After sorting out the frame, I have cleaned and de-rust the parts as much as I can, replaced quite few rusty bolts and nuts as long as they are metric and available. Mudguards are made from stainless steels but needed some panel beating after 40+ years of service. There are two spots where the edge of the mudguard has sharp kink - once there is a kink it tend to deform again from there. So I inserted left over stainless steel spokes inside where the edge is folded and curled inward, then press the fold gently so that the spoke would remain there. Ah, of course I needed to bend the spoke to match the contour.
And here is the finished bike.
I ditched the rear rack as it is a bit too big for my liking.
I attached home made mud frap at the end of the front mudguard for practical reason as well as cosmetic reason - longer front guard make it look much elegant in my view.
Also I relocate the front light about 20mm toward the front edge of the guard for cosmetic reason, too.
The handle bar is Grand Bois promnade made by Nitto. It goes well with Dia Compe opposite levers.
The stem is replaced by ITM 90mm to match with the bar. It is BSA 22.2mm insert diameter. To insert 22.0mm French fork steer, I sanded down 0.2mm by hand.
The cables are matching coloured Jagwire outer and all the inner cables are stainless steel to survive wet winter weather.
The saddle is old old Brooks B15 Champion Standard (assuming non original) and I painted it with leather paint to compliment the bar grips.
But it started rubbing off already :roll: it may be replaced with proper brown saddle soon.
The mudguards were sanded down to remove all the scratches and polished again.
Original ones had painted black stripes but I used stick on pin stripes for car body work found on ebay.
Mafac Criterium were stripped down and cleaned. I sourced stainless steel springs as the original were rusty.
Those rusty bolts are left as is due to the budget.
On the right pic, there is a big hole on the lower rug and this is where steering lock should go in.
I need to source it as well as aluminium flap which will cover the hole.
If you have one, please let me know!
The headset is original with brand new balls but needed serious cleaning.
The rear Simplex is original - the cage has lost its chrome due to the heavy usage but it still shift well after serious cleaning and re-greasing.
Free wheel is Atom 5 speed 14-23 NOS, same as original, and the chain is brand new KMC Z30.
It supposed to work with 5 and 6 speed but unfortunately it skates (not sit in the gear) occasionally when shifting the rear with front large ring. :evil:
I don't know why - may be the chain pins are not wide enough or my shifting skill is not matured, yet?
The front Simplex (plastic!) was broken so I paid £9 for NOS. The sliding rod system is scarily simple and looks primitive but it shifts very well.
As usual, the cotter pins are hell to remove. I used workshop vice with some sockets.
Sourced French 9mm pins instead of 9.5mm BSA but the taper are very different, needed some sanding.
I installed it with the same vice and the cranks never rattle so far
Heavy chain rings lost its chrome shine but amazingly the cogs are still healthy so I decided to keep them.
This front light cover suffered from big crack and it needed lots of epoxy glue and fillers.
Original was shiny chrome but I compromised with Humbrol silver paint which came up as grey when I spray clear on top...
I installed LED bulbs inside and am pondering if I should use original dynamo or 6V battery pack at the moment.
So the electric wires are not installed yet.
When I have been to Japan for family holiday, I didn't forget to buy the pair of Grand Bois alloy rims!
Took them as check in luggage and they survived fine
Hubs are Normandy used ones with quick release and I build the wheel with #14 stainless steel plain spokes.
This balloon Michelin tyre 650-44B is very cheap @ £10 but rolls well and most of all, very comfy!
I have done about 200 miles so far and I love it!
I used be commuting on Felt F5SL road bike when dry and on Fisher CR-7 with knobby tyres and guards when wet.
The speed on the tarmac with this 42 year old Peugeot is same as CR-7 with additional comfort, very impressive.
Shifting gears is not as easy as index system but for commuting, its not big issue and it is more like playing a game - when I manage to shift perfectly it is very satisfying :mrgreen: very entertaining commute...