Early 84 Performer = thoughts please!

[WINI]

Right, I've been scratching my head a bit on this one so thought I would open it up to the floor.

I have an early 84 unstamped GT Performer frame, serial showing it as March 1984. These were available at that time in chrome or white as far as my research has taken me. However when I have stripped some of the paint back to revel the serial, under the bad rattlecan yellow is a layer of pink (very much the shade GT produced the 85's in) and then bare metal. No chrome, no white.

All I can think is that either  A) GT did an early trial or a special in pink, or  B) Someone BITD went to great lengths to strip the OG white back to bare metal and had it professionally finished in GT pink. Then someone threw a rattlecan of lumo yellow over the top.

Any GT experts have any other ideas? I'm going to send to Dan for a new coat, but might rethink the white if it was OG pink?

[deeman]

Be rad if the OG colour is somehow pink.....white ones are a bit boring! I thought they first came in white, chrome and yellow? 

[That Swan Guy]

Be rad if the OG colour is somehow pink.....white ones are a bit boring! I thought they first came in white, chrome and yellow? 

you is correct but Wheelways in Grimsby (sole UK importer of GT in the 80s) did custom jobs on request too

[WINI]

Be rad if the OG colour is somehow pink.....white ones are a bit boring! I thought they first came in white, chrome and yellow? 

you is correct but Wheelways in Grimsby (sole UK importer of GT in the 80s) did custom jobs on request too

Hmm, that could fit. Do you think they started importing pre-stamp Nick?

[That Swan Guy]

Be rad if the OG colour is somehow pink.....white ones are a bit boring! I thought they first came in white, chrome and yellow? 

you is correct but Wheelways in Grimsby (sole UK importer of GT in the 80s) did custom jobs on request too

Hmm, that could fit. Do you think they started importing pre-stamp Nick?

Easily as the advert that showed the first Performer was theirs let me see if I can find it
And Eddie came over in 84 to promote it

[That Swan Guy]

Note the words: Complete bike available in April 84 which would mean that frame sets were available earlier.
And the frame is unstamped.

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[Gashead]

Be rad if the OG colour is somehow pink.....white ones are a bit boring! I thought they first came in white, chrome and yellow? 

you is correct but Wheelways in Grimsby (sole UK importer of GT in the 80s) did custom jobs on request too

Not strictly true, as the guy from Bikeology in Bristol also brought them in the UK, I remember he had pink GT’s and Skyways direct from the states, as custom bikes, brought alsorrs over 👍

[WINI]

So what’s the concensus, do I go pink or white? Not mint enough for chrome

I’m starting to favour a return to its original pink

[Faze 3]

I know this isn't strictly relevant. But throwing this into the mix.

Back in 85, I stripped with nitromorse the white powder off my haro master, and painted it orange.

If that bike was found today, someone would perhaps think, they'd stumbled across an orange 84 master

[deeman]

Pink all day long Mark 

[WINI]

I know this isn't strictly relevant. But throwing this into the mix.

Back in 85, I stripped with nitromorse the white powder off my haro master, and painted it orange.

If that bike was found today, someone would perhaps think, they'd stumbled across an orange 84 master

Hence scenario B) though looking at the thickness and quality of the paint, I doubt it’s been done ‘at home’

[factory pilot]

How early was Dave Breed riding a pink performer.. ?
Just because it’s 84 doesn’t mean it didn’t sit around until 85 to be painted .. probably got left near the back of the pile in the factory and eventually, in 85, got painted ?

[oldschoolace]

^^^^^^ This

Huge bug bear of mine that people get caught up on dates and catalogues like these companies ran a super tight ship with their serials
Highly likely it was still in the warehouse come 85 and just got painted pink!

Go with the pink 

[WINI]

^^^^^^ This

Huge bug bear of mine that people get caught up on dates and catalogues like these companies ran a super tight ship with their serials
Highly likely it was still in the warehouse come 85 and just got painted pink!

Go with the pink 

Spot on, mine too. It’s well known that even the ‘high end’ companies BITD didn’t meet the quality standards of today or even match their own declared dimensions. We’ve built some of these manufacturers up to be something they weren’t, quite frankly.

