Manton & Smith Progress

The MS roadster continues to come together very slowly. I had a little time to rebuild the bottom bracket set and to mount the head badge this weekend.

The bottom bracket was composed of old Wald parts, with a 52 tooth chain ring that had been painted a couple of times. My plan to build a 3-speed coaster brake wheel set for the bike urges a smaller chain ring. I have a nice clover-type chain ring with 46 teeth in my parts bin, so I will give that one a try. My plan is to run 46 teeth in front, 22 in back, giving a nice range of gears with the three speed hub. The ratio is the same as I use on my 1974 Raleigh Sports and is pretty forgiving but still has a little top end to it, when you need a little more speed.

The head badge mounted via #2 U-Type drive screws at 1/8 inch long. I used the same method as with my 1958 Raleigh: clean out the holes, mock up the head badge to make sure it aligns, then tap in the drive screws. The screws in this case are a size larger, but still look sharp without seeming clunky.

The Weather is Just Too Nice Not to Ride

 The weather lately has been excellent: temperatures in the 70s with low humidity. It's perfect riding weather and it's light enough in the evening to ride. I took the Schwinn New World out tonight and got a couple shots:

Manton & Smith Clean Up

Stripped the MS frame today and cleaned out the bottom bracket and headset cups. I used WD40 to wipe up the frame and fork, then used Scratch Doctor polish to polish the paint. The paint looks nice, though there is a little touching up to do before it's done.

I also cleaned up the handle bars and stem, polishing them with Simichrome. Simichrome is my pick for cleaning up metal parts, especially plated stuff. It's not cheap, but it does a great job. It is also worth noting that the bike makes heavy use of older, Wald parts. The bars, cranks, and stem are all marked "W" or "WALD". Manton & Smith was a small builder, so bought components from outside companies like Wald.  It is likely that this was a straightforward, relatively low cost bicycle in its time.

Manton & Smith (MS) Fenders

I devoted today to refurbishing the MS fenders. They really didn't need much done to them.

I did some minor dent removal, removed the braces, polished, and touched up.

The braces were held on by some old screws, which I believe the shop that repainted the bike used. They were uniform, decent quality screws but all had been cut by hand once installed. I removed them and will replace them with rivnuts for a smooth look.











The previous owner, "Fred" etched his name inside the fenders.

Touch up went well. I used an automotive grade touch up paint for the red. The front fender received both exterior and fender well touch up.














I only got the fender well of the rear done because it needed a little more patching.