Men`s Brittany 3 Speed Restoration, Free-Spirit, Sold by Sears & Roebuck (Crank/Headset)

Hello and Welcome, One of those "tropical storms" that have been causing all kinds of problems for millions of Americans this year has finally made it all the way to Michigan. The rain is coming out of the east today. When the rain comes from the east here, it tends to stay longer. What a nice day to stay inside and update the blog. BELOW: The unrestored 3 speed Brittany parked behind the restored woman`s 12 speed Brittany. These are the only "before pics" I could locate.

BELOW: The first order of business is to strip it down to the frame then clean-up the frame and fenders. And clean-out the bracket shell. The paint is so nice, I have decided to not do any paint touch-up.

BELOW: I am not going to go into detail about the bottom bracket which is almost exactly the same as the bottom bracket on the step-through Brittany. To see the bottom bracket rebuild go to the post dated Aug 26 2011.

BELOW: The Crank / Chain-ring before rust-removal and polishing. I used the fine brass wheel-brush on the rechargeable drill and a fine brass detail brush. Being this crank is steel I polished it with Turtle-Wax Chrome Polish & Rust Remover.

BELOW: The crank and arms back on the bike. I was pleased with how they came out. They (crank and arms) were much rougher than on the woman`s Brittany. This bike had two more years to rust as it is a 1984 model. I also suspect it was parked in a much damper spot.

BELOW: The headset, I tried something new here. I taped over the cup to protect the paint which allowed me to brush the cup with out removing it. This did not work well at all. I should have used the Mother`s Aluminum and Mag polish on it first. Actually, I think the Mother`s alone would have been sufficient.

BELOW: The Crown Race (A) cleaned and polished with Mother`s (sometimes there is a seal that fits over it as well). The upper Adjustable Race (B) (screw-down) cleaned w White-Lightning Clean-Streak. On this head-set the Gear-Toothed Spacer (C)goes over the adjustable race. (there are matching gear teeth on the top of the adjustable race) they inter-lock. The Washer (D) on this headset is not keyed. I am guessing that the two piece gear-toothed adjustable race makes the key unnecessary.(this toothed type adjustable race is sometimes called a Bear-Trap). The Lock-Nut (E) sometimes called a Cap-Nut has a little pitting.
All these parts (excluding the crown race) where cleaned with White-Lightning.
(F) Is called the "Steerer" or "Steerer Tube". I like to lightly grease the tube
(including threads) because someday someone else will need to take it apart.

BELOW: The (headset) top bearing cup cleaned with Mother`s with the cleaned bearings (white-lightning) greased and in place. I also lightly coat the inner cup with grease.

BELOW: The lower bearings in place and "heavily greased" to hold them in place while I install the steerer / fork. I will wipe-off the excess grease as I insert the steerer. Once the steerer is in place, you just screw down the top-race (also lightly pre greased inside)Now it will hold inself together while you install the remaining spacers /washers and cap-nut.

BELOW: Now we are ready to clean-up the stem. But where is the wedge-nut? Oh yeah it is stuck in the steerer tube. I honestly forgot about that.

Below: Removing the stuck wedge nut from the steerer tube was really not a big deal. This was one of those moments I am glad I never throw anything away. I took a piece of threaded-rod with a nut screwed-on, just enough so it is flush with the end of the rod. Then I insert the rod (nut end first) from the bottom of the steerer tube, which goes all the way through the fork crown. Then a slight tap from below with the ball-peen hammer and it broke loose. Then I just pushed the wedge-nut out the top. Afterwards I cleaned-up the stem and with Mother`s. I also used the wheel-brush on the wedge-nut and "lower" stem. (lower=below the max line) I always lightly grease the stem below the max-line. And I also lightly grease the wedge-nut to protect it from corrosion. This will also prevent it from getting stuck, again.

BELOW: Here is a shot of the head-set assembled with the stem in place. If you left click on the image you might be able to see the interlocking pieces of the "Bear Trap" adjustable race.

Well, I said there would more detail about the Headset when I posted the men`s Brittany. I hope this wasn`t over-kill. I`m thinking this is about enough info for one day. I`ll pick-up this restoration where I left-off on the next post. Until then RIDE SAFE and Remember to Always.. RESCUE,RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers, Hugh