American Breezer 1987 #0003

[noka78]

Thanks Frank

The Koski is prepared for the wedding now - there was a lot of work to get a perfect finish with the original chrome for a matching patina to the frame.

The fork arrived me with full of rusty spots


The wellness bath with ocalic acid


After hours of bathing and brushing


areas without chrome needs a polish with Autosol like the frame


much better


but it wasn't ready for the mounting - the fork steerer needed 1cm more thread and was 1,5cm to long.

The operation is done
Pics from the wedding in the next days...

 

[sq_root_of_2]

This one is a top restoration.

I think these bikes are great.

There are a few reasons why:

> All handmade
> Beautifully welded
> Joe Breeze designed
> Came with top components

Can't wait to see how this one turns out.

 

[noka78]

Re:

Thanks for your comment Rocco
You are so right ! If we think about legends - here with this American Breezer comes a lot together, all the expertise and the enthusiasm of Joe, of Fred Schilplin(AMB) and the Koskis ! Every detail comes from a special idea which needed and deserved a lot of attention. These are the facts why i spend a lot of my time in this project - even like the guys in the past. And the best - it's so much fun to see how it grows up and comes back to what it ones was!

That's why i'll built up my AB also with all the original parts like the Specialized Lambda saddle and tires, the Suntour and XT components...all these parts i'll keep to make photos then like in the advert from 1987.

http://mombat.org/1987Breezer.jpg

If i solved the problem with the Suntour post then we are on the best way to get an original legend.

 

[noka78]

next step was cleaning again...Uniglide 6-speed chain rings with 14 - 32 tooth





and the restoration of an old used XT 731 u-brake which had a chain contact
(car brake cleaner, sand paper and new black matt paint)





the result with Kool Stop pads - but i think i'll use the Scott Mathauser


Koskis greetings...love the fork drop outs

 

[k-rod]

Re:

that's a whole pile of tan-wall tires you have hanging in the background there ...

 

[noka78]

yes, i was searching one zmax 2.35 tire, you still remember ...but all good things come in threes

 

[Ductape]

Any luck finding cable stops?

 

[Si_33]

Great build - amazing attention to detail. Good work!

 

[noka78]

Any luck finding cable stops?

Sadly no, Tim! But i/we were hard working on a reproduction of it.

So you asked in the right moment

The cable stop news:

How do you know the cable stops were missing when i bought the frame. So i was looking for pics in the web which shows the details of the cable stops. Here are 2 of them i found...




So it shows a base plate with the old version of the cable stop called divers helmet. I was searching some frame builders and frame parts distributer who offer this.
A few days later i received them and the braze party could start
A friend of mine which is also a classic mtb rider helps me with the procedure. He did a lot with brazing, tuned up stems with noodles or internal cable routing. So this was the best way i think...

I started with the cutting of a paper model for the stainless steel base plate which would screw with the frame later. There was also another frame version which were the cable stops riveted on it. I like more the screws

The first result how to looks like


After the transfer to the base plate, sawing and adapting to the curve of the downtube. Here we took a old frame with almost the same tube diameter. So never throw away old frames





The plate was ready for the divers helmet cablestops - we had to mount 3 of them, so we started with the middle



After the brazed on comes the cleaning and filing



with the second and third then the same procedure



now its has to cool down and later i'll round down the corners. It takes longer as you think, but i think the result looks very proper .
The next step is to made the cablestop for the right chain stay - it's guided the cable to the rear mech.

Hope we find time on the weekend...but at last i have one more great solution for the BB

After mounting the Cooks crank the spindle of the XT bb was to short with 122mm. So i was searching after a fitting Cooks bb. I found one with black caps and a spindle with a length of 127mm. The missing collars wasn't the problem - i had 2 in stock.
What should i say, it can't fit better...take a look by yourself





I enjoyed it a lot these hours of working on it - thats the best on a built up if everything it goes like you think and plan

cheers
Norman

 

[RockiMtn]

:shock: wow… great update with stunning progress!