[CR]Help confirming a possible Raleigh Team Pro

(Example: Framebuilding:Restoration)

Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:52:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
In-Reply-To: <c8b.10e6c9.3260e60e@aol.com>
Subject: [CR]Help confirming a possible Raleigh Team Pro

I recently purchased this bike on eBay.

http://ebay.com/<blah>

Although it looked a lot like a Raleigh Team Pro, the poor pictures and description limited the bidding. I think only I and one other CR member among the bidders guessed this might be a Team Pro.

Received it today, am trying to positivelly identify it. It is the Team Pro color scheme as can be seen even in the poor pictures. The DO's are short Campy factory drilled front and rear. The the BB is REG, and rather oddly, the underside of the BB actually has groves cut into the shell for derailleur cable guides. Never seen this before, but looks too straight to be a homebrew modification. The chainstays carry decals saying "Raleigh Ilkston, Specialist Bicycle Developments". Near the top of the seattube is the outline of a tubing decal the right size and shape for a Reynolds decal, but the decal is otherwise completely gone, so it is impossible to tell if it was 531 or 753 or neither.

The underside of the BB is engraved "54" on one side and "SB 4068" on the other. I suspect "54" is the frame size.

So then, Raleigh gurus, is this in fact an Ilkston-built Team Pro as I now suspect? If so, is it likely 531 or 753? Does the serial number give any clue as to year of manufacture?

The frame seems structurally good, but may need to be repainted. Is there a list-connected painter who can supply the decals?

Regards,

Jerry Moos

Big Spring, Republic of Texas