70s Harry Quinn - what to do?

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PedalofHonour

Retro Newbie
I confess I'm in a bit of a quandary about this frameset. I love a bit of patina with the best of them, but the 80s respray on this 70s Harry Quinn is a bit ropey, so I'm not sure whether to clean it up as best I can or have it resprayed.

Also, it has the name: 'Mike Kelly EVVC" written on the side, which suggests a paint job from C&G Finishes. I'm not sure if the bike was owned by Mark Cavendish's early mentor, Mike Kelly, on the Isle of Man either (unlikely I think). But the frame is from the IoM and 'EVVC' might have something to do with Ellan Vallin.

The frame number on the bottom bracket is: Q3874. The 'Q' is a little difficult to make out but looks to have the 0 with the 1 struck through it.

So any opinions on whether to keep the grey or refinish it would be appreciated.

Thanks.

















 
Yep, genuine Quinn frames had the Q made up of an O and 1 :)

I have a real soft spot for quin frames but that patina is quite messy. How about re-finishing in a nice Harry Quinn yellow :)

Shaun

PS the forks don't look right, not sure why though.
 
1975ish if Classic Rendevous is anything to go by and will be a Liverpool built frame I believe. Any idea of the tubing on the frame? Mine's 1974ish (Q3439)

Agree with Shaun, paint is past it's best - worthy of investing in a nice new paint-job. Personally I'd re-furbish it in the same colour as it is now - HLloyd has decals including the rather stunning headbadge decal - worthy of a re-paint just to get new decals on!

Serial number will also be stamped onto the steerer to confirm those forks are original to the frame. Be interested to see a close up of the fork crown - forks look similar to those on my Quinn and they are the one part of mine I think lets it down - rather industrial and uncultured looking in comparison to the rest of the frame.

Very nice find and well worthy of restoration.
 
FINNEY1973

Interesting you have a Quinn frame with that type of fork crown, I would have expected a Cinnelli Full sloping, Cinelli MC semi sloping, Haden cast or possibly Zeus cast crown. However the "Box" type fork crown like in the OP was very popular as it was "classic" and the TT boys liked them because they were light :)

Not sure I like the colour, makes it look like an MKM but that's just personal choice. Google harry quinn frame and I guess they will spring up in yellow, bright blue, bright red and other bright colours. They tended to stand out in the pack (peloton) LOL

Shaun
 
I'd like some Cinelli MC's - they are nice. I just find mine as you've described - boxy! Given the delicate & thin forks, the box crown looks a tad uncultured in comparison.

I think the OP's frame stands out due to the decals - it's fairly unusual to see the decal colours drawing your eyes in - and perhaps that is why a brighter frame colour would be a better idea. A frame as nice as this one doesn't deserve to be dull grey, i'll concede my 1st post deserved more thought.

Be interesting to see what the OP has planned - i'm hoping for another period build, been some decent ones on here in recent months.
 
A proper Harry Quinn :)

As its already been repainted I don't think there's anything lost in getting a new 'quality' respray done. You'd be looking around £150 but the frame is worth it. If you remove the forks you may find a trace of the original colour :)
 
Thanks for the interest.

The frame is Reynolds 531 (according to the sticker at the top of the seat tube).

I'll remove the headset and have a closer look at the forks, hopefully that will yield further info. I contacted Mike Kelly (Cav''s early mentor) and he confirmed the name on the top tube is no relation, although he also confirmed there were two more MK's racing around the Isle of Man at the time and he knows both of them. Might try to find out some more info.

The frame is too small for me, but was originally intended as a l'Eroica ride for the wife. In an interesting development however, she has now designated Tuscany as a 'boy's trip' and now seems uninterested. Nevertheless, I'd like to restore the Quinn and am considering options. I've used Argos in the past, but may investigate C&G and see if they are still worth a shout. A fellow l'Eroicist recently had his Condor resprayed in grey and white and very nice it looked too. However, I fancy something brighter for this frame.

I found some Campag hubs at the local tip and have had these built up with Mavic OP and double-butted spokes - not particularly period correct but with an eye on the rigours of the Strade Bianchi.



I also have a Campag groupset and 3T finishing kit from a previous project, but again will have to have a longer think about that.

Will keep you posted.
 
Yep, as it's been refinished (even with the name) I think it needs redoing even if it's to stop the rust in it's tracks :)

Have a quick look at the rear dropouts, IIRC all the long campag dropouts of that era came with eyes for mudguards but look at how they have been filed off. All the forge marks have gone and the edges have been flattened which was the fashion at the time :) The point has also gone from the seat lug.

There seems to be no big "dent" in the chainstay for the inner chainwheel, again a sign the builder knew what he was doing :)

Needs a steel campag headset :)

Shaun
 
Well I'm off to l'Eroica next week so should be able to pick up some bits there if I have my haggling trousers on.

Or if anyone here has something to offer ...?
 
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