praise the lord and pass the ammunition - the torpado is finally done! after fighting multiple flats and procuring the proper stepped cable ferrules this bike is finally road worthy. i'm thinkin' i may have crossed the line with this one. please let me know what you think. here are a few more preliminary pics - more tomorrow:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericm/sets/72157623648762884/
seller's pics of frame and fork:
http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/v/fujifish1/OtherBikes/T72GT8g61Silv/
auction description of the frame & fork:
Torpado c.1972 GT8000 Frame, Forks and Headset ONLY – 61.5cm c-c
Vintage, very early 1970s Torpado road frameset. This one is old enough to still have a beautiful brass headbadge. Seat tube is 61.5cm c-c, or 63cm c-top of seat cluster lug, and top tube is 60cm. Italian threaded bottom bracket shell and 1” steer tube. Original and VERY nice condition steel chromed headset is included, along with the front center-pull cable stop hanger (see last photo). Races are clean, and pit-free. Rear end is spaced at 123mm … a perfect halfway between five and six speed spacing. Original silver paint with GORGEOUS burgandy seat tube panels, and gold lug lining, shows some light marks from the years, but is still in really fine condition overall. Structurally 100%, although I have not ridden this (way too big for me), or checked it for straightness. Lots of chrome, still in super nice condition, with no obvious bad areas or haze, but a couple of very small marks here and there, and one tiny pit area on top of the non-drive side fork crown. Stamped dropouts have fender eyelets, and no doubt the “GT” in the model name refers to Gran Turismo, or the like, and this could be considered a touring frame. Indeed, it is a perfect candidate for a fixed gear, single speed conversion, given the minimal braze-ons. This probably originally came with a Gian Robert, or Campagnolo Valentino, Velox, Gran Turismo, or similar gruppo. This is not suitable for track / pista use. Not perfect paint anymore, but still very fine, in excellent mechanical condition, very well cleaned and ready to go!
NOTE: There are two pair of top tube brake cable guides, and the back piece of the front pair is attached slightly out of true.
Serial numbers under the bottom bracket are * 211319 *, which after years of collecting these sequences for Torpados and Italvegas, I believe means it was made in 11 of 1972, perhaps the 319th unit. The single exception to this rule happens to have been listed on Ebay recently, but I was unable to actually see those numbers to confirm that they are out of sequence. Even so, I will think that one was an anomaly / mis-stamp, until I see some others like it.
