Bottom Bracket Solved, Other Challenges Waiting

The spindle from Joel worked out. While it was really 113mm long, it is symmetric and everything appears to have lined up nicely. The crank was bolted on, and then Mark applied the front derailleur "just to check". Looks like it will work out fine.



Yay.

If only that were the end of it. This isn't like putting together a new bike, or even a relatively recent bike. Can't just buy Shimano or Shimano-compatible parts (or Campy, or SRAM), and expect to just bolt them on. French-threaded parts are no longer made; one must track down used or NOS (new old stock) ones.

I did spring for the reproduction decal set, but will build up the bike first, and see if it grows on me before committing to a repaint.

For one thing, the rear spacing is tight. The rear wheel did not want to come out. So when I repacked the hubs, I noticed it had two washers on each side, and removed the extras. Checked it out today when the wheel and frame were reunited. Still a bit tight, plus the frame catches on the freewheel retaining ring. That would explain the extra washers. But the proper thing to do would be to get the rear respaced. Now, other than labor, all the money I have spent on this bike has been for parts that can be repurposed to other bikes. Once we start respacing the rear dropouts... The immediate solution will be to put the two washers on the drive side, rather than one on each side. More cone wrench activity.

Next, the headset did not want to adjust nicely. Mark says he needs all the pieces on to make a final adjustment, so we'll wait that one out.

But should I go for the respace and need a new headset, the bottom bracket would have to come out (and all the supporting parts), and the frame would be, um, not to put too fine a point on it, bent, and new paint might be in the cards at that point.

Fun? Absolutely. But not for the person that wants immediate gratification :-)