Well, I headed up to the attic tonight to take a close look at the ol' T/A. To my dismay, it's looking a little rough.

Quick background:
I've had my '83 T/A since I think I was about 13 or 14(circa 1987-88 timeframe). It was actually a replacement to my freshly cracked shiny lavender Hutch Hollywood (6ft air off a make-shift half-pipe twice -- once by me and once by my buddy -- landing ackwardly and hard on a flat surface at the top = hairline crack to the bottom bracket). Funny, but his Profile survived the same abuse.

Anyway, I "restored" it about 10 years ago. Restoration is probably too strong of a word. Picture it, 1997 (23 at the time), I'm stuck at home out of work with a broken leg for 3 months in the middle of summer. I am bored sick. I decide to go into the shed and take a look at my bikes. There they sit, a white General Hustler frame/fork, an electric blue Diamond Back (probaby "mid-school" vintage, don't remember the model exactly -- but with some old-school leftover parts), and my T/A. My T/A was always my main bike and this is the one I would fix up to quell the boredom.

I can't remember how I acquired all the parts I have on it today, but most of them were probably through some local rough-necks who probably acquired them through less-than-legal means.

What sat on the bike when I started this...err... let's call it "refresh":

- Redline Flights 180's with an unidentified spider(looks kind of like a Profile spider, but not sure as it isn't marked)
- KKT Lightning pedals (think I might look for a set of DX's for this rider though)
- GT Bars "gold wing" era - (all decals are worn on these, will be looking for replacements)
- DK anodized stem (pretty sure it's anodized... could never get it to shine for the life of me no matter how many times I polished it)
- Ambrosio Rims on Sunshine hubs

Everything is in pretty decent shape. Some things just need a good polishing. Some other things I rattle-can painted 10 years ago and that needs to be fixed. For some reason I painted the cranks, and that can't be good. I'm hoping they can be polished out. I'm thinkin maybe the chrome was worn down too far though.

Other odd-ball items... The grips, seat and seat-post are all mid-90's items. The seat that was on there was cracked and the post was bent. I replaced them with a Mongoose seat and a GT post respectively. However, the vintage GT post clamp still remains.

I was always partial to ODI Mushroom grips, but they were no longer available in 97, although I did replace them with very similar Toadstools from 97. The Kuhmo blackwall CompIII style tires need to go for a set of gumwalls. I was actually always partial to CompII's. Not sure if I can get these today though.

I would like to replace the unidentified spider with 401 Flight gears to match the cranks, and the forks currently on there are unidentified. There's no distiguishing marks on the lower tubes or the dropouts. Hopefully when I disassemble the bike there will be something on the neck tube. Still, I'll want to replace these with matching T/A forks.

Lastly, I may think about replacing the Ambrosio's with a set of black Tuff Wheel 2's. But that will come last.

I'll post some "before" pics of her this weekend after I bring her down and put some air in the tires. I'll be looking for some other projects as well, so none of the parts I currently have, if they get replaced, will go to waste. They'll be used on future projects.

Comments/Suggestions are always welcome.

-Lee

[ March 13, 2007, 10:45 PM: Message edited by: lboorse2 ]

Good luck with it!

skyways always seem to look best with skyway tuff wheels in my opinion.

I 2nd that !!

I 3rd that!

I 4th that!
and coloredtuffs is the man who can help. last year at rockford, I got a set of pinks, for my wifes NOS CW z1500, and 2 sets of GHP star bars, and won a set at the dinner.
great guy....

ColoredTuffs,
I just read the history of Skyway on the ColoredTuffs.com website. Very interesting stuff.

Something caught my attention. It says that they introduced the T/A Frameset in late '83. What's considered late? Do you know of a rough date that this happened?

I'm just trying to get a little history on my T/A. It's very clearly stamped "May 1983" (or May '83 or something -- I'm not looking at it right now) on the bottom. Of course, I realize that there could have been months of production before the official release. I'm trying to remember the serial off the top of my head, but it's something like 0001123 or thereabouts. Could this be the 1123rd, or the 123rd, or even the 23rd frameset off the production line??

Can anyone identify these cranks? I always assumed they were Flights, (they're stamped "Red Line on the inside face of each crank arm). I just always thought they had a mismatched gearset.

I came across a Kuwahara site this evening (through vbmx) with this page:

http://www.kuwaharasite.org/page/BMXA%20Se...0LaserLite%20Ad

Check out the cranks in the ad. These are the exact ones currently on my Skyway (save for the chainring). Can anyone tell me what these are exactly?

EDIT: I answered my own question upon finding this guide (again in another vbmx thread... loving this site)

http://reviews.ebay.com/Old-School-REDLINE...000000001601730

Looks like I have a vintage set of 400 series. And now that I read the description, I do remember that the spider is pressed on.

I think I have now decided to leave these as-is. I won't be looking for a 401 gear. (Sorry Jon!)

[ March 14, 2007, 11:14 PM: Message edited by: lboorse2 ]

Welcome and good luck with the project. Lookin' forward to your before & after pics.

Those look like redline 400's they are non-pinch. Would be a step down from 401's.
I don't think the spider was detachable (not sure)
So maybe you have Redline non-pinch 401's those are the ultimate crank to get a hold of.
Even 400's are cool though. 400's would have a square taper spindle instead of the splined version.

I should back that up with a disclaimer of= I'm not an expert on Redline cranks
And you were editing yours while I typed mine. I tried. Good luck with the build.

