First Build advice and tips mid 80's GT Pro Peformer

[paul_harrow_mid80s]

Ok sorry complete novice so dumbo questions.....

so I want to start my first build which as the title says will hopefully be a mid 80's GT pro performer. What advice tips can you people give to help me on my way? My main issue is how do I source the parts and then know they are genuine? I have been checking ebay for a month or so now and only two frames have come up one looked pretty sus the latest one looks good to my untrained eye but not sure if I should go for it and thenwhat sod of cash I should max out at.

How have you guys sourced your bike parts for your builds I realise that's quite a generic question but would like to know. I suppose I could buy a rebuilt one but that isn't the what I am looking for as I want to rekindle the buzz you would get of building the bike yourself.

Anyway any help appreciated.

[HEYWOOD BMX]

  Hi Paul,

 Just ask on here if/when you need any advice,99.99% of members are sound.If you get a site supporters tag (£10 min donation) you`ll also be able to view the sales/wanted boards & maybe pick up genuine parts from fellow radsters.


                                 James

[sweetbeats]

Have a look on BMX Museum and rad museum at performers from the era you want and compare them with ones you are looking at-they should look similar,find out how the serial number sequence should run for that specific era and where it should be stamped eg drop out/bb etc

Parts Wise if you are building a GT performer the only parts likely to be sold as copies are the bars and seatpost so double check before you purchase...the rest should be a doddle 

[paul_harrow_mid80s]

Have a look on BMX Museum and rad museum at performers from the era you want and compare them with ones you are looking at-they should look similar,find out how the serial number sequence should run for that specific era and where it should be stamped eg drop out/bb etc

Parts Wise if you are building a GT performer the only parts likely to be sold as copies are the bars and seatpost so double check before you purchase...the rest should be a doddle 

Where do I get the info on the serial numbers?

Also what sort of £££ should I expect to pay, don't want to wade in and conversly miss a bargin not that I imagine I would find one.

Saying that I have memories of a garage with a pile of crap in it next to a b+b I stated at which had a rusty old GT proformer laying about in it which caught my eye at time. I remember thinking I should go and see if I can get that - itching to go down there and see if its still there and what it is



This is the frame I've seen

http://cgi.ebay.com/Old-School-1985-Chrome-GT-Pro-World-Tour-BMX-Frame-MINT_W0QQitemZ120408975573QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item120408975573&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50#ebayphotohosting

[steve Beech TA]

Hi Paul

All i can say is, there is wealth of knowledge on here, as you are building your bike ask whatever questions you need and someone will know the answer. I am not a freestyle fan so have never realy kept an eye on prices of pro performers, but it my be worth putting a post up in the wanted section for the parts you need as you need them, especially for the parts that may be easly copied as peeps on here wont knowingly rip you of, its a relatively small community and a great place to spend time.

One note of caution, this wont be your only build. I got into this bye building a Skyway TA, my dream bike BITD, and 5 bikes later still wanting to do more it is addictive really adictive.

so good luck mate and dont forget to take plenty of pics along the way, so we can have a look

cheers steve 

[steve Beech TA]

just had a quick look over last couple of months, F&F's in chrome have been up between 240 & 280, this is only a guide as it depends on who wonts one at the time, you may get one for less or more

hope this helps, i am sure someone will be able to give a better price range 

[telelogic]

Just finishing my first build, also a performer! Just got to connect the cables and she's ready to ride

My advise would be to just do as much homework as you can before you start buying anything! I only have 2 stems and and three seat posts left over as my build comes to a close, witch I think isn't too bad for a first go. I did however buy an 84 F&F only to find it was an early 85 when it arrived I wasn't too put out about it, but it is easy to get it wrong, especially when the vendor is a twat!

I waited till I had all the parts before I built anything up. getting the right parts together really becomes fun in itself, but when they go together that first time it's just amazing! suddenly you remember what it was all about, I just looked at it for hours, so pretty!

you should get a pretty good deal on parts as they have come down a few quid since I bought mine.

make a list of parts you want on your bike and except nothing less.

good luck to you bro, and make sure you enjoy the journey

[DIRTBIKER250F]

Mid 80s should be stamped GT on the parts, i am building an early 85 one at the min and the bars n seatpost are stamped with a little round gt logo. I know Wardy is selling a stamped gt seatpost so maybe give him a PM, also f&f high end prices go to the early Usa f&f ie 84 three hole drop outs and very early 85 4 hole drop outs. Pete (Quadrophenia) is the site's GT guy so if your unsure about anything maybe drop him a PM with the link your looking at  am sure he will like me telling you that  .

