Remember the headset I "Frankensteined" up. Well I ended up going back to visit the contact Pete set me up with. I bought the Nuovo Record Headset from him, and wow am I glad I did. It is mint, and still had the original grease, albeit dirty it was original, and the smell of it was almost effervescent. It is hard to explain. Anyway I cleaned off the original grease so that when the headset is installed it will be fresh.
I have swapped. or will be swapping most of the parts over the next week or so to make the bike more vintage correct. The Headset was one of them, and obviously the derailleurs I have purchased. So now my crankset, the derailleurs, shift levers, brake calipers, bottom bracket and headset are all Pat. 73.
While I was at my new contact, I spent some time talking vintage bikes with him, and he agreed that I should do a single stage paint and just apply the decals on top like they used to be. That is the most authentic way of doing things. I gave my painter a call and he said if I changed my mind down the road he can shoot clear on top, I just need to give it four or five months to cure.
This morning I decided to clean the crud off the handlebars and install them to the stem. I then put the levers on the bars. One of my rubber hoods had a cut in it, and I was able to fix it. The solution was simple since the hood was white. After soaking them in bleach and dishwashing soap, I brushed them clean and then using a toothpick i filled the crack with white silicone caulk. It hardened, sealed the crack and is elastic enough to move with the lever.
Tomorrow I will be driving to the border to pick up my rear derailleur and bottom bracket. It is coming together slowly now.
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