Two in the pink, one in the stink 👈

Pink it shall be

[kalex]

I know this isn't strictly relevant. But throwing this into the mix.

Back in 85, I stripped with nitromorse the white powder off my haro master, and painted it orange.

If that bike was found today, someone would perhaps think, they'd stumbled across an orange 84 master

Hence scenario B) though looking at the thickness and quality of the paint, I doubt it’s been done ‘at home’

I'd say this is spot on as even bitd kids dad's worked in body repair shops etc.

[WINI]

It’s a possibility, no way of knowing unless I can track down the original owner I guess.

[Wayne Ryder]

I had an early, white GT Performer. Always annoyed me that the platform tubes weren't flush with the toptube. Pretty sure it wasn't stamped.
At some point, it went off to Space Designs for a repaint, loud pink. A little after that, the forks were repaired, turned out one of the dropouts was only welded top & bottom so a friend got it welded for me.
If you're anywhere near Derbyshire, I wonder if it's my old one.

[WINI]

I had an early, white GT Performer. Always annoyed me that the platform tubes weren't flush with the toptube. Pretty sure it wasn't stamped.
At some point, it went off to Space Designs for a repaint, loud pink. A little after that, the forks were repaired, turned out one of the dropouts was only welded top & bottom so a friend got it welded for me.
If you're anywhere near Derbyshire, I wonder if it's my old one.

Wow, that's an interesting lead! Yeah they guy I bought it from lives in north Derbyshire, though I think he's originally from the Manchester area. There can't be too many of them around in the same place, unstamped and with fork issues. Mine came with Landing gear so the OG forks were obviously ditched at some point. Don't suppose you have any old pics or know if they painted over the OG white or stripped it?
Cheers for the info!

[Wayne Ryder]

No Sweat, unfortunately the guy who had the frame after me has (bloody recently) deactivated his Facebook account. Chesterfield's North-East Derbyshire and both he and I lived near there at the time.
I remember the paintjob was spot-on, really good quality. Probably stripped, but Terry Jenkins has been on here before, he might be able to say for sure how they were done.

Interesting that the forks had gone by the time you got it. I was riding in a park and there was a creak when I pedalled, took ages to find. One outer edge of the left dropout was completely bare and I'd been riding it with only the inside top and bottom blobs of weld in place for over a year. One of them had snapped and it was rubbing together. Scary really, and my lovely pink paintjob was ruined!
I still have the Pro Performer bars, once white, now Smoothrite black with a crimp from the stem.

[deeman]

This is getting really interesting......

[WINI]

Cool photo! Thanks for the digging mate. It could well be the same, although I was looking for some evidence with the parts as I bought it complete and they were very different to the one you have shown. I know this doesn't make it conclusive, as someone may have bought the frame only and added they're own parts but it would have really sealed the deal if the same parts were attached too. In my case, it came with red tuffs, CW experts, Shimano DX etc.

I could get hold of the previous owner and ask, though when I bought it, he couldn't remember where and when he got it BITD.

Looks the right shade of pink though!

[Wayne Ryder]

I can pretty much guarantee I only sold the frame & forks, the parts would have been kept. I THINK I swapped the GT for a Haro Master at one of the Alfreton comps.

[WINI]

I can pretty much guarantee I only sold the frame & forks, the parts would have been kept. I THINK I swapped the GT for a Haro Master at one of the Alfreton comps.

This gets more interesting. Is Ryder your actual surname? The guy that put me on to the guy who had the GT (his best mate) is called Ryder.....

[Wayne Ryder]

Yep, real name because a dreamt up alias would sound stupid to me the next day. Or maybe it's just lack of imagination.

By the way, I'm becoming more sure by the day that it was swapped at Alfreton and not sold or bartered with the guy who recently quit Facebook (who lived pretty close by and would sometimes have the old stuff after I'd bought new).

If this really is the same frame from all those years ago, it's pretty odd/cool that two people with the same surname have owned it. Not so much if we'd been called Smith.

[QUADROPHENIA]

Ordered mine months b4 they got imported, mine was was shipped from the states via another importer, the advert nick put up was late to the game as far as I can remember