[ruggedscotsman]

My dad has an old Raleigh Grand Prix he bought in the late 60's or early 70's. He road it to work at the time, but it has since been stored in a garage and not seen any use in almost 20 years. I'm going to clean it up and use it for sunday cruising/art. Anyone have any tips, suggestions, or knowledge of this model? I've torn down and fixed up some old ten speeds before, but nothing near this quality.

[Xela]

No tips, but I'd definitely love to see some pics.

[IanHighfield]

The men in my shop said this was a very nice bike in its day. No reason it can't still be a nice bike if the frame is not too rusted. I have an old Record rigged as a single-speed.

I like old steel bikes.

[Doohickie]

On chrome plated components that have surface rust, use lemon juice or citrus-based cleaner, and scrub with aluminum foil. The foil will not damage the chrome like, for instance, steel wool. The results are pretty amazing.

Before:


After:

[Georgewerr]

Lots of elbow grease and WD-40 to get into the tight spots. if everything moves freely this will be a great project. I have a Raleigh tri-light from early 80's. I dont ride her much anymore but its been fun bring her back to life. I still take her now and then just so she does not feel forgoton.

George

[TxCyclist]

I would get some specific bike lube from your LBS.

My neighbor gave me a really old Schwinn steelie that had not been rode in almost a decade. I lubed up all the components and rode it right out the garage.

[Georgewerr]

Originally Posted by Dean

I would get some specific bike lube from your LBS.

My neighbor gave me a really old Schwinn steelie that had not been rode in almost a decade. I lubed up all the components and rode it right out the garage.

Hi Dean,

I agree with the specific bike lube, I was referring to wd-40 was if things are frozen, I wasn't clear

George

[flapper]

ive recently found a similar bike im trying to fix up

its a 1976 grand prix with just the frame,forks,bars,and crank

im having a hard time getting the crank arms off, being that old would they be one peice or are they just really stuck?

[devinfan]

Originally Posted by flapper

ive recently found a similar bike im trying to fix up

its a 1976 grand prix with just the frame,forks,bars,and crank

im having a hard time getting the crank arms off, being that old would they be one peice or are they just really stuck?

I can't imagine a Grand Grand Prix having a one piece crank, especially not in 1976. You can find the original catalogue specs for your bike HERE:

1976 Raleigh Grand Prix

I hope yours is one of those, because it is a Carlton built model as evidenced by the beautiful wraparound stays. If your crank is like the one in the picture, it is a cottered crank. To remove it you will need to unscrew the little nut on the end of the cotter pin and then BANG the cotter pin very assertively with a hammer. Repeat on other crank arm. Once you have the cotter pins out the crank arms should come right off with a little coaxing.

The only thing to keep in mind is that if you are doing this to go to a cotterless crankset, it is going to mean getting a newer cotterless bottom bracket spindle and/or replacing the bottom bracket entirely.

I may be giving you more info than you want, but if you are planning on going cotterless, save those BB cups and try to find a Raleigh cotterless spindle that will work. Unfortunately the threading on your era of Raleigh is proprietary, and a standard replacement BB won't work! The BB shell is threaded for 26 TPI, which only Raleigh used. Anyway if this is what you're trying to do, let me know and I'll give you as much info as I can.

Good luck.

[devinfan]

Originally Posted by ruggedscotsman

My dad has an old Raleigh Grand Prix he bought in the late 60's or early 70's. He road it to work at the time, but it has since been stored in a garage and not seen any use in almost 20 years. I'm going to clean it up and use it for sunday cruising/art. Anyone have any tips, suggestions, or knowledge of this model? I've torn down and fixed up some old ten speeds before, but nothing near this quality.

Hi there, you may be able to narrow down your search for a year here:

Retro Raleighs: The Grand Prix

Have fun cleaning it up and getting it back on the road. I started my love affair with vintage bikes on a Grand Prix, and I loved that bike (it was stolen).
I've found a lot can be done to improve these bike's appearance by replacing the vinyl saddle (if it has one) with a traditional Brooks leather saddle, and putting on new bar tape, like the Raleigh here:

1974 Raleigh Professional Bicycle - $3,200.00 : HOUSE OF PAINE, store

In any case have fun with it, a Grand Prix is a great place to start, and it's very cool that it was your Dad's bike as well.