Help with my first (BMX) build of Ammaco Team Sprint - any help appreciated !

[simonm]

Hi all,

After recently finding a pic of my old BMX I've managed to pick up a great condition Ammaco Team Sprint from Swivel on this board,
83/84 I think.  Now I'm onto sourcing parts and looking for loads of help ! so any advice appreciated.

Firstly, sizes.  I'm used to building modern MTB's but not used to BMX sizes,  I measured the headtube and it appears to be 1" does that sound right ?  Also Cranks,
there is a 2" hole for the crankset, seat post appears to be about 1 1/8" does that sound right ?

Secondly parts. Anyone have a list of parts that were originally used ?  My guesses so

far from Pics / research are as follows, if you can update that would be great.



Wheels   Alloy rims ARAYA ?
Tyres   Comp III skinwall tyres ? Size ?
Stem   SR 422 Stem blue !
Bars   CP Bars
Grips   Ammaco own ?
Cranks   Mongoose one piece ? looks same as Mongoose wirewheel
Chainring   
Pedals   DX Style (Shimano) Pedals ?
Brakes   Dual Alloy QR Brakes with Type III levers ?
Levers   Dia Comp copy
Seat   Ammaco Aero Saddle
Clamp   SR SUNTOUR
Post   What Diameter ?
HeadSet   size / type ?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

[Swivel]

Si mate, hi.

- I don't think they used Comp III's I believe they were copies also.
- The brakes were definitely copies too.
- Chainring was either Sugino or Stamped Ammaco (hard to find now)
- Bars, unknown but Tioga bars are very very similar, so are the Burner v-bars (I have an unchromed set you can have for next to nothing)
- Seat, deffo Ammaco stamped. Wasn't made by aero but was a copy.
- Headset, was a cheap headset, no name as such
- Grips, not sure
- I thought the stem was Suntour copy in Blue? I have an Ammaco stem in green that could be painted blue that you are welcome to.
- I have one of those Ammaco cranks with that Ammaco chain-wheel, contact me for pics.

I think that's it, or as much as I can remember

Let me know if you need those other bits..

Matt 

[Swivel]

Si, if you need pics of all the Ammaco stuff I have to sell, LMK. I have some of what you require dude. I just realised I have the Ammaco copy MX brakes and levers in my garage also. They are green but could be stripped and painted blue? They came off my ammaco team pro around the same date.

Kind regards,

Matt 

[simonm]

wow, thanks for all the info Matt. Feel cheeky downloading what must have taken you years to learn !

Intrested in the Ammaco Cranks / Chain wheel. Do you have a pic ?

Re-stem.  In the catalouge i've found it listed as SR 422 stem - silver on all models I think.

Er to sound non internet savy, what does LMK mean ?

[simonm]

Ive sourced some levers, Brakes sound intresting.

[bmxbob]

wow, thanks for all the info Matt. Feel cheeky downloading what must have taken you years to learn !

Intrested in the Ammaco Cranks / Chain wheel. Do you have a pic ?

Re-stem.  In the catalouge i've found it listed as SR 422 stem - silver on all models I think.

Er to sound non internet savy, what does LMK mean ?

LMK :- LET ME KNOW

 

[simonm]

Doh of coarse it does     must brush up on my TLA's

thanks all. Can;t wait to get this baby built up 

[simonm]

Matt / anyone,

Can you fill me in on the sizes.. headset, BB, seatpost.

ta.

[rooski]

HI MATE HEADSET IS 1", SEAT POST SHOULD BE 7/8"  AND BB SHOULD BE A US STANDARD BMX BB.

[simonm]

Cool thanks for info.. 7/8ths. thats a funny old size... ta.

[bobafett]

Hi Simon - don't know where your up to on your build mate but just thought i'd let you know that i have a set of ARAYA 7X in blue ano - they were NOS rims and hubs built up with new spokes but they have been ridden so have brake rub - the ano is mint on the inside of the rim still, and the hubs and spokes are mint - i was gonna polish the brake rub and make them shine sides as they'll look sweet with that done - also got a set of V bars that came off an ammaco - chrome is pitted so better to be re-chromed i think or maybe try an OA bath on 'em ? LMK if your interested in either and i'll fire some pics over to ya 

[simonm]

yeh, V intrested.  Fire the pics / price over please.

Cheers.

[bobafett]

Will do bud - I'm in work at the mo but i'll get 'em over to ya tonight - I think i've got some blue comp 3 copy tyres as well if i remember rightly 

[simonm]

aha... cool. look foreward to seeing pics.. ta.

[Spen69]

Hi Simon

Well it was only a matter of time before I spotted a post about Ammaco bikes mate - I think Matt (Swivel) and me have owned them all in the past bud, so we can help.

Matt is your man when it comes to a historic true builds and knowledge, but I build mine how I'd have done them BITD (Back In The Day) if I'd have had a few quid more than my paper round and pocket money would let me stretch to. Back in 1982 my folks bought me an Ammaco 202 which was not a great bike let's face it. I flogged it in 1983 when I got a Mongoose Californian which got upgraded, raced and ridden off any ramp I could find, so my interest has always been building the bikes I had back then. Having done this, I upgraded them piece at a time and now I have these two examples:

1982 Ammaco 202 found NOS in a box in an old bike shop basement by my brother 9 years ago and my first build:


Now it has Pro-Class wheels with GT intermediate tyres, DC MX900's with Tech3's, Tuff Neck stem and an Aero saddle. Whilst it rides a bit rubbish to be honest, I love it as it's how I wanted to build my original bike nearly 30 years ago, so I just ride it every now and then. I will NEVER sell this bike, especially as it has my original 1983 Pro-Class wheels on it that my dad kept in his shed when I put a set of Tuffs on my 'goose......

