40 year old Carlton restoration - update & advice (please)

[jcbrown]

New job, weather, family, etc all making things slow, but pretty much got everything stripped from the frame.

Cranks & Bottom bracket fixed cup was a bloody nightmare. Crank puller started shredding threads on crank. Finally resorted to some bearing pullers, an old 8-or-9mm socket (to save the thread on the spindle) , lots of patience, some swearing and a good bit of force.

BB Fixed cup finally came off (quite easily in fact) with a BB adjustable cup spanner, an M10 100m bolt, M10 nut, 4 x M10 large washers and a good push (no hammer needed)

Only thing left on the frame are the fork top & bottom fixed cups. First question. should i remove these, or mask off and paint round? If I try and remove will i likely wreck them? should (could) i get new ones? Decisions, decisions - all advise welcome

You can see i have started taking the old paint off, and frame underneath is in pretty good nick👍

Wheels have had it. Too far pitted to be polished out, so looks like 2 new 27 x 1 1/4 will be needed - there are a few around on Amazon & eBay. Plus of course tyres, chain, brakes, cables, ... That slight pay rise with the new job is gone already

Only other major item is freewheel. it looks like an Atom 77 (it is an Atom 7-something).



Easy to get off when i got hold of the right tool (Park Tool FR-4). But it is not coming apart for anyone. Been using chain whips to try separate the cogs (those should be standard anti-clockwise to undo, correct?) and they are not moving.

lock ring is equally as frozen (that's a reverse thread, clockwise to undo, correct?). There is years of muck, chain oil, etc caked on (been cleaned a number of times already, yet more gunge comes off every time)

So, thoughts and advise please?

1. I keep trying to dismantle, clean, replace ball bearings, etc?
2. I get a replacement Atom-77, there are a few milling around on eBay?
3. I got something more modern to replace it?

I'd like to go for 1, but nothing has moved in a week of trying. Will 2, just buy me more of the same trouble? 3 is an option, but then 'm loosing the originality

Thanks in advance for any advice, thoughts, ...

 

[midlife]

Coming along . I'd buy a new "block and chain" as we used to say, pretty cheap nowadays and you know it's all going to work . Tap out the races in the head tube from the inside with a long screwdriver or similar. Or splash out on a race remover. Mine is from icetoolz. Makes painting much easier

 

[Cycleops]

You’ve done well. My local bike guy down here had never seen a crank puller till I gave him one, a hammer works every time .You can make a press from a length of threaded rod and oversize washers for installing the head bearings.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

If the lock ring is the ring with the ATOM 7 stamped on it, then I wonder if it might be a standard right-hand thread. On the 1960s Regina freewheels, the equivalent item was not so much a lock ring as a retaining ring which held in place the threaded carcase that took the sprockets. If you have not got the two-pronged tool that fits into the recesses in the ring, a punch and hammer should work, but tap gently at first to avoid distorting the ring. Try to get the angle on the tapping as close to the plane of the ring as possible.

It would be normal for the one or two largest sprockets to be left-hand threaded and come off towards the back of the freewheel.

 

[jcbrown]

Coming along . I'd buy a new "block and chain" as we used to say, pretty cheap nowadays and you know it's all going to work . Tap out the races in the head tube from the inside with a long screwdriver or similar. Or splash out on a race remover. Mine is from icetoolz. Makes painting much easier

Thanks - yes, thinking a new unit might be the way to go. new chain was given from the start.

Will try the long screwdriver approach first, and if no movement then look at the headset removal tool.

 

[jcbrown]

You’ve done well. My local bike guy down here had never seen a crank puller till I gave him one, a hammer works every time .You can make a press from a length of threaded rod and oversize washers for installing the head bearings.

Yes, been looking into a home-made press. have some oversized washers from my home-made BB Fixed cup removal clamp, just need a 250mm or more threaded rod - so trip to B&Q or ScrewFix later I think.

Thanks

 

[midlife]

A new chain would very likely to slip on the old freewheel. Check out Sunrace freewheels for a good price point.

