the rust as best as I could from the OG Huret cable guide but unfortunately it looks like the chrome cracked when the band was flexed open for removal:




New bottom bracket cable guide. It pains me that it's a Shimano part lol (And before anyone thinks I'm hating on Shimano, I'm not. I have several Shimano equipped bikes that run great, I was just trying to keep this one as European as possible)




Drilled and tapped prior to paint:




Asked Mr. Cheakas to move the cable stop from the top to the bottom of the chain stay. Original stops look like a single spot weld




I have every confidence the relocated cable stop isn't going anywhere:




Installed with stainless bolt and loctite:

Bad Lag

I really like what you did here.
In the photos, the paint almost looks like it's still wet.
The head badge looks great. Both derailleur cable guides came out great, too.

You were calling this a has pipe special. I would say it is not. It may be heavy, plain gauge tubing but it has nice lugs, appears well brazed, has the cable stops and pump pegs attached to the frame. Nope, although it is from that era, this is not a gas pipe special, IMO.

I like the saddle and seat post. I'd keep those. The brakes may be keepers, too (I'm not familiar with that model). If the freewheel still works well, I'd keep that, too.

Big decisions - crank set, derailleurs, wheels & tires

Chains, bar tape, cabling are disposables. Cable guides and bar tape in black are simplest but the red and blue (see head badge) would be good options, too. Corks in the bar ends would be perfect but the Velox plugs would be totally good..

AdventureManCO 

Haha well fortunately it is easy to beat the Huffy! Your bike looks simply amazing! Love what you've done here, and wonderful that you are keeping it in the family. Love every bit of this, as well as that you are putting some Record parts on this 'originally-less-than-Record-equipped' bike. We are two like-minded souls. Where we differ is that I must admit your bike deserves every bit of nice kit you put on it. Can't wait to see the finished piece.

OldForerunner

I absolutely defer to yours and other's experience and expertise on frame quality! I can't speak to the quality of this frame other than it is indeed straight walled tubing.

All of the original parts are getting cleaned, de-rusted, lubricated, and bearings repacked regardless of whether they go back on the frame or are stored appropriately. Still not sure how she'll be kitted out other than as mentioned previously I'm trying to keep the parts Euro and silver. No black metal components if I can help it.

Will post more pictures of the frame when time allows.

OldForerunner

Would it be fair to say we should seek help immediately?

Bad Lag

If I can add one more suggestion - use the original headset.

AdventureManCO 

It may not be too late for you. I, on the other hand, have now had dreams where the owners of bike shops show me the Huffy 'junk' pile in the back outside their shop, telling me I can take anything I want for free, and I'm excited about it.


Lost cause

OldForerunner

Southwest Frameworks restoration. Mr. Cheakas applied several coats of clear so that the edges of the decals are not discernible with the exception of the "Made in France" decal on the seat tube which was a bit thicker still it's more of a soft edge.

Not an original restoration as the original paint did not have clear coat and so was never this shiny or have a 'wet' look. But I love it and more importantly, my father approves.




David recreated all the original pinstriping by hand (head tube lugs, fork crown, chain stays, and seat stays) prior to spraying the clear. Fork crown pictured here with the Record headset race already installed. More to come on that as it was not a like for like install, a harbinger of things to come...






The infamous dent. Quite possibly the one time where straight tubing can outperform double butted lol



And of course if you have pump pegs you gotta have a pump.

AdventureManCO 

Love that you kept the dent. Stories to tell.

repechage

the Campagnolo headset shown may have two issues, stack height and unless the steerer was replaced a threading mismatch.
French is 25x1
english and Italian are essentially 25.4 diameter... too big. I think Campagnolo stopped supporting French threading earlier.

OldForerunner

Surprisingly, the threads match as does the stack height, I did a lot of part mock ups prior to committing. The mismatch was the original EC29 head tube vs the new Campy EC30 headset size. An inconvenience but relatively easy to resolve.

Thought I read somewhere that EC29 was pretty common for the lesser expensive mass produced bikes of the era for which I think this frame qualifies.

Bike also uses 27" wheels and a French threaded bottom bracket. More fun!

bikemig 

You can run 700c wheels as well if you like (you will have to check for brake reach but that is usually not an issue). French threaded BBs are not hard to find (eBay has sealed NECO units from Germany and Velo Orange has them as well). You could also look for a donor bike as well.

OldForerunner

Checked, even at lowest pad setting standard reach single pivot calipers can't reach 700c rims on this bike. Not a fan of long reach calipers so if I go forward with standard reach brakes I will need to make an adapter as I refuse to pay $40+ for drop bolts. Besides, those solutions would be too easy.

bikemig 

There is nothing wrong with 27 inch wheels. Panaracer pasela is the go to 27 inch tire and they're good tires. I like the Schwalbe greenguard tires as well.

Would Weinmann 750s give you the reach you need for 700c? Sometimes you can file a bit out at the bottom of the brake arm to get the brake block to go a bit farther down.

OldForerunner

QFT! There isn't a darn thing wrong with 27" wheels but they would be the only set I own. For convenience I'd rather get the bike inline with all my other road bikes.

Thx for the tip on the Weinmanns!

repechage

Much attention lavished on the bike.
fortunately, many French bikes perform above their pay grade.

Vitus branded an under the BB plastic cable guide if you want tout French.
was provided for the bonded aluminum frames.
they do show up from time to time.

OldForerunner

Thanks for the tip on the Vitus cable guide! Had no idea they existed...

My other bike, which is ready for pickup from it's restoration, is a Peugeot PSN10 Super Vitus 980 that I bought in 1986 to replace this one when I was riding in high school. I drilled out the rivet holding the black plastic cable guide and then tapped the hole for a stainless screw, all this prior to dropping off for paint. I need to check if that guide is Vitus branded...

repechage

the Campagnolo headset pressfit became a defacto standard for top tier bikes, the French were a tad smaller, correct.
Surprised on the stack and threading, you are fortunate.

jdawginsc 

Absolutely breathtaking. I too am happy to see the dent remain. It’s what makes it originally cool in the restorative way.

OldForerunner

Very fortunate, got really lucky. Will take luck over good any day.

The headtube bore was smaller but the fork seat larger. Go figure.