I once thought it took about as much to restore a Model A Ford as a Senior Packard, but you had a lot less at the end. And then I took on restoration of a 1965 Sears Roebuck (Puch) Ted Williams Sport Racing from 1965. Just because it was a dup. of my first 10-speed, and the Campy Record derailleurs (Weinmann CPs, Weinmann rims, Normandy HF with round holes and QR) gave it a certain in-your-face panache.
Sanity slowly crept in, and it has gone slowly... Finally decided that the front rim needed replacing, too -- just two pretzeled to pull back. The good news was the spare rim in the attic - or was it the flat-spotted one from the rear, replaced with my good spare? So, I cut away the rusty spokes (losing more originality, but the fragility was the final stroke), and compared the pretzel rim with the flat-spot rim. Used appropriately delicate tools (large rubber-face hammer, brute strength) to do the best possible on the flat spot and the warp, respectively. Laced up one or the other with fairly old DB Swiss spokes. There, that took an hour, plus or minus, and now I have a bike that is somewhat more ride-able and slightly less authentic.
are we all nuts?
Harvey "I'd never talk about Real Bikes this way" Sachs McLean VA