 

[jcbrown]

If the lock ring is the ring with the ATOM 7 stamped on it, then I wonder if it might be a standard right-hand thread. On the 1960s Regina freewheels, the equivalent item was not so much a lock ring as a retaining ring which held in place the threaded carcase that took the sprockets. If you have not got the two-pronged tool that fits into the recesses in the ring, a punch and hammer should work, but tap gently at first to avoid distorting the ring. Try to get the angle on the tapping as close to the plane of the ring as possible.

It would be normal for the one or two largest sprockets to be left-hand threaded and come off towards the back of the freewheel.

Thanks
Yes, ring with the ATOM 7? stamped on it - reason i think it might be reverse is by chasing the thread with my nail makes it feel like it is (but I've been wrong before with this method as nail slips across threads). This video also shows it clockwise:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZCHJm_ZNIo
, as do a couple of others, Been trying a punch and hammer with increasing vigour, but it is not shifting

I made a two pronged tool with a thick piece of wood and two largish screws (5mm) sticking out just enough for the tips to engage in the holes. Bent the screws

Though I think I will just go with a new unit, but thanks for your suggestions

 

[Johnsco]

I recently removed an Atom freewheel from a Carlton that had been in place for 50 years.
The freewheel was very badly worn and I wasn't worried about destroying it.
There are plenty of freewheels that are a direct replacement .... for not a lot of money.
See link:
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/w...r-the-bike-today.157446/page-221#post-6156219
My Post # 3,310

Regarding replacement wheels - I've just bought two 27" x 1/1/4" alloys from Bankruptbikeparts.
They offer a pair at a good price.
BUT ... BEWARE ...
the rear OLD was not suitable for my old Carlton which has an OLD of 120mm.
However - They offered to build me a wheel if I send them my old rear hub.
I did this and they built me a wheel to suit my OLD using my alloy hub.
They supplied a polished-alloy rim and stainless spokes.
I'm in the process of fitting the new wheels this weekend using a new freewheel (also bought from BBP)
They are a very helpful company to deal with.

My next project will have to be the chainset and bottom bracket.
There is run-out on my chainwheels and the teeth are getting a bit like sharks' teeth ... I can live with it in the short term, but it really is too much.
Fortunately, my front DR friction control can cope with it if I am careful.
I'll be seeking advice before too long.
But - First - I must get my new wheels on and get some riding in before the weather turns bad.

Good luck with the restoration.
These are great old bikes.
I bought mine in 1966 for 5 pounds.
Money well-spent.

 

[RichardB]

For reference, I have just bought a 27x1.25 wheelset from SJS Cycles. Haven't finished the build yet, so I can't comment on how they are on the bike, but they look good and spin true, and look to be decent quality for not a lot of money.

 

[Johnsco]

I fitted my 27 x 1.1/4 wheels from BBP yesterday.
I haven't road-tested them yet.
Like Richard's, they look good and are true.
I need to get my new Clark's brake shoes/pads fitted and then give them a whirl.

 

[jcbrown]

Regarding replacement wheels - I've just bought two 27" x 1/1/4" alloys from Bankruptbikeparts.
They offer a pair at a good price.
BUT ... BEWARE ...
the rear OLD was not suitable for my old Carlton which has an OLD of 120mm.
However - They offered to build me a wheel if I send them my old rear hub.
I did this and they built me a wheel to suit my OLD using my alloy hub.
They supplied a polished-alloy rim and stainless spokes.
I'm in the process of fitting the new wheels this weekend using a new freewheel (also bought from BBP)
They are a very helpful company to deal with.

Thanks for the heads-up. Looks like i might be following your route - OLD off 122 - so I guess a "SSTTRREETTCCHHEEDD" 120mm

 

[Gunk]

Cranks & Bottom bracket fixed cup was a bloody nightmare. Crank puller started shredding threads on crank. Finally resorted to some bearing pullers, an old 8-or-9mm socket (to save the thread on the spindle) , lots of patience, some swearing and a good bit of force.

My method is a plumbers tap wrench which has a 90 degree bend, put it behind the crankset and give the square taper axle a good thump with a hammer and punch (an old cheap crankset removal tool does the trick), works every time.

 

[Gunk]

I’ve also fabricated a tool which removes the fixed cup using a long breaker bar.