Yet another Mongoose thread.

[CDBMX]

With 2017 starting to look a bit more promising than 2016 ever did, I decided to throw all my 1977 Goose parts into a single pile just to see what I had. I bought this one as a bare frame about four years ago & had been picking up components whenever the planets aligned. In this case it means whenever the right part turned up at the same time that I had some spare cash to buy it.

I rounded up the big bits to photograph & took stock of the smaller stuff.
I have the pedals, some B/Brackets, headsets, stickers & pretty much anything else I might need but am still missing a 1977 dated Ashtabula crank. A correct unbranded, seat post clamp would be good too. The version with the square holes for the pinch bolt.  [Anyone?]
Anyway, yet another project that I will try to undertake this year.

[rooski]

Looks like your off to a good start, albeit 4 years down the line!

These things take time............

[Taipan]

Can I have those wheels and tyres please? 

[factory pilot]

Can I have those wheels and tyres please? 

Wheels and tyres do look amazing ... I hope you finally manage to get this thing built this time

[CDBMX]

Thanks for the comments blokes, it's much appreciated.
Taipan, let me think about that, ..... errrrr NO. 

My main collecting & historical research interest revolves almost exclusively around Aussie made Quicksilver BMX. This one was & is a backburner project. It was only the realisation that I have close to 90% of it that has propelled me to bring it forward

I currently have six BMX projects on the boil. Two are almost finished with the others at various points along the way so progress is slow. This is because as I am shopping for components for another nine or ten bikes that I haven't started yet. Some are survivor /riders, some incompletes & one or two bare frames, so I have years of squandering meagre resources ahead of me to look forward to.

I'm going to try & polish the nickle on this one as it is in surprisingly good shape, so if I don't have Carpal Tunnel injuries or RSI already, then that too will be something to look forward to.

I have placed an ad in the wanted section for a crank.    Looking for parts is a bit like sex. If you don't ask, you don't get, & during the last few years, for lack of opportunity, I have unfortunately been celibate. I hope that's not an omen.

[BMX1973]

That's going to be a nice early Goose 

[CDBMX]

I now have the correct, unbranded, square bolt hole, seat post clamp. This is a part that was frequently discarded in favour of something with colour & more bling when these bikes were new. So finding an original after 40 years can be a challenge, & it was. I actually need two, one for my 1978 Quicksilver, so if anyone has a spare, ..............

None the less, it's another small step forward. I have given up hope of finding a 'good as new' Messenger seat that doesn't require me to mortgage the house [again] but I have a new, quite similar looking quilted seat, & that will have to do untill I win the lottery.
The correct 1977 dated Ashtabula crank is what I seek for it now.

[griff]

Looks great so far, good luck in your quest!

[CDBMX]

If there is one thing I have learned, it's that 'persistance pays' Keep asking for something often enough, & for long enough, then someone will give me a good lead, or sell me the item just to shut me up.
Works for me.

[CDBMX]

Yep, persistance pays.
A 1976 dated Ashtabula crank, ex a rotted Mongoose, has been sourced.  Additionally a Messenger seat has also been secured. A bit tatty, but it will suffice. Correct seat post clamp also secured. Getting very close to having enough parts to start actually building a bike now.
I think I will build it as a survivor at first, then get on with a few other restorations that I have on the boil.

[CDBMX]

Sadly, a bump in the road. It seems that after about 18 years I need to move from my current place of abode. To this end I am in the process of purchasing a modest house in a regional city some 45 miles away. With some luck I can start to move my stuff within a week, a process that might take as much as a month.

So I decided that I would assemble the 1977 Goose as a survivor so that all the parts were in the one place. I had not fitted the chain or pedals as the light was fading & I wanted to shoot some pictures. Hopefuly, this one will suffice.



The survivor headset was assembled from three used examples & the Schwinn bottom bracket from two. They are 100% serviceable, but have a patina that matches the bike.
The NOS wheels are a second set that I had. They came with all the original nuts & washers so I stuck them on but the unpainted ones will eventually be restored & fitted [see first post]
I switched the nice new lookalike seat that you can see in the first picture & replaced it with the good rider condition early Messenger example that I recently aquired

The nickle looks good enough to simply polish & I have a sticker set for it as well, so for now it goes into storage untill I move house, set up a new workshop & complete five other restorations that are fairly well advanced. Its mid autumn here now so I should be ready to go by the time the weather starts warming again.