91 GT Zaskar

[MCA4President]

Hi, I've been a lurker in the shadows on here for many years, owned a whole raft of MTB's during that time (1990 onwards) from Muddy Fox, Bigfoot Smokestone, Club Roost (snapped two frames, very bad bikes!), Kona's, Specialized & Santa Cruz. I've never in that time owned a GT though. So I recently put that right by purchasing this from a local auction (I think a couple of you were bidding as well!). It's a very tired looking 18" 1991 Zaskar with 2x4 forks and some Suntour XC Pro. I bought it without viewing (always dangerous I know) but it looks like it'd been stored outside for a long time, most steel elements have succumb to rust.

Spec Sheet (work in progress)...

Frame: Zaskar T6061

Fork: GT 2x4

Headset: Tange Seiki Falcon FL270C 1 1/8"
Stem: GT flip/flop
Handlebar: GT OEM
Grips: Ritchey WCS
Barends: no

Brakes: Front - Suntour XC Pro. Rear - Dia-Compe 993 U-Brake
Brake Pads: - Unknown
Brake Cables: Yes
Cantilever cable hangers: Suntour
Brake Levers: Suntour XC Pro

Shifters:
Front Derailleur: Suntour XC Pro
Rear Derailleur: Suntour XC Pro
Derailleur Cables: Yes
Cassette: - XT 8 Speed M737
Chain: - Shimano CN-HG40
Cranks: - Suntour XC Pro
Crank Bolts: - Unknown
Chainrings: - Suntour XC Pro
Chainring bolts: - Unknown
Bottom Bracket: - Shimano
Pedals: - Suntour XC Pro

Hub Skewers: XT M730
Rims: Ritchey Vantage Comp 32H
Hubs: XT M730/M732 32H
Nipples: DT Swiss Brass
Spokes: DT Swiss Champion
Tyres: Panaracer Smoke/Dart re-issue
Tubes: yes

Saddle: Turbo re-issue
Seatpost: Suntour XC Pro 26.8
Seatpost Binder: GT Original

Weight: ?

Here's what it looked like when I picked it up..



The narrowest cockpit I've ever seen!

 

[MCA4President]

Let's get rid of the pannier & get that chain moving, it was like a length of solid steel.



Forks are in a pretty bad way. They are currently away (along with the stem) at a paint shop getting blasted and resprayed gloss black. Hopefully they come back okay. Paintshop didn't seem too fazed by these pictures when I sent them over so hopefully they'll be alright.

 

[MCA4President]

I've probably bitten off more than I can chew, it's been my first restoration and I've learnt many things by pestering you lot with questions, and buying left/right & centre new components. This bike owes a fair whack now, but I'm pretty close to having everything I need. Just need a new saddle and pedals. I've a box of shiny parts ready to go on.

The first job was to strip the frame and get to work with some #0000 grade steel wool and vinegar/water to get rid of the oxidisation..

Decal removal..


All the wire wool bit done, now onto the polishing. I was really pleased with how shiny it came up. There are a few blemishes, but I'll accept that given it's condition before..

Headset is being replaced once I get the forks back, shiny shiny.

Couldn't resist mounting the cranks (thanks Tom!) and my NOS XC Pro derailleur. May yet go back to XC pro cranks as I have a lot of Suntour kit to go back on. Perhaps these race face look too modern?

 

[MCA4President]

Polishing pretty much complete, it's back from the dead..

The original hubs were pretty minging, time for some M730 goodness. Rear is rebuilt and smooth as you like (thanks Tootyred). I have an NOS 32h front hub to match (imported from Japan, don't ask how much!) ready to lace up to the original rims, which are surprisingly good.

Ritchey Vantage Comp rims a little tarnished but true, and with lots of life left in them.

New decals have been put on following a polish, the colour is exactly the same as before (just the light playing tricks).

 

[MCA4President]

New decals put on from you know who, just need to wait for the forks, then it's the fun bit of rebuilding..

 

[d8mok]

Love a good early Zaskar build

 

[MCA4President]

Love a good early Zaskar build

I'm enjoying it. Ignoring the fact at the moment that it's probably going to be too small for me to ride properly.

 

[mtbdave]

Looks nice and well thought out and it looks as it should again

as per the cost so far, these bikes are always money pits especially at the moment with prices for parts still on the up

 

[MCA4President]

Finally got my forks and stem back today. I'm amazed at the transformation!

 

[malt]

That’s an amazing transformation so far, really looking forward to the finished article