Dont dive in unless your sure about the item price and authenticity, search sites and ebay for bargains and buy a site supporter tag so any parts that come up on here you can go for  enjoy your build as performers are very under rated, they are also great bikes to ride 

[sweetbeats]

Nice frame,if like the one in the pic it has a baseball logo after the serial number this means it is made overseas either taiwan or japan (can't remember which I am having a funny friday) and not a usa made frameset so expect to pay less where ever you see a lil' baseball as they are less desirable to collectors 
Like DB said Quad is Mr GT and sure he will be happy to chat GT and answer your questions,it's all a learning curve and this is the one stop shop for knowledge and enlightenment
Good luck with the build

[thecrooch]

theres a beauty for sale at the moment in for sale section.....

[g_lamb]

there was a white GT Performer f+f for sale starting @ £230 on the bay recently - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OLD-SCHOOL-GT-BMX-GT-PERFORMER-F-F_W0QQitemZ110376686371QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item110376686371&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A13|39%3A1|240%3A1318

The chap might still have it. I was quite tempted by this one myself...

[paul_harrow_mid80s]

Firstly thanks guys....

Sweetbeats thanks for the baseball info - want a yank one now thought they all were back then.

Telelogic - Exactly that's what I remember enjoying was building the bike. or taking it apart greasing everything then rebuiding it.

Cooch and Haro OS boy, that is a beauty and would be proud to build something like that. I think its on ebay however although the bike looks exactly as I want to build bar the lay back seat stem (maybe I haven't decided on that as I am taller now ) sadly I have a strong adversion to the colour red... The cranks, gyro, bars, wheels and brakes (depending on what colour I build) are what I am looking for though.

G-Lamb that looks real nice..


I also just looked at GT Pro's which was my BITD and want to build one of those as well - you are right its a bit of a bug...

[rhino_mac]

I'm almost at the end of my first build - a Kuwahara Laserlite. I thought it would take months to find half the parts but once you start talking to people and posting in the wanted section all sorts of bits come out of the woodwork - I thought an Elina Turbo saddle would be impossible to find but someone on here came up trumps.

The tip about making a list and accepting nothing less is diamond. Decide early on what floats your boat in terms of quality and aim for that as it's often cheaper to buy a mint frame than rechrome/repowder. Complete bikes tend to make less money than building your own out of parts, but you may have to compromise a bit on what you get.

If it's a show bike (as mine is) don't buy anything that isn't NOS or mint as it probably won't make it onto the bike - you'll replace it because a better one will come up before you finish and that can get expensive (I'm on my second set of Araya's and the bike isn't finished yet).

Hunting down the parts is great fun - like a treasure hunt only (much) more expensive. It is addictive - I'm already thinking of my next build (most likely an early Redline).

Good luck - I've found everyone on here really friendly and full of good advise. There are specialists on every brand so nothing will go unanswered.

Get a Site Supporters tag as well - best £10 you will spend as Ebay is expensive generally compared to this site. For example, I paid £250 for my frame, £60 for forks and £140 for my bars off Ebay, and could have bought frame/forks for £200 on here and bars for £40. That's a big saving but hard to find parts in the for sale section can only be up for a matter of minutes and you need to be able to post in the thread to dib them first. You need a site supporter tag to do that.

[QUADROPHENIA]

there was a white GT Performer f+f for sale starting @ £230 on the bay recently - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OLD-SCHOOL-GT-BMX-GT-PERFORMER-F-F_W0QQitemZ110376686371QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Bikes_GL?hash=item110376686371&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A13|39%3A1|240%3A1318

The chap might still have it. I was quite tempted by this one myself...

i heard the chap that owns that is rather sexy    us made 84 dont come up very often, pre stamp 84's are getting really quite rare now, i know there are a couple of people on here with them but the buggers wont let em go.i got no problem at all with the 85's but my wife said i can never own them all  . parts for them are always about so no need to buy any old stuff, take your time there is no rush.  also go check the harrow skatepark in the freestyle section 

[darkersomeday]

Gt performers from the mid are utter shit

Get some dignity a build a standard/s&m

[trasher]

hi paul

as has been said this hobbie gets pretty addictive ,,iv been back into it for less than a year ,and im on my fourth build 

when i came back into it my aim was to build a bike i had back in the day ,a curtis pro ,,, didnt think i had much chance of finding one
then one came up on the bay ,i paid over the odds ,then had the frame re chromed ,and i know i will never get back what i have paid out for the f+f ,but iv got what i set out to get ,it even won bike of the month last month ,which im totally stoked about ,,now you would think that
would be the end of that ,but i still keep buying 

as the lads have said get a site supporter tag ,you will find yourself constantly refreshing your browser ,in the for sale section ,just so you dont miss out on the part you require ,,,it gets pretty mental ,,,be prepared to fall out with the misses over the coming months ,when she
starts to feel neglected ,and says you talk to those people on that computer more than me 

heres a site to take a look at to see what year parts came out ,just so you can get your era correct build right 

http://martinbike.jalbum.net/Parts/index.html

happy buying and building dude