[CR]GLORIA frame....

(Example: Production Builders:Frejus)

From: "Norris Lockley" <Norris.Lockley@btopenworld.com>
To: <kendenny55@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 2004 10:23:15 +0100
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]GLORIA frame....

Hello, Ken

Thanks enormously for your two emails about these Gloria frames. I had heard of them, knew some of the tales about Masi and Colnago but didn't know much more. I have some Gloria brakes kicking about somewhere and now understand a lot more about their provenance. The photos you emailed were somewhat breat-taking, to say the least. Did you buy you 1937 machine in that condition or have you restored it? I particularly like the satin nickel/polished chrome finish - very difficult to achieve.

Some years ago,, probably around 1983 I made a frae for a UK TV personality, that he rode during a six-programme series about folk music in the Appelachian mountains. Great exposure for my bikes! Being a musician he decided to put a name to the frame and asked me to finish it in such a way as it could be called "The Silver Dream Machine" I gather there must be a song by that name.

Anyway I made it and asked the plater to satin chrome the tubes and to bright plate the lugs, crown fork ends. I had worked out a way that this could be done - OK it was a bit fiddly but nonetheless feasible.. and the British Broadcasting Corporation would foot the bill! He downright refused, so the machine ended up as "the Tangerine Deam Machine" My "dream machine" would have black chrome tubes set off by bright chrome lugs etc. It's do-able but I'm still looking for a friendly and patient plater.

Now then the bad news! It would appear from studying your photos which are far more detailed than anything I had seen before I got this thread up and running, that my track frame probably is NOT a Gloria! Reason ? The lugs on my frame are far more decorative - with huge swirls at each lug. That description probably doesn't help much, but if you imagine the little swirl at the centre of a Nervex Pro head lug and then magnify this until it fills all the lug space, then refine it and taper the edges away finely - then you get somewhere near what I've got.

The frame, still in its aerosol spray finish isn't very photogenic ie no real definition of the lugs, but I will have to make a shot at getting some photos of it.

So.. it's back to the drawing board on this project..

Norris Lockley...very deflated.. Settle UK