BSA Tour of Britain vintage road frame and parts – restoration project.

[y6GVRTBH]

L’Eroica BSA Tour of Britain vintage road frame and parts – my new restoration project.


I have now started my second BSA Tour of Britain which I have just purched.

It’s a BSA Tour of Britain form the late 1950’s and I belive is worthy of a full renovation. I’ve taken the chainset off, regreased the bottom bracket (which is quite smooth for its age) and replaced the cotter pins.

The chrome on the lower fork blades, fork crown and chain set is in really good condition – a previous owner decided to brush paint it blue.



It came with its original BSA chainset, pedals and Continental front hub



Specification:

Size: 22.5” seat tube and a 22.5” top tube.

 

[y6GVRTBH]

Having removed the blue hand painted paint you can see the BSA tour of Britain sports logo on the down tube and the white band with BSA on the seat tube but that is all that's left.

I am going to give the chrome a good clean, repaint the frame in Black and white and have got a new set of decals from H Lloyd cycles.

My issue is the bikes age, the serial number is N 32506, so according to the VCC register it is a 1962, 5 years after BSA sold the manufacturing?

It has all the lugs, head badge, pedals, chainset and oiler cap of a pre 1957 BSA, even on the casting has BSA 81434 all the same as my BSA 1954 model??

Does anyone have any thoughts??

The difference between the '54 model and this one the pump fixing lugs are on the top tube ( to take a 19' pump!) and really ugly also the rear derailier has a block to attach a adjusting screw.

Any thoughts?

 

[y6GVRTBH]

Having looked at some achieve BSA information i thought it might be a Model C8 which was produced in Black and white but that only came in a 21 1/2 or 23" frame size?

 

[y6GVRTBH]

The chrome is now looking a lot better and now starting to get the other parts from the web.

 

[verney carron]

Good Evening Dirt Disciple,
I have a pair of Continental hubs in vgc which came off a 1950s BSA Tour of Britain I restored about 30 years ago, which you are welcome to for the price of the postage from France where I now live. I'll need to check, but I think they have slotted holes rather than round like your single one. In those pre-computer graphic days, I had some TOB transfers commissioned for your exact model (downtube & seat tube versions), and I may still have a spare set which you can have as well if you like, if I can find them!
Best Wishes

 

[keithglos]

The genuine Tour of Britain frame from 1952 had butted 531 and 72 parallel. The tour of Britain sports was a complete bike aimed at the more affordable. Those tin can hubs were not very good, but if you are keeping it close to original then stuck with them.
The Tour of Britain frame I had in 1953 cost about £12.
I see you have the genuine BSA headset which was excellent.

Keith

 

[y6GVRTBH]

Good Evening Dirt Disciple,
I have a pair of Continental hubs in vgc which came off a 1950s BSA Tour of Britain I restored about 30 years ago, which you are welcome to for the price of the postage from France where I now live. I'll need to check, but I think they have slotted holes rather than round like your single one. In those pre-computer graphic days, I had some TOB transfers commissioned for your exact model (downtube & seat tube versions), and I may still have a spare set which you can have as well if you like, if I can find them!
Best Wishes

Thank you very much Verne’s, that would be fantastic, I have got two Dunlop rims coming from eBay soon. I guess you need to pm me with your details
Best regards, Pete
Not sure how to change the name Dirt Disciple, not a name I would have chosen!

 

[y6GVRTBH]

The genuine Tour of Britain frame from 1952 had butted 531 and 72 parallel. The tour of Britain sports was a complete bike aimed at the more affordable. Those tin can hubs were not very good, but if you are keeping it close to original then stuck with them.
The Tour of Britain frame I had in 1953 cost about £12.
I see you have the genuine BSA headset which was excellent.

Keith

Thanks Keith,
That’s my point, I have a BSA ToB that my dad purchased in 1954 from Enfield and this one is exactly the same, lugs, tubing, kingfisher oiler, head badge, frame casting number and it should not be! Why in 1962 was this bike the same build as it should have been built by Raleigh. It should have had the colourful BSA badge, not 531 tubes lugs we different but it does have a N serial number?.
My 1954 ToB is below.
Best regards, Pete

 

[y6GVRTBH]

The chrome has come up really well with a little bit of work,
Pete

 

[keithglos]

Those cheap pump pegs were used on many BSA models.
The lug set looks the same as on the Gold column that I bought new 1949, also 72 / 70. The fork crown was poor, and only took D to round blades. The Headset was far better than the popular Brampton or TDC efforts.

Keith