1953 Raleigh Sports Tourist Model 23

In my previous post "And so it Begins" I described refurbishing my custom Reynolds 531 10-speed, then getting redirected to a classic 1949 Comrade 3-speed.  Both of these efforts required numerous trips to my local bike shop Velo Classique for parts and advice.  On each of these trips I would walk pass a rusted hulk of a bike standing upright in a stand in front of the shop.  I paid little attention to it until the interest in three-speeds set-in.  This poor bike sat outside in all weather, the paint and chrome were completely rusted, someone had used a hacksaw to make the full fenders into half-fenders and removed the lower portion of the enclosed chaincase.  It had two sets of rusted headlamps on the handlebar, and both a tire driven bottle generator and a Sturmey-Archer front Dynohub.  There was industrial strength Scotch brand yellow reflective tape on every frame tube, these were the only places rust was not growing.  At some point it had been painted over including all decals, it did have a Raleigh headbadge, which was also painted over.  From the fork, and what was left of the fenders I could tell it was a Raleigh Sports. It had a Sturmey-Archer AW hub stamp dated 10-53 (Oct. 1953) and a Dynohub dated 9-53 (Sep. 1953).  After some research on the web I was able to determine this was a Sports Tourist Model 23, the distinguishing feature is the enclosed chaincase. The Model 22 Sports Light Roadster came equipped with a "hockey-stick" chain guard.  The Tourist model also could be equipped with optional Dynohub and lighting, which this bike has.      

I've always wanted to replicate the look of the classic English path racer/scorcher type bike.

These are very minimalistic looking bikes with no fenders, chain guard , brake levers etc. I thought the frame from this rusted hulk could serve as a starting point for a path racer type project, so I became the owner of a forsaken, mistreated 1953 Raleigh Sports.

I envisioned the project being a mix of modern and period parts, I wanted to retain the cotter cranks and iconic Heron chainwheel.  I started sourcing/ordering parts the project, but soon got involved in other interest and priorities.  In the intervening time I acquired a good assortment of used three-speed parts, and 2 additional  Raleigh Sports, a 1970, and 1972 "Gold Edition" (unique Gold paint, but lower quality components).  Once I got reengaged on the path racer project I started disassembly of the 1953 Sports.  Unfortunately I did not take any pictures before disassembly.  This is picture of the rusty components removed from the frame.

 

I sprayed all of the rusty fasteners with penetrating oil and let everything sit overnight.  The only component that resisted removal was the fixed cup of the bottom bracket, after several attempts I ordered the fixed cup remover from Bike Smith Design which took care of the problem.

Once the frame was stripped of its rusty components I could appreciate some of the unique aspects of this frame compared to later Sports frames.  There is a oiler port in the bottom bracket.

Below the set lug there is a braze-on for the traditional Sturmey Archer pulley, later models used a clamp-on pulley.

There is a braze-on the chainstay behind the chainwheel for attaching the enclosed chaincase  

The front fork dropouts are forged instead of stamped, with reliefs on the outer edges to accept the earlier style shoulder axle nuts (if you have picture of this type of nut please send a picture).  The Sports fork on the right is the later stamped style.  The fork on the right is the 1953.

The seat lug also shows the frame serial number 8811BT, according to the site at  http://kurtkaminer.com/TH_raleighserials.html this seems to confirm the frame as being a 1953.

I'm now starting to re-think my decision to use this frame for a path racer project.  It has several  original characteristics that were unique to the older Sports frames, so I'm thinking now I will use the frame from the 1970 Sports for the path racer project, and return the 1953 Sports to a near original state.  Next step will be replacing the hacksawed enclosed chaincase.

Please share your thoughts and experiences.