Raleigh Panasonic Team Replica 12 restoration
24/10/2020
Aside from a few issues with learning what a torque wrench is for and the difference between metric and SAE Allen sockets, it was time to start thinking about the respray. The first thing to note is that all the red and yellow stripes are actually stickers and in the case of the seat tube and down tube, form part of the written “Raleigh” logo. This is probably most evident when looking at the back of the seat tube and the horizontal end line of the blue paint is just visible.
So the very first thing I hope to be able to do is have the red and yellow stripes actually sprayed on as part of the paintwork. That would mean getting a replacement sticker set with just the “Raleigh” writing on and no stripes – at least for the down tube, since the “R” on one side and the “H” on the other actually sit within the yellow stripe. Hmmm. Tricky.
The end line of the blue paint is just visible at the back of the seat tube.
Plus of course, I have to actually find somewhere not too far from here that would be able to undertake such a task. Who knows, maybe there’s someone out there who could create a template, so that the actual “Raleigh” could be part of the paintwork?
Since I’m going to have it resprayed in an identical color scheme, why did I go to so much trouble to find a Team Replica 12 frame, when any 531c frame could’ve worked, I hear you ask. Well, to me, it was really important that the bicycle be a Team Replica 12 to begin with, so it’s soul was pure…if you see what I mean. However, it does also open up some interesting possibilities.
So here’s a crazy thing – this is a 100% legitimate Team Replica 12 frame – but another detail that I noticed was that the stripes on the top tube don’t actually line up with the stripes on the down tube. Is this so that the first top tube rear brake cable holder is still within the blue and not red, if the top tubes stripes were to be moved to the left slightly? Or to prevent the down tube “Raleigh” logo from having to go over the water bottle attachments, which is what would happen if the down tube stripes and logo were to be moved to the right a little. The stripes on the down tube are also slightly wider.
Left: holding the tape measure like a plumbline and the frame is suspended in the stand (click for larger image)
Should I change this so that they do line up and so they are the same width? That would ever so slightly alter the original design, but would it be for the best? Lisa kindly created an Illustrator vector file of the frame with an absolutely accurate representation of the existing design to be able to experiment with new ideas.
