I bought an 80 (edit) Mongoose that's all original except the seat. The paint and decals are about 80% good. I need opinions here. Should I tear down and restore or keep it as it is and clean it up. I don't mind the paint chips and I like the fact the the kid who owned it scratched his name in the paint near the seatpost...

The bike is clean and presentable as it sits.

[ February 05, 2006, 03:33 PM: Message edited by: pitty ]

I think you answered your own questions............
judging from your comments I say leave it alone. Clean it up as good as you can. If you must add some nos parts then so be it. Sounds like a nice bike.

I'll post pics one I get her cleaned up.

If it ain't broke don't fix it, there are enough bling bikes that have no character out there. Clean it up then leave it alone.

Sounds like you should clean it up and keep it as a survivor.

I have to go along with the general consensus . Leave it alone..

Leave it.

80% good.....Leave it clean it.

Survivors Rock. Leave it as is.

Not 1 person says to restore ?? Ya, what they all said !!
Its only original once !!

add one more
- 'leave the pleasure marks'
response

I was having the same dilema over a Performer I got that was all original, same kind of condition. I asked some bmx buddies their opinion and they mainly agreed that a bike that is original has character and should probably be left alone. The scratches and scars tell a story of the bikes life. Sure every one like the restored & NOS bling bikes, but an original un-molsted bike is a treasure these days. Just my opinion. Nice Find

Well depends on how back it is? Ive restored mine.. because it was my childhood bike..

Well depends on how bad it is? Ive restored mine.. because it was my childhood bike..

Go find the SEAT!

I say- It's YOUR bike, do what YOU want with it!

Doesn't matter what the rest of us think about it! If WE want the bike to be a certain way, we can buy our own Mongeese and do what WE want to them .

Have fun!

Leave it alone! Can we get some pics??? Love to see it.

I was wrong. It's actually an 80 - Serial Number starts with CA0 - Cali, Jan, 1980.

Here it is after a teardown and partial cleanup. I'm going to get some red Comp IIIs for it this week. I can't seem to find any red snakebellies anywhere...





[ February 05, 2006, 08:42 PM: Message edited by: pitty ]

That looks nicer than many "restored" bikes already!

I don't care for the color - makes me think of McDonalds or the Redskins... I've always been a chrome and blue BMXer myself.

It turned out a lot nicer than I thought it would once I got all the extra stickers off of it. The "MONGOOSE" on the top bar is overlayed on the original sticker and not done very good. And, the "MOTOMAG" sticker is pretty torn up on the bottom. I think I'll get a set of repro stickers to clean it up.

I got this at the local Salvation Army. I had to fight off someone else who just wanted to buy it for the neck. All in all, not a bad deal for $35.00, huh?

[ February 05, 2006, 03:47 PM: Message edited by: pitty ]

Are those tuff 1s ?? Will be a sick ride, I always dug the yellow mags on a red frame.

Yup, tuff 1s and clean as anything once I sanded the brake burn off. I also ran them through the dishwasher. My wife found out and was ****ed off.

Of course, the seat post is stuck in the frame...

[ February 05, 2006, 04:14 PM: Message edited by: pitty ]

Exactly what did you do to remove the brake rub ??

Im restoring a few sets of mags and could always use another tip !! I tried the razor blade thing, and I am way to inpatient for that, sanding sounds like it might be a good option.

Simple green and some fine wet/Dry sandpaper. Afterwards hit it with some WD40 and the color will come right back.

Thanx, Ill give it a shot, I used wd-40 for the 1st time last week on a set of Lavender Peregrines, and it really did seem to help bring the color back. Like I said , I gave up on the brake rub, its not to bad anyhoo, but I will eventually tackle it again.
here a pic of my "clean" Peregrine

That's a pretty bike. I've always been partial to the more outrageous colors. My ultimate "want" is a pink Trickstar.

I have a problem that I can't seem to keep bikes for very long. I buy 'em cheap at Thrift Stores and yard sales then end up needing the cash and seeing what they sell for on eBay I end up selling them off. I have to promise to keep this one...

That frame is in sweet shape for not having been repainted. The stickers look great.

Your seat clamp, however, needs to be turned 90 degrees.

I wish I could sell some of my stuff, but I just cant/wont part with most of it. Glad you like my Ultra shock, heres a pic of the whole bike. I could go for a pink Trickstar, but the prices are insane right now, I betcha they will come down a little in the future though.

Thanks for the seatpost heads up. I wasn't sure how it went and when I got the bike the clamp was on like this.

I generally won't pay more than $50.00 for a bike unless it's super clean. However, I do have a line on a bike shop that no one has gotten to yet. I've scouted it and found all sorts of vintage drool material, I just didn't have the $$ to buy lots of stuff and I want them to know I'm serious...

[ February 05, 2006, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: pitty ]

Here's my '80 built with spare parts. Some NOS and some used.