trying to save a clockwork......hmmm

zetecmk2

Senior Retro Guru
i got this karma frame off andyz, top bloke.
the seatpost was stuck and the seattube was...well, rusty, and thin.
i removed the post by the "post in a vice" method.
when the post was out, i had a look inside. the post was stuck because the seat tube had been welded just under the lug. the weld had been ground off, along with most of the tube, but the interior of the tube was still full of weld, and the post had been forced into the weld! :shock:
so, it was never going to have an ajustable seat tube again!
i should have taken before pics, but my battery was flat when i decided to investigate. :(
i welded up the holes in the seat tube, once i had removed the fibreglass.
then ground down the weld. the metal was so thin/non existant that it kept blowing holes even on the lowest setting, so i ended up bridging the tube with weld.
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this is never having a seat tube inserted more than 3"!!
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obviously, filler and paint needed, so tonight i started removing the paint around the rusty areas.......well :shock:
the drive side chain stay was also made of fibre glass, with the chain suck nearly piercing the stay for about 2"!
2013-05-29165327_zps28cc2be4.jpg

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then there is the dent at the bottom of the seat tube next to the bb shell
this too was distorted and ovalised, and sort of twisted....strange! seems that where the top of the seat tube had rust/grind marks under the lug, previously this had split right through, and the seat tube had twisted, but the lug, top tube and seat stays had not!!! i can only presume the seat post has been in a vice before, and as the frame was levered back and forth, the seat post and tube broke away, twisting the bottom of the seat tube/bb area!!
this could also explain the original welds inside the seat tube!
i think this frame is dead!!!!!!
but my mrs wants a frame....and she is very short, so no long seatpost needed!
now i have a reason to continue......god, i must be mad!! :facepalm:
 
i got it solid, applied some filler and went home.......until next week, when i will look at it, and think "i'll just do a little bit"!!!!
 
ha ha, there's alot about this frame that isn't as it seems.....
the decals are not orange decals, they were cut out from a sheet. andyz told me it had prestige decals on it :D
 
raymondluxuryyacht":1ow5bx55 said:
I'm confused. That frame stickers says its a Prestige, but your post title says Clockwork.

The chap I bought the frame off said that it was a Clockwork he had owned from new, and that it now needed a little re-furbishment :LOL:
He re-stickered it when it was painted.

As soon as I saw the rust holes in the seat tube I thought I'd scrap it, but just in case someone wanted to save it, I posted it on here, and hey-presto here it is. I hadn't realised the chainstays were knackered too!
 
if you have a friendly machine shop they could probably line bore down the seat tube and sort you right out.
 
yeah, it needs a good ream!!
i discovered more welding at the base of the seat tube just now......wanna see pics?
oh, and some more dents......love it!!
 
zetecmk2":1p7ongyg said:
yeah, it needs a good ream!!
i discovered more welding at the base of the seat tube just now......wanna see pics?
oh, and some more dents......love it!!

I did say it was a bit rough! :oops: :LOL:

Lets see the pics please.
 
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