1988 Brodie Climbmax

Got my hands on the gatorblade last night and wasted not time starting the paint removal 😁 I wish paint stripper was more like the old days but it’s coming off slowly but surely.

Force of habit, my first task was to attempt old crown race removal. Unfortunately the alloy crown race support was more anxious to come off than the steel race itself. After sitting all night soaked in penetrating oil it was just as stubborn this morning. Then it dawned on me the race is an XT and exactly what I planning on using anyway and in mint shape, so I gently tapped everything back into place :rolleyes:

I’ve been doing a fair bit of gatorblade research the last couple days especially comparing 2nd & 3rd gen variants. This fork is kind of a mix. The crown is the same as the second gen (no holes drilled and a lot less machining than 3rd gen variants) with the rest all being 3rd gen including the alloy drop outs and blade top caps (which will get the black painted added back into the bowl portion to match stock).

The steerer extension will be all DIY expect asking for a welding favor and pretty much follow Paul’s video on the subject except without all the nice machine shop tool abilities.

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It’s all coming together nicely Dave 😎
 
All paint is off and hacksaws are next 😅

I bought a vinyl cutter a few years ago and I've had some good success cutting single color decals before. Making the file for cutting is the hard part. Thought I'd try my hand making the brodie 'b' from scratch. These have been applied for testing only as black paint is in the plans. Pretty happy with the result :cool:

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It's looking like the needed TIG bead for the steerer may be possible next week. In the meantime I've got the steerer prepped and ready:

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With a week or more waiting I decided to get the black painting out of the way, masking the intricate crown was very time consuming. No chance I would consider unscrewing the legs with them being a glued and screwed type of construction.

After drying through the night I couldn't help (carefully) sticking the fork in for a partial mockup to see how it looks. No harm done in the process thankfully!

I love it, really finishes off the bike and this is a good safe spot to sit and dry/cure for a week or more before welding 😍


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It's looking like the needed TIG bead for the steerer may be possible next week. In the meantime I've got the steerer prepped and ready:

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With a week or more waiting I decided to get the black painting out of the way, masking the intricate crown was very time consuming. No chance I would consider unscrewing the legs with them being a glued and screwed type of construction.

After drying through the night I couldn't help (carefully) sticking the fork in for a partial mockup to see how it looks. No harm done in the process thankfully!

I love it, really finishes off the bike and this is a good safe spot to sit and dry/cure for a week or more before welding 😍


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Now we're talking!!! 😍 :cool: 💪
 
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