She loved it as is, but it was/is not ride-able yet. She thought the suicide brakes were awesome and I haven't had the heart to tell her yet that those will be going!
I purchased it for $7. Didn't even try to bargain them down (because the proceeds went to support a local church). I have also stripped some things off of it. That's the easy part.
The frame has very little rust and its not cracked anywhere. I cleaned up the handlebars with a bit of steel wool and they look good as new (although some chroming actually rubbed off but its hard to tell). I wish it had downtube shifters but alas, it does not. The shifters were on the headset but that will change.
Although I advertise that I love to fix up bikes it's probably more truthful to say that I love to "tinker" because whether I am actually good at fixing anything is debatable. Case in point, I took the headset apart to clean and regrease it and now I cannot get it back together because the bearings fell out. I'm pretty sure it won't be hard to replace the bearings, but such a maneuver was a little ambitious I suppose.
My only goal is to have it done by Spring. She won't need it before then.
I'm also trying to decide whether I want to powder coat it (she's asking for a dark pink, which I admit might look ok) or if I'll just leave it as you see it so that the classic Peugeot label will remain. What do you think?
In the end, the only original parts will be the frame, fork, bars and maybe the pedals. I will look into a three speed internal hub for her and maybe try my hand at building a wheel (now that would truly be over my head, but what fun to try!).
I'll post progress photos as they happen. Wish me luck.
Cool project, and I think she'll enjoy it. Regarding the finish, I suggest taking good care of your customer.
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Looks like a great find at an unbeatable price.
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