 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle After |
This week I am also working on Brad's 1982 Trek restoration. Brad is the original owner of the Trek and has taken care of the Trek over the years. Brad's brother is the owner of the
Trek 700 Multitack restoration that can be seen by clicking here. I really like the Trek road bikes of the early 1980's, they are very underrated bicycles from when Trek was a small company that focused on only what they did well, this 1982 Trek is no exception. I am still working on what model the Trek is but it does ave the Ishawata steal. I like the Trek bicycles from this era so much that I recently built up a 1980 Trek 412 with a modern 9 speed group.
Brad has taken care of the Trek over the ears, the paint is in great shape on the dirt and dullness with only one scuff and chip I can find. The alloy is in good starting shape and the chrome is pretty nice as well. The Rigida rimmed wheels are a little rough but should restore pretty nice.
The Trek will receive a total restoration with new cables, cable housings, bearings, brake pads, new saddle, new tires, new tire tubes, new handlebar grips and new handlebars that match the original but in chrome. I am very excited to see the results and to ride the Trek, I am excited to see how it rides with the riser handlebars, which I think will be very nice, I have always liked the idea of turning a drop bar race bike into a comfortable rider.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Handlebars |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Brake Lever |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Brake Lever |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Stem |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Brake |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Fork Crown |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Wheel hub |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rigida rim |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Shift Levers |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Saddle |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Seat Lug |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before
Trek Decal |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before
Crank |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Derailleur |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Brake |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear Derailleur |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Wheel |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Rigida Rim |
With the Trek broken down to the frame I see under the dirt, grease and dullness there is a fantastic frame under there. The frame is also a lot lighter then I was expecting which is a very nice surprise. I cleaned the frame and then worked through some grits of polish and a few coats of wax.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before
head Tube |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before - Top Tube |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before - Down Tube |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before - Seat Lug |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before
Ishiwata Decal |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before
Rear Brake Bridge |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before
Drop Outs |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before
Fork |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Before - Fork Crown |
The frame turned out fantastic!! The paint finish is probably better then the day it came out of the factory as I don't think they would have polished it to this high of a polish. I could not be happier with the results the blue has a high shine and a deep look, it is awesome!! The photo below of the frame top tube really shows the paint finish well!
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished
Head Tube |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished - Top Tube |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat Lug |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished
Brake Bridge |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished
Drop Outs |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Frame Polished - Fork Crown |
The headset is in descent shape, there is some slight rusting and pitting but will be hardly noticeable when polished. The bottom bracket is in good shape and will look great polished against the blue paint. I put the headset and bottom bracket into the crock pot for cleaning.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bottom Bracket - Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Brake Levers - Polished |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed |
The crank is a very nice Custom crank. The cranks from this era are m favorite, they are beautiful cranks. I disassembled the crank and cleaned the pieces. Polishing went very well and after assembly the crank looks fantastic! I love the crank installed against the blue paint.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Crank Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Crank Exploded |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Crank - Polished |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Crank - Complete |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Crank - Installed |
The Trek has Die-Comp brake calipers, they are a little rough but should turn out nice. I exploded the brake levers and did the cleaning and polishing. The brake calipers turned out very nice and will work great with new brake pads.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Brakes - Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Reflector Brackets - Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Brakes - Exploded |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Brakes - Polished |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Brakes - Complete |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Front Brake
Installed |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Brake
Installed |
I like the derailleurs, they are very nice Sun Tour derailleurs. I am not a big fan of single sided cage rear derailleurs as they bend easy but this one is perfectly straight. Both derailleurs cleaned well but took a lot of flushing to get them to work smooth. After polishing the derailleurs look better then new in some ways and function great. The front derailleurs looks fantastic installed next to the crank.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Derailleurs - Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Derailleurs - Exploded |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Derailleurs - Polished |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Derailleurs - Complete |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Front Derailleur
Installed |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Installed |
The shift levers where a little gritty but after a good cleaning, flushing and lubricating they function very nice. Polishing also went well, the shift levers installed look great against the blue paint as does the cable stop at the bottom bracket. I could not be happier.
