[CR]Vintage Cuevas and a familiar dilemma

(Example: History:Ted Ernst)

Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:53:22 -0700
From: "Jay Sexton" <jvs@sonic.net>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
References: <MONKEYFOODqZt3ZHtMk00001541@monkeyfood.nt.phred.org>
In-Reply-To:
Subject: [CR]Vintage Cuevas and a familiar dilemma

Clean it, polish it, wax it, forget the bondo, put it back together and ride it.

My two cents.

Jay Sexton Sebastopol, CA

Received the vintage Cuevas frame from eBay that was discussed here a couple of times. Good news is that what appeared to be rust in eBay photos was just dirt, and all the dirt washed off. The 531 frame decal is 90% gone and the fork blades have Campy decals where one would expect 531 fork decals. And there is the small dent in the top tube, which was clearly shown in the eBay photos. But most of the Cuevas decals are in pretty good shape. Paint overall is pretty good, although there are a number of small chips and stratches, most notably on the left seatstay. The bike is without doubt a genuine Cuevas, with the point at the front of the seatlug, the cross at the bottom of the steerer and the unusual joining of rear stays to DO's.

But this brings up a familiar dilemma. I had thought to have it restored, but now I inspect it closely, I think some touchup paint and a dab of Bondo on the dent, plus a few coats of wax, would make this frame pretty presentable. So what do y'all think? Would you rather have a presentable, though far from NOS, original Cuevas or a pristine restored one?

Regards,

Jerry Moos
Big Spring, TX