My restoration project, advice and wisdom appreciated.

[mickle]

I agree about "some" manufacturers, but Dawes were not one of them.

Unless I'm mistaken, that Galaxy has three main tubes of plain-guage 531, precisely the sort of mundane lugs I was on about and carbon steel stays and fork. And I'm pretty sure it was the Dawes Streetlife, Circa 1986 which had a prominent Reynolds 501 plastered on the seat tube - which was the only reynolds tube in the frame.

 

[Gravity Aided]

The decal says the tubes are butted, but you are correct, a Reynolds claim is only made for the frame members . Chainstays and seatstays and fork may be made out of something else. Could be good, could be bad .

 

[Dunbar]

Sorry but we're gonna have to agree to disagree on that one. £200 on E bay wont really get anything special and faults like a jammed seat post could easily be found on a modern bike [the seller aint gonna tell you]. A budget restoration could be done for £50 - 60. Just check the prices of Galaxy's [even poor ones] and work out the financial aspects for yourself.
PS I've yet to see a 531 frame on it's own go for £20 on E bay

Absolutely. And my old 60s 'racer' would make that Dawes look dowdy, after just a polish and grease-up. Well I think so anyway!
Wish I could still ride it!

 

[marijuana]

Update
Haven't really done much over the time due to other commitments and bad weather.
I've taken everyones words into consideration. The bike cost me nothing so if I get it decent for max £50 I'll be happy. Everything works and is smooth such as seat tube and BB. Things just need a clean some lube and some TLC. As I've kinda fallen for the bike I dont plan on selling it straight away but will probably use it as a run around [quickly pop into town, pub and such].
- The brakes arn't side calipers, but are Weinmann 750 vainqueur centre pull front and rear, so I'm not worried about them.
- I would love some advice on chains, I've been looking on chain reaction cycles for most of the day and can conclude that the chain market is totally saturated and I'm lost. whats a decent brand that will run smoothly with my SunTour derailleur (15 speed) look quite smart and cost under £15.
- Brake cables - are they pretty much universal? I need a new front/rear.
- The forks do seem a bit rubbish, but they'll do the job and when they brake I'll replace them.
- Tires are fine.

 

[sidevalve]

Well FWIW it seems a fairly good find after all. The brake and gear cables [inners] can be found for under £5 a set, a couple of meters of white outer and there you go. Not sure about a good looking chain [never seen one looking at it's reflection in a mirror anyway] but one that will do the job can be got for under a tenner. I would fit new brake blocks however [you really don't know about the old ones]. If the total bill exceeds £25 you aint looking hard enough. Chuck in some bars etc and you'll still be well within budget. As I said, just tailor the components to suit the build, the great thing is with people buying soopa doopa new bikes all the time a lot of good kit is available on E bay etc for peanuts.
As for the forks breaking, unless you weigh 30 stone and make a habit of hitting brick walls to stop or there is a major fault with them the chances of them actually giving way are pretty much zero.

 

[Teuchter]

Check on eBay for lots of cheap kit for older bikes. There are a lot of traders on there selling new, old stock components at knock down prices.

For the build I just finished I used a KMC Z51 chain. That would do your 5 speed fine and is a decent quality manufacturer. They're available in a range of finishes (brown, black, silver) though they all end up looking brown once they've been lubed and used for a few weeks. Mine cost me about £6 delivered.

Agree 100% with Sidevalve's post. Lengths of outer cable are available cheaply (outers are the same for brakes and gears) and inners are universal - they come double ended and you cut off the end that isn't compatible with your components. "Better" forks may be a bit lighter but I don't think wouldn give you any other benefits. I wouldn't worry about it.

If you're switching handlebars to drops, remember you'll have to factor in brake levers (unless buying used bars which may have these fitted), handlebar tape and possibly different gear shifters (most likely a second hand set of downtube shifters). As mentioned before, how cheaply you can do this depends on how long you want to wait for budget parts to appear, especially in the case of replacement shifters which can vary wildly in price.