'93-4 (?) Marin Team Issue non-cat spec (sorry, purists) 👀

[JoniMarin]

So, another Marin came my way a little while back.

It was / is in a state of fairly severe disrepair, and hence I think this project will be a little different from a catalogue-spec rebuild.
I'm not sure what to do with it yet but I may get a little radical (Resto-mod? Discs? 1x11 speed? Respray? Leave it as a rusty rat bike?)

Here's how it found me:

 

[JoniMarin]

Some very rusty bits

 

[XTSTIMAN]

That looks more crusty than my rat project!

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

Derelict I must say, but saveable. If that Ti seat can speak...

So I'd give it a cheap but nice powdercoat (black for the forks), some Ti bling from CCP, M735/737 XT or M900 XTR stuff and here's a lightweight weapon for fast singletracks/pub runs.

So a proper resto object is this bike. Is the U.S.E. seatpost Ti? I can see most of the 7 speed XT is still there, even the pedals are retro Tiogas. So I'd follow that route, perhaps with a modern lightweight cassette and some 8 sp. low-profile cranks.

Old top-end Marins certainly has their charms, even with one foot in the grave.

 

[Lhatch4]

I agree that media blasting the old paint and rust off of the frame and powder coating is the way to go. Once you go full frame restoration, you're basically ready to do a full build to the spec that you want. The choice is really between cleaning it up and making it functional or going full restoration. I know what most of us want to see.