What started as a Mk1 is really a Raleigh Grifter Mk2 in Red

[mark]

So, the Grifter I bought with very few details last weekend arrived today. It looked OK in the pictures (sample below), and I bought it at what I consider to be reasonable money, although I knew the paint was either VERY faded or non original.

I've had a look over it, and there's good and bad, as you would expect. First, the good points :

With the exception of the rear mud flap, it seems to be all there.

Brakes and gears appear to be working fine.

It was relatively cheap - I must ALWAYS bear this in mind.

Brake and gear cables still have their original ribbed outers, so one less thing to look for.

Frame and forks are straight.

Bad points so far are :

The bike has been hand painted in an awful light blue, however its original colour was red - I have still to work out exactly which red.

Chain wheel guard has a piece missing - must have broken off in transit.  This is disappointing, as it was one of the plus points that this was intact.

Genuine Supagrip tyres appear to be unused, however there seems to be some light cracking - I'm not sure what to do about this.

Chrome on wheels and pedal stems a little rougher than I was hoping for - I'm not sure if this can be rubbed / polished out or not.

Anyway, it looks like there's no point messing about at the edges with this one.  I'll make a full assessment of everything it needs, but I'll be stripping it completely, as I can't live with that paint.  I think it would be best to get it bead blasted and painted either blue or red - I'm thinking Mk1 colours, as although not original, they are nicer than later shades.

Any and all advice from all of you who know what they are doing better than me (that'll be most people!) would be gratefully received.  I'm going to take my time with it, so I can look for bargains which crop up occasionally, and do as much as I can myself - although I might go pro for the paint - we'll see.

Frame number is NL2115984, so it's an August 1982 bike - well into Mk2 production.

[mark]

My first question on this - where is the best place to buy a decal set? I see them on Ebay, but don't know what they're like. The ones on the bike at the moment are not great - white borders, and the vinyl is quite thick.

[scootr99]

look like same decals as mine from ebay and the made in holland tyres come with cracks ( well mine did )looks like they where keeped in a mass pile for years and all flattened do to the weight,

[gingerrich76]

Thats a real shame..don't be put of now. Its a good base to start from. The supergrips are NOS, and are fine. At least its straight.
Decals... £19.99 on the Bay I beleive to be the better ones.. its the Raleigh rally at Billing in September.. usually someone there with some.
Chrome will clean up.. wd40 and fine wire wool together.
Good luck

[mark]

Jul 13, 2015 13:18:08 GMT gingerrich76 said:

Thats a real shame..don't be put of now. Its a good base to start from.
Good luck

Cheers Rich - I was hoping for better, but actually, I'm fine with this - it'll take me a while, but I'm happy to have something to potter with. Interesting what you say about cleaning up the chrome with WD40 and wire wool Rich - I was reading somewhere else about tin foil and water!! I'll have plenty of time to try both no doubt.

The frame was obviously sanded down prior to painting using a pretty coarse grade of paper - I can see the scratches under the paint.  Best to go back to metal with it.

Has anyone got any idea what paint might be a good match for the original candy red on these? I thought Rover Nightfire, but I think that's a bit bright.

[cavboy80]

Your plans for this project make sense, get the frame and forks sand blasted so as to make sure all old paint and any corrosion has gone.
I use medium wire wool and Autosol chrome polish, this really works well and shifts all staining. There may be some pitting remaining but it'll probably be slight and if kept polished won't get any worse.
I'd be inclined to keep with the tyres and it would seem from your description that it has plenty of salvagable parts.
The ebay decals aren't too bad, i've put them on mine and they look good, Raleigh apparently didn't supply a decal kit, they only did so attached to a new frame.

[mark]

I promised on another thread that I'd upload some pics once I got the bike home and unwrapped, so here it is in all it's hand painted glory! It seems to have a light film of old oil all over it for some reason, so a fair bit of cleaning to do. Never mind - it's cheaper than therapy!

[gingerrich76]

That's not that bad. I've seen a lot worse. And I guess a few here have seen worse too.
Decals are poor tho...
Chrome looks to be in good shape.

[mark]

The only decals I can find on Ebay at the moment are THESE - and I think they are pretty much the same as the ones already on there.  I think the vinyl is too thick, and it's not that good a copy.

[gingerrich76]

Don't bother with them. Get the bike how you want it, then look for the decals. They'll tun up.

[stig]

Im no expert compared to some on ere but bloody hell you have a good starter bike there mate..have fun.

[grifterste]

doesn't look too bad, have fun with it

[4737carling]

It looks like someone has tried to turn a Mk2 into a Mk1!! I'm guessing it used to be a Mk2 stars. A proper little pick and mix with a Silver super front wheel! Way too many incorrect parts for a Mk1. I would turn it back into a Mk2 as most of the bits are there. Nice little project.

[mark]

Jul 19, 2015 14:32:14 GMT 4737carling said:

IA proper little pick and mix with a Silver super front wheel! Way too many incorrect parts for a Mk1. I would turn it back into a Mk2 as most of the bits are there. Nice little project.

Silver Super front wheel? Really? Tell me more! What's the difference?

[grifterste]

the front wheel has a raised centre if that makes sense ? it should be the same rim as the rear