[ March 14, 2007, 11:21 PM: Message edited by: shinburger ]

This is one of the the first magazine tests of the T/A. This is from the Dec 83 issue of BMX Racer magazine. Figure the magazine was probably printed September-ish, and, you gotta figure that Skyway had them in production for a few months before it was released (to keep up with the demand at release time)... so.... The frame was probably on paper in early-mid 82, then prototypes in late 82/ early 83, then a few months of testing, then a few months of production.... so... taking a stab at the month of release..... maybe.... hmmm... August or September. I'm not certain of the exact date.
I'll ask!
Whatever your frame serial number is, it's the actual number. They started numbering them at #1.
-Ed

By the way.... BMX Action's first look at the T/A was featured in the January 84 issue.

Shin,
Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping to find some time to start disassembling this weekend, but I'm pretty sure they have the square spindle and are indeed 400's.

Ed,
I've gotten a lot of useful info from you just in the last day or so with this thread and your website. I'm considering you one of my top resources... I think I'll be hitting you up quite often as I move on with this build. At some point I'll probably start looking for some decent scans of ads and write-ups like the one above. I'll be looking to you first... just let me know if I start to get annoying

-Lee

The January '84 issue of BMX Action can be downloaded here:

http://files.filefront.com/BMXA_Jan84zip/;...;/fileinfo.html

Not Problem Lee!
Glad you figured out whatcha had.

Now to find a profile spider?!?!?!?

LOL!

Jon

Thanks Jon. I have a lead on a large lot of bikes. I'm not sure exactly what years. The guy just told me that his neighbor has about 50 old BMX bikes and is looking to "get rid of them." Not sure if that means sell them or just give them away... I'm trying to find out more details.

If I find one with Profile cranks I'll try to pick it up. Do you have a picture of the spider you're looking for?

Well here she is. I need help ID'ing the forks. It looks decent from far away, but you'll notice the oxidation and general grime in the close-ups.

Consider these the "before" pics...

Close up of the bars, stem, seat clamp and rims









I'll open up another thread on the fork... I'll need help id'ing them.

That is a sweet ride. I'm glad to see you kept it after all these years. After a little work, she'll look as good as new.

Allright!! Great spring cleaning project you're workin' on.

Redline 400 Flight cranks. DK Pro stem. GT Pro Bars. GT seatpost clamp. Nice.

BTW, although 400 Flights were originally cheaper than 401 Flights, they're now more valuable, probably because they're rarer and the 400 Flight cranks were OEM on Haro Masters and Redline PL-20 Carreras, so people need them to do a correct build. A nice set of 401s is ~$250. A nice set of 400s is closer to $400. Yours appear to have been spray bombed, and would need to be chemically stripped and rechromed to bring that kind of money.

Believe it or not, that seatpost clamp is also quite sought after -- people need it to do a correct GT Pro Performer build.

Good luck!

They were spray bombed by yours truly 10 years ago. I'm assuming the nickel is showing through the worn out chrome.

I don't think I'll need to strip these as I can very easily chip this paint off. I think a very light grit sandpaper will do it it should do any real harm since I'll need to get them re-chromed.

That's some good info about the desirability of the parts there. Guess I had good taste back in the day! As this was my personal ride in the mid-to-late 80's, I will never sell any part of it.

At this point (even before JJMCD's post) I've decided to do the restore with everything you see here with the exception of the grips, post, and seat. The only reason they'll get replaced is to put some more "era correct" stuff on there.

Thanks all for the comments. I can't wait to get further into this project.

-Lee

Whoa Lee!! Nice ride! Keep April 29th OPEN! It is a Sunday and its in Long Island. Shoreham bmx track...its a bike show/swap and race. It would be cool to see this bike in its former glory all done up. Any parts your seeking? Send me over a wish list....maybe I or we all can help on getting your ride up to your liking! You have a nice start already!
here is a picture of what i need for my cranks!
Not my cranks but a member's! I will take it polished like this one, or the original satin look.




Jon

[ March 22, 2007, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: OLDSKOOLPK ]

Jon,

April 29 is going to be cutting it way too close for me. There's no way I'll have the bike ready by then.

Parts I'll be looking for:

Black Aero Seat
ODI Mushrooms (red)
Gumwall Comp II's III's or IV's

Other than that, pretty much what's on there is what's staying.

I may look for Skyway forks, but I know they can get pricey... we'll see once I get towards the end of the build.

-Lee

[ March 22, 2007, 10:49 PM: Message edited by: lboorse2 ]

I wouldn't sand the cranks, even lightly.

Just buy some spray-can paint stripper from the hardware store, spray it on, let it do its thing, and wipe it off.

It won't be easy finding TA forks - maybe some Landing Gear forks? Those are easier to find. Here's a set (no affiliation with the seller)

http://cgi.ebay.com/SE-Racing-Landing-Gear...tem180098099183

Ginny's has black/skinwall Comp III copies (both Kenda and Cheng Shin). See:

http://home.comcast.net/~rinisbikeshop/tires.htm

The new school Tioga Comp IIIs are blackwall only and, IHMO, look wrong on a 1980s bike.

Ginny's also has grips:

http://home.comcast.net/~ginnyrini/grips.htm

Good luck!

[ March 23, 2007, 01:59 PM: Message edited by: jjmcd ]

Johnny Ringo Thanks for uppin those back issues. Great stuff!!!!
Dan