Haro Impulse Comp 1990

[johnv]

Here's my new project, a 1990 Impulse Comp. The paintwork is such that a respray, new decals etc. is required. For a while I wondered about rebuilding it as a higher spec extreme, but in the end decided to rebuild it close to the original spec ... I just like the idea of bringing it back to it's original condition.

Stripped down the frame...


All looks OK, so currently getting quotes for a respray (will keep the subtle neon yellow colour ). gil_m duly contacted, hopefully he can sort me out with some decals.

 

[johnv]

Re:

Bottom bracket was a pain ... bottom bracket lock rings were both plastic and completely trashed :facepalm:




In the end had to drill out the BB, it came away after some messing around. Unfortunately I was not as careful as I had thought with the drill on one side. Some of the threads were damaged

Thankfully the LBS sorted it out for 15 euro ... and drilled and re-tapped a couple of siezed bolts on the down tube at the same time ... phew ...

 

[johnv]

Re:

While I sort out the budget for the decals, powder coaters etc. I've been busy getting some of the parts in order.

Since I decided to keep the original spec, I went on the hunt for a suitable donor bike for a couple of bits missing in the original bike (mechs, wheels plus a couple of other bits). After some digging, realised that the Giant Coldrock from the same year has almost exactly the same Exage 400 LX spec components. Not a very high spec bike, these are very (very) common here, so decided to be patient and wait for one to come up for sale in my local area, for not much money.

A week or so I picked one up for 30 euro, not too far away. Reasonable condition and pretty original. The bonus was that the guy had replaced the stock saddle for a very nice Turbo saddle with yellow lettering (will look awesome on the Haro ) the brakes came complete with a hardly used set of Kool Stop pads, and he had replaced the stock Exage/LX STI shifters with some XTR shifters ... bonus Not sure how he got on with a 7 speed setup and 8 speed shifters ...

I won't be using the XTR stuff on this build, will try to stay with the original Exage/LX STI units (came on the Haro). A quick play with them tells me not to expect much from them, and I have read about how bad they are ... but I have this (stupid?) thing in my head to keep it original. Let's see how long I last with them.

So, now having a complete kit, I started with (what I now realise) is my favourite bit ... slowly cleaning and making it all look nice again.

I started with the rear wheel over the weekend....



Not sure if the fat boys will stay on the bike in the end. But they look nice for now.

 

[lae]

Re:

Great stuff. I was just thinking about my own Haro Impulse Comp which has sat in bits for six months after I got the frame painted.

Unfortunately my LH shifter is knackered with a badly worn pawl, and I donated the RH one to someone who needed it for their commuter! I'm sure I'll be able to find something eventually.

If you find a source of NOS decals let me know - I have made the artwork for a repro set but the printing cost is more than the bike will ever be worth!

 

[skolioza]

Realy like those frames!

 

[SEANSTEPHENS]

Re:

Cool, i used to have an extreme in yellow. Gil m quoted me £75 i think it was for graphics because he would of had to draw them from scratch, so i left the bike bare



Sean

 

[johnv]

Re:

thanks guys

I have my heart set on bringing this bike back with decals ... so might just take the plunge on this one. Might not make much sense taking in to account the cost of the bike, but hey, that's not what we are here for ... hope "the boss" agrees :-D

If there's anyone out there who is interested in a set and want's to split the costs a bit then I'm all ears

 

[SEANSTEPHENS]

Re: Re:

thanks guys

I have my heart set on bringing this bike back with decals ... so might just take the plunge on this one. Might not make much sense taking in to account the cost of the bike, but hey, that's not what we are here for ... hope "the boss" agrees :-D

If there's anyone out there who is interested in a set and want's to split the costs a bit then I'm all ears

The bike posted above cost me £20 believe it or not (plus the cost of a rattlecan repaint) so i couldnt bring myself to spend that much on stickers

Sean

 

[johnv]

Re:

Wow, looks great for 20 quid. So far I'm at 26 euro for the Haro and 30 euro for the donor bike (I'm not counting the bottom bracket "issue"

Just got a pretty reasonable quote from gil for the decals. @lae will find out what 2 sets cost as well, just to see if something makes sense here.

John

 

[lae]

Re:

Heh, the decals I have drawn up aren't quite the same as the originals (I took some inspiration from earlier Haro BMX decals, and a bit of artistic licence) but I will let you know. Also you'll have to factor in postage from New Zealand...