Author Topic: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT  (Read 6575 times)

Offline Jesse Vetrone

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Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« on: December 26, 2012, 02:47:42 AM »
It's in worse shape than it looks but overall not bad. Pulled it out of the crawl space at his mothers house today.I'm going to try and have it decked out for him by his birthday so we can start riding together again :ph34r:



Offline Freeman97

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2012, 09:45:07 AM »
 O0 it's a 1987 gt pro freestyle tour  :beer:
very nice bike  :D

Offline K.Wong

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #2 on: December 26, 2012, 11:12:07 AM »
not the worst that i've seen - seen one in chrome (poss. vertigo version) with rust that almost completely ate through (large gapping hole) the t.t area between the seatpost and seatstay brace.
mine has a welded-in seatpost by rust, without any powdercoating.
if you need nippon brakes/ 883s lmk, have few in storage.

Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #3 on: December 26, 2012, 05:17:09 PM »
Nice! Just give it a deep clean and replace what it needs, don't go crazy on it!  Have fun.

Offline OldYeller

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2012, 06:06:06 PM »
Awesome gift  :beer:


Check over at bmxmuseum.com if you need old replacement parts.


Personally I'd update the wheels, replace the missing gyro parts, fix the broken stuff and ride the hell out of it.  That depends on whether your dad would want the nostalgia or functionality though.


I don't think those will accept small sprockets because of the cs mounted 990's, so you may be stuck with a 36t or bigger.  Those chainrings and bolts are easy to find though.


I wish my kids would do stuff like that for me!  You kick ass!

Offline Jesse Vetrone

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #5 on: December 27, 2012, 09:46:49 AM »
I think I'm going to convert the 1pc cranks the 3pc.. Looking into some different kits to accomplish this... Update the brakes and wheels as mentioned (those are bent) Not sure about Painting it or not... Keep you posted with progress!

Pops does love mag wheels, and skyway still makes em'.. Thinking about getting a pair haha..

Offline johnu773

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2012, 10:31:49 AM »
i wouldnt paint anything!  it's O.G. and thats way cooler than restored!  slap a new disk on it, some new skyways and ride on!  look up porkchopbmx for resto parts as well.

Offline OldYeller

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2012, 06:33:09 PM »
I bet you could clean those mags up and replace the axles and bearings.  They don't look to be in bad shape.  To me those mags fit the bike, Skyways look out of place on them.


If you really want to add 3 piece, Primos look really close to the GT's and are cheap and plentiful but I'm with John, just keep the OPC on it.


Offline 89schwinnsting

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #8 on: December 29, 2012, 09:25:58 PM »
You could also replace the mags with a set of 48-spoke wheels with GT hubs from that era. Or just fix up the original mag wheels. No need for 3 piece cranks, though.

Offline dan4130

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #9 on: December 30, 2012, 01:06:36 AM »
replaced parts    dont repaint !!!!!!
IF FLATLAND EVER HAS A DEBATE TEAM. I WANT T.J. PERRY AS MY CAPTAIN!!

Offline stuntnuts

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #10 on: December 30, 2012, 01:18:53 AM »
Your dad will cut your testicles off if you strip that paint.

Offline Keneken

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #11 on: December 30, 2012, 10:56:49 AM »
Your dad will cut your testicles off if you strip that paint.
^^^^^^^this!
It's going to be a lot cheaper to get a chainring rather then 3pc cranks, plus your old man will be happy enough to ride that again!   :beer:
''let me tell ya something i did a front n rear wheel hang on the cloping on the slide of the spine, now i stick to street!''

''do you freestyle?''

However serious you take it general public sees us as just dicking about on 'kids' bikes, some people could do to remember that and smile a little.

byke

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #12 on: December 30, 2012, 11:38:22 AM »
C4 labs can re do the same paint.

Offline calamity-calvin

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #13 on: December 31, 2012, 07:30:38 AM »
This looks like an awesome project. Good luck with the build, and keep us updated  ;D !!! I will also throw in my $0.02 and say that I would keep the 1-piece crank set up (maybe even go with a shorter length arm), and also keep the paint on all the parts as is. I would also run a Tioga sealed bottom bracket for 1-pc. crank as well. Maybe even do some kind of Kevin Jones mod on a Suntour coaster brake on a rear Skyway mag running said Suntour coaster brake. However, this is your build, do what you want!!!
WANTED: Odyssey Pro Flatland fork (zero offset, 990 mounts)

Offline Gearhead

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Re: Beginning to restore my fathers 1984 GT
« Reply #14 on: January 27, 2013, 11:27:30 AM »
If you repaint I will be sad. Polish and wax. That thing is dope. One piece cranks are legit but three piece make the bike feel more solid. I just changed my 87 GT PFT over and am happy w/ it. My old cranks were hollow cro-mo and weighed exactly 2 lbs w/ bb and cups, the profiles w/ ti spindle and bolts also weighed 2 lbs even w/ a redline american bb. Your dads cranks are not hollow cro-mo (unless he upgraded bitd) so will be a bit heavier. You might consider a pair of Redline Flite cranks, similar weight to what you have now, $90 at Dans comp (but you should try your local shop first, they pay $60 wholesale and may be able to match or beat Dans' price) plus your dad may have lusted after a pair when he was a kid so it's a period correct upgrade, they still look exactly the same.
As far as wheels go, I started to bend my axle and dropout after a few weeks riding (I'm 210lbs) and bought a N.O.S. Suzue hub off ebay (search Suzue MHS alloy bmx hub) for 24.99 and laced it up to an odyssey hazard light rim. The hub has a 14mm axle machined down to slide into the 3/8's dropout. I also bought  a N.O.S. Redline front hub but bent the axle in it as well and the fork dropout. Look for something w/ a solid 3/8s axle (mine was machined down or "slotted" similarly to the rear hub). You can also buy 14mm adapters that thread on over the original axles that will add structural integrity. If the original mags are straight and just need axles you may want to just rebuild them but even in 1987 a proper set of 48 spoke wheels would have been the first thing on the list of upgrades.
If he's gonna really ride it you might want to hang the forkstanders on the wall and get some proper, modern pegs. I used to destroy those things every couple months bitd and old school pegs are painfully small.
I'm super jealous of your dads' bike and am looking forward to checking out the progress. Good luck.
"So much to do, so little time." - Mr. X