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Shift Levers & Cable Stops
Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Shift Levers - Polished |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Shift Levers - Installed |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Cable Stop - Installed |
Below is a photo of the Trek so far, it is really coming along nice, it looks better then new in some ways, I can't wait to see the Trek finished.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Main Components - Complete |
The wheels look a little rough at first glance but after a closer look there is now gouging or major scratches, there are some very nice wheels in there somewhere! I disassembled the wheel hubs, the grease is pretty dark and dirty but not dried out, that is a very good thing.
I have cleaned the wheels and have started polishing the wheel hubs and rims. I will update the post tomorrow with the completed results but for now I put in a before and after comparison photo of the rear rim polished and the front rim unpolished, these are some beautiful wheels. The wheel rims are very nice Rigida rims.
The wheels finished very nice, I am very happy with the polishing, there is very little wear in the wheel components and they spin forever.
The new Panasonic Panaracer Pasela tires are the perfect tires for the Trek, very nice quality riding tires with the classic gum wall, perfect.
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Wheel
Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim - Before
Rigida Logo |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Wheel - Old Grease |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Wheel Rims Before & After
Polished Rim in Front |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Polished |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - New Panaracer
Tires |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Rear Wheel - Complete |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Front Wheels
Before |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Before |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Front Wheel Rim - Before
Rigida |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Front Wheel - Old Grease |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Front Wheel Bearings
Packed |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Front Wheel - Complete |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Wheels - Complete |
I ordered the saddle a week or two ago and when i took it out of the box it had a tear in it. They sent me a new one and I installed it today. I find these Avinier saddles to be a good value and good comfort for most and look pretty descent. It sure looks good on the Trek.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - New Saddle |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - New Saddle - Installed |
With the saddle installed it was time to run the cables and cable housings. I choice the charcoal silver metallic color housings thinking they would look good with the blue paint. I think the color was perfect, the housings really complement the blue.
I also installed the new handlebar grips, these are a darker gray to go with the cable housings and blue paint, I like these grips they feel good while riding.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - New Bits & Pieces |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Cables Complete & Handlebar Grips
Installed |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Trek
Cable Installed |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Cables - Installed |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - The Trek to this Point |
I am so happy with the Trek so far!! Tomorrow the pedals, try to match touch up paint for one spot and the test ride. I can't wait to ride it because it feels so light when I move it around and just looks nimble.
I restored the pedals, they turned out pretty good. Pedals are hard to restore to perfect because they take such a beating but the half clips turned out like new and the rest polished okay. I forgot again to take an after photo of the pedals.
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Pedals - Before |
This morning I took the Trek for a good test ride. It just took a little tweaking to get functioning flawlessly. The ride is very smooth and nimble and fast. I really like the handlebar set up, he riding position is very nice and comfortable, I was not sold on he handlebars at first, I thought they looked great but was not sure how they would ride and now I am sold, sold enough I will try it on a fixed gear, I like being up and seeing more.
I really like the look of the handlebars and brake levers, it is a very clean and simple look and I like clean and simple a lot. There is very little cabling loops like there would be on drop bars which really looks good this way.
I am shocked at how light the Trek is from carrying it around. It responds like it is light and still has a very nice steel ride.
I am very happy with the Trek, in fact I couldn't be happier!! There was a beautiful bike under the dullness and dirt and the condition is almost flawless.
|
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Handlebars |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Brake |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Fork Crown Detail |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Wheel |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Stem |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Half |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Saddle |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Drive Train |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Front Derailleur |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Crank |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Rear |
 |
Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Brake |
 |
| Brad's 1982 Trek Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Rear Wheel |
Thanks for the interest,
John Z.
Beautiful job! This is a Trek 311, offered in 1982 only, that came built on a butted Ishawata Magny-X frame - similar in ride and weight to 531. I bought one in 1982 and heavily modified it over the years. You can check it out on the vintage-trek website.
ReplyDelete