Joined
·
12,626 Posts
Looking for a good winter project. Perusing the local Craigslist I came across a Trek 420, pewter with red decals, for not too much money. On a lark, I sent the guy an e-mail and asked if he'd be interested in a trade for some bike parts I had on hand. He agreed and we did a swap.
After a little digging on the Vintage Trek site, I determined that the pewter/red combo means it is most likely a 1984 Trek 420. Japanese made with a double-butted Tange Mangalloy frame and Tange high-tensile forks and stays.
The bike was a bit of a hodgepodge of different parts the guy had put on it. He was running it as an 8-speed with a flat bar. What I was really interested in, though, was the frame set. Fortunately, with the exception of some scratches, the frame and fork look to be in good shape, especially for being 36 years old. No cracks, no dents. Oddly, most of the scratches seem to be on the top tube, maybe from being hauled around a lot? I'm not sure.
I have future plans for the bike that will hopefully include a full strip to bare metal and either a new paint job or a powder coat. Then I'd like to build the bike up with new parts as a resto-mod. That will be Iteration 2, but that's a ways down the road...
In the meantime, though, Iteration 1 is to get the bike on the road which means making it into a truly hideous Frankenbike built from mismatched, yet decent parts from my parts bin. I'll post a few pics when I get it closer to completion but it really is awful...
After a little digging on the Vintage Trek site, I determined that the pewter/red combo means it is most likely a 1984 Trek 420. Japanese made with a double-butted Tange Mangalloy frame and Tange high-tensile forks and stays.
The bike was a bit of a hodgepodge of different parts the guy had put on it. He was running it as an 8-speed with a flat bar. What I was really interested in, though, was the frame set. Fortunately, with the exception of some scratches, the frame and fork look to be in good shape, especially for being 36 years old. No cracks, no dents. Oddly, most of the scratches seem to be on the top tube, maybe from being hauled around a lot? I'm not sure.
I have future plans for the bike that will hopefully include a full strip to bare metal and either a new paint job or a powder coat. Then I'd like to build the bike up with new parts as a resto-mod. That will be Iteration 2, but that's a ways down the road...
In the meantime, though, Iteration 1 is to get the bike on the road which means making it into a truly hideous Frankenbike built from mismatched, yet decent parts from my parts bin. I'll post a few pics when I get it closer to completion but it really is awful...