1970 Raleigh Sports mens 23 inch frame with various year spare parts and lettering. Brush painted with multiple coats of Rustoleum gloss Royal Blue enamel
0328 NAE 1
Only the frame itself was made in 1970. Everything else was a collection of spare parts I had accumulated for such a project. Most of the parts (wheels, fenders, pedal crank and handlebar parts) were from a parted out 1974 Ladies` Raleigh Sports. The rest were from a variety of sources. Brush painted in 2015 since the original bicycle was rusted beyond repair, all parts were junked with the exception of the frame itself which was rusted/pitted enough to require several coats of thick Rustoleum enamel which has held up extremely well, with still no rust emerging as of now in 2019, 4 years after I painted it.
3/2020 commentary: Somewhere there was a serial number on it, forget exactly, but it`s original heavily rusted rear wheel Sturmey hub was stamped `70. The serial number may have been on the top of the frame, near where the seat post goes in? Forget. On my 1968 Sports, the serial number is on the very bottom of the bottom bracket . round part of the frame, also my `67 is in that same place. My `74 Sports and I believe my `75 DL 1 also, has the serial number on the seat tube, a few inches down from where the seat post goes in, facing the rear fender. I got this `70 frame bike semi-complete, but not really. It was in a pile of stuff at a curb alert after a yard sale, so free to anyone. It was missing a few things, like brakes, seat, and I forget what else, but everything on it was heavy rust beyond usable! Fenders, handlebars, it was all too far gone.
But a Raleigh fan like myself in MA, USA knows how extremely rare a 23 inch mens frame Raleigh is and I wasn`t gonna walk away from it. If it had been a 21 inch frame, I would`ve walked away. Everything but the frame itself I had to junk! Even the front fork was bent besides rusted. Frame was too rusted to even sand blast, there were a few areas that if sandblasted probably would`ve poked thru creating a small hole! So I sanded it real good. Maybe wiped it with something special, forget what, primed it well and brush painted it with several coats of Rustoleum enamel which I highly recommend. At the time I figured, brush paint?...who cares, I got it free, and if the rust pops thru in a few years, I`ll just touch it up and paint over it....lol.....ALL of the other parts came from a few ladies Sports frames that I parted out. I painted it in 2015....and amazingly....there are no spots, or cracks, or indications of rust coming thru yet! I`ve found technology has improved brush on paint over the years, not only little or no smell, but it dried fairly quick with very few brush strokes...it flatens out to become smoother when it dries!
1970 Raleigh Sports mens 23 inch frame with various year spare parts and lettering. Brush painted with multiple coats of Rustoleum gloss Royal Blue enamel
0328 NAE 1
Only the frame itself was made in 1970. Everything else was a collection of spare parts I had accumulated for such a project. Most of the parts (wheels, fenders, pedal crank and handlebar parts) were from a parted out 1974 Ladies` Raleigh Sports. The rest were from a variety of sources. Brush painted in 2015 since the original bicycle was rusted beyond repair, all parts were junked with the exception of the frame itself which was rusted/pitted enough to require several coats of thick Rustoleum enamel which has held up extremely well, with still no rust emerging as of now in 2019, 4 years after I painted it.
3/2020 commentary: Somewhere there was a serial number on it, forget exactly, but it`s original heavily rusted rear wheel Sturmey hub was stamped `70. The serial number may have been on the top of the frame, near where the seat post goes in? Forget. On my 1968 Sports, the serial number is on the very bottom of the bottom bracket . round part of the frame, also my `67 is in that same place. My `74 Sports and I believe my `75 DL 1 also, has the serial number on the seat tube, a few inches down from where the seat post goes in, facing the rear fender. I got this `70 frame bike semi-complete, but not really. It was in a pile of stuff at a curb alert after a yard sale, so free to anyone. It was missing a few things, like brakes, seat, and I forget what else, but everything on it was heavy rust beyond usable! Fenders, handlebars, it was all too far gone.
But a Raleigh fan like myself in MA, USA knows how extremely rare a 23 inch mens frame Raleigh is and I wasn`t gonna walk away from it. If it had been a 21 inch frame, I would`ve walked away. Everything but the frame itself I had to junk! Even the front fork was bent besides rusted. Frame was too rusted to even sand blast, there were a few areas that if sandblasted probably would`ve poked thru creating a small hole! So I sanded it real good. Maybe wiped it with something special, forget what, primed it well and brush painted it with several coats of Rustoleum enamel which I highly recommend. At the time I figured, brush paint?...who cares, I got it free, and if the rust pops thru in a few years, I`ll just touch it up and paint over it....lol.....ALL of the other parts came from a few ladies Sports frames that I parted out. I painted it in 2015....and amazingly....there are no spots, or cracks, or indications of rust coming thru yet! I`ve found technology has improved brush on paint over the years, not only little or no smell, but it dried fairly quick with very few brush strokes...it flatens out to become smoother when it dries!