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@lae
Forget retro road bikes. If you really want to look cool, you need a retro mountain bike.
Laugh when you pass people on 6" travel full-boinger machines
Cry as your wrists collapse into themselves thanks to a rigid fork
Shrug when people point to cantilever brakes and say 'are they safe?'
http://imageshack.us/a/img706/8606/zbkp.jpg
The Good: Chromo frame and fork, Exage 7sp STI groupset in good condition, very handsome Haro chromo stem/bars/seatpost... 1 1/8 headtube.
The Bad: Advertised as 'large' but actually a 17.5... with the saddle up there's a couple inches drop to the bars... I'll see how it goes, but this might become my partner's bike as she's 5'8". STI units have plastic brake levers!
The Ugly: Apart from the bike as a whole... the forks are bloody rusty, and all the decals are flaking off and I'm not sure if replacements are available. Needs repainting.
The restoration:
Take one powdercoated frame:
http://imageshack.us/a/img841/4366/utb1.jpg
Add two tins of Humbrol enamel modelling paint:
http://imageshack.us/a/img30/4858/1gfg.jpg
(Handy having a proper workshop underneath your office...)
Not factory (sorry retrobike) but very retro. Decals aren't available so I had a little play in Illustrator to get a quote - $80 or £40 for cut vinyl which is only marginally more expensive than NOS or repro decals anyway. I will re-do the artwork properly when I find the time, but this is what I produced in a sneaky lunch hour with stock fonts...
http://imageshack.us/a/img853/356/43xn.png
Sadly the forks had quite a bit of rust around the crown so they went in the scrap metal bin - but happily the mechanic downstairs had these old Manitou forks, converted to spring/oil, which he gifted me. They are threadless so no chance to use that ultra-cool Haro Wing Strut stem though...
They were used with hydraulic rim brakes so no spring plates on the canti mounts - I couldn't find any so I made these up out of some washers one evening. I found some canti studs with an extra-long threaded section as they are quite thick.
http://imageshack.us/a/img203/5875/6tq8.jpg
I acquired an old XTR rear mech which I rebuilt - the jockey wheels have the smallest bearings I've ever seen:
http://imageshack.us/a/img33/953/qci0.jpg
I have been on the lookout for gumwall tyres but sadly I can't find anything. Annoyingly I sold these just before I left the UK - they pushed my luggage overweight, but when I got to the airport I found out that I had an additional 10kg... argh!
http://imageshack.us/a/img571/483/o2ms.jpg
Next up: wheels, cranks, controls, finishing kit - then putting the thing together and attempting to take it over my local mountain.