1984 Ammaco Team Champion bought off here (cheers Wolfiehere ) about a year ago:


This bike is a bit more ridable and I ride it around racetracks for fun. It's got Araya 7X's in red with a Sugino 3-pc crank and new DC MX901 brakes. It's not a bad little toy and is light, despite the oversize tubes. I'll eventually sell this bike I'm sure, but I like it a lot right now and enjoy riding it like I stole it round tracks!

My advice is to build what you can afford. Ammaco were the poor man's Mongoose originally BITD, so the parts weren't top-notch but because f that, they are quite difficult to find decent ones. You often find you could get better parts for the kind of money you're paying to build the bike as it was from the factory, but the truth of the matter is the first thing we all did as kids was swap bits and upgrade your bikes when ever you could (or broke something )

Finally, to help you get an idea of what your bike could look like, here's another bike I will never sell as it's a proper antique, my 1978 Team Mongoose. It's got blue Araya 7X's and blue Comp's on it, so I hope it helps inspire you to get the bike finished.



Most important thing about this site is it's full of idiots like me who refuse to grow up and love nothing better than to ride about on bikes far too small for them and simply don't care as we love it. Put a wanted add on the wanted pages for bits and people will help you no problem, but don't forget if you buy a 1980's Mongoose stamped crank, make sure you get the BB (Bottom Bracket) to fit it as they are a special thread that will cost a fortune to buy new if you have to

Post some pics when the buke's built mate and keep us posted on the progress.

Regards - Spen

[Swivel]

Cheers for the comments Spen, you're a darling   

Simon, i'll get up some pics today of the ammaco brakes, stem and crank. I'll post them on this thread. Then let me know what you're after. All came off the Team Pro and Team Sprint (another one I had).

Those ammaco v-bars that Bobafett sound good, and bloody rare also, so i'd grab those!

Speak soon,

Matt 

P.S. and spen, that 1984 is fooking beautiful 

[Spen69]

Morning Matt

Do people not sleep on this website? At least I'm sat on a train heading up to Edinburgh so I'm bored and should really be working!

Let's see your Ammaco's then bud......

Spen

[Swivel]

  Morning bud...    Well sold a few recently, only 2 x Team Pro's left (one basically NOS) and another Freestyler in the loft. I have this beauty built up which you've all seen before....  Seat clamp has changed since these pics and the redline stem now has the correct sticker and the headset is being changed to an Epoch GT in Green next week

[simonm]

Cheers Matt / Spen. All good advice..   I missed that with the V-bars.. I'll re-read fets PM.

Cheers.

Dont suppose anyone wants to swap a black SR stem for a silver or blue one ?

[bobafett]

Right then here's a pic of the bars cos i'm not an ammaco expert (if it ain't a goose i'm fooked  ).
They came off an ammaco but i'll leave it to you guys to ID them :


Also - swivel that stem you've got there on the green fella - you say its a redline ? Cool - i'm sure i've got this exact stem (came on a frame i bought) but i mistook it for a mongoose FS-1 stem - i was going to chuck it up in the for sale section as it's no use to me - i'll take a look at it again an see if it's the same - not bad condition, needs new bolts really as they are rusty, but the paint finish looks OK (grey i think) wht d'ya think its worth 

[Swivel]

Nice bars, deffo ammaco mate! Simon buy them now 

As for the redline stem, if its a proper one about £60 in a good condition, needs resto about £45 and a copy about £30. You can't really tell the difference with the copy at all mate to be honest, all look the same but some of the redlines are stamped and painted "REDLINE" at the front, some are not (like mine)

Cheers,

Matt 

[Swivel]

Si mate, hope you're well

If you want originality, then it needs a copy Suntour stem. I have an Ammaco one off a Team Sprint. I'll get some photos right now of the stuff for you.

Matt 

Cheers Matt / Spen. All good advice..   I missed that with the V-bars.. I'll re-read fets PM.

Cheers.

Dont suppose anyone wants to swap a black SR stem for a silver or blue one ?

[simonm]

Cheers Matt,

BTW, Who else made V-Bars.   These look like Ammaco...  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kusuki-Alloy-Win-V-Bars-Blue-Oldschool-BMX-NOS_W0QQitemZ220301366970QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item220301366970



and these on feebay,



These ones look the closest...  (My old bike had Blue bars - was trying to replicate  that)


I guess its the detail,  how far down the V-Bar is mounted on each varies and compare to original.

here is my original bike,

[Swivel]

Si hi mate. All of them are not ammaco bars.

1st one - WinV bars. Alloy. All ammaco's were steel.
2nd one - looks cheap and nasty, v is too low down
3rd one - Wrong style and alloy also, incorrect for ammacos.

If you want blue, buy the correct bars, get them blasted and powdercoated, won't cost you more than £20.

Cheers,

Matt 

Cheers Matt,

BTW, Who else made V-Bars.   These look like Ammaco...  http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Kusuki-Alloy-Win-V-Bars-Blue-Oldschool-BMX-NOS_W0QQitemZ220301366970QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item220301366970



and these on feebay,



These ones look the closest...  (My old bike had Blue bars - was trying to replicate  that)


I guess its the detail,  how far down the V-Bar is mounted on each varies and compare to original.

here is my original bike,

[simonm]

BTW, checked on the third ones, they are steel... they look pretty close to me.... oooo ponders ponders !  BTW, if I powder coat they wont look the same blue as annodized kit would or dia compes. How do they get that look ?