# 1920ish Excelsior Deluxe



## theterrym (Nov 26, 2016)

Its been almost two and a half years in the works. Its finally almost done. Im just waiting for my grips to show up and the cloth wire for the battery to light. The pedals are repops, but were the right price. 
I know there are many of you out there that were upset over me "restoring" this bike. I think it looks great and as far as I know its the only refurbished shiny new Excelsior Deluxe out there. If any one has another I would love to see it. Thanks to all who helped out with info and those who had the parts i needed. This couldnt have been done with out you guys!!


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## jkent (Nov 26, 2016)

Gorgeous! Put a set of Brians Bull Dog leather grips on it and call it a day.
JKent


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## rusty.kirkpatrick (Nov 26, 2016)

Nice colors on that beauty, stellar job.


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## catfish (Nov 26, 2016)

Very nice!


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## pedal_junky (Nov 26, 2016)

Beautiful. Nice colors.


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## Dave K (Nov 26, 2016)

Stunning!!!!!   What a great looking bike.  Thanks for posting.


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## Flat Tire (Nov 26, 2016)

Love it!


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## stoney (Nov 26, 2016)

Beautiful bike, great color combo


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## Junkhunter (Nov 26, 2016)

Beautiful. MayI ask how you did your wheels?


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## theterrym (Nov 26, 2016)

Junkhunter said:


> Beautiful. MayI ask how you did your wheels?



After i painted my rims i learned new tricks to make it easier, but.......I first painted them black then taped off and painted the maroon and then I painstakingly finelined and did the green. many hours to get it just right.


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## XBPete (Nov 27, 2016)

I had the pleasure last night of going back to your original postings on this fine bike.

I really enjoyed the read and the results,,,, just wow... fantastic and faithful resto!

Kudos!


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## locomotion (Nov 27, 2016)

great work, very nice restoration, the way I like them
is that a base coat, clear coat?
are those wood rims or steel clad?


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## Ed Minas (Nov 27, 2016)

Unbelievably gorgeous.  Nice work.  Would love to hear more about the prep for paint and the paint work you did to make this a show piece


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## mike j (Nov 27, 2016)

I'm finally able to put myself together enough to type, after crying all night about all that rust lost. Just kidding, fantastic job, thru 'n through. Love the colors, I remember the original postings also, it's a beauty.


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## theterrym (Nov 27, 2016)

Ed Minas said:


> Unbelievably gorgeous.  Nice work.  Would love to hear more about the prep for paint and the paint work you did to make this a show piece



Im an automotive painter at a custom shop so i do this type of stuff all day long.  The prep for paint is the same steps as any job. Some of you may want to stop reading because you may find it disturbing and painful to hear what i did. The fist Part the will hurt the most is.......I striped the bike down to bare metal (after taking dozens of photos). Of course the frame and fork both had some slight bends so straitened those all out. Once I was satisfied everything was strait and the dents were out of the fenders The painting began. If anyone wonders why hardware store spray paint is $8 a can and "real" paint is so expensive it is very simple.Spray paint is garbage. The color will fade, it is not durable and even spay can primer I would never touch. It washes off with cleaner.
I seem to be getting off topic a bit, back to paint prep. Since there is four colors it was really tough to figure out witch order to paint the colors. I began with a coat of etch primer and a single coat of sealer primer. If you dont etch prime the paint will have nothing to grab onto and you will have all sorts of problems. The Fenders I did use a high build primer and blocked them out to make sure they were arrow strait. The first color i did was the green then the maroon and emerald green. After this I cleared it all in. A few people asked if it is single stage or base/clear. Many frown upon base/clear, but I figure it is a better product(in my opinion) and if people cant tell the difference  i say use the good stuff. I am very envious of those who can stripe using a brush. I have no such skills. At work I use a striping tool often, but it would be quite difficult using on all the round surfaces. I opted for the hours of taping off with fine line. Once all the black stripes were on and looked good I did the final clear. I cleared it before I did the black stripes so If i screwed it up I could just clean it off and do it again. After letting the clear dry for about two weeks the wet sand and polishing began. another painful and lengthy process, but the results were worth it. All of my lines are far more "crisp" than any factory finish, but like I said I am useless with a brush so I did it the best I knew how. 
That pretty much sums up a green paint job on an Excesior.


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## theterrym (Nov 27, 2016)

locomotion said:


> great work, very nice restoration, the way I like them
> is that a base coat, clear coat?
> are those wood rims or steel clad?



I took of the original rims and hung them in the garage. Only the front was original to the bike and it was wood. I did the Velocity P90 swap so I could use modern tires.


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## locomotion (Nov 27, 2016)

theterrym said:


> I did the Velocity P90 swap so I could use modern tires.




I keep reading about Velocity rims, what are they exactly? and where are they sold?


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## theterrym (Nov 27, 2016)

locomotion said:


> I keep reading about Velocity rims, what are they exactly? and where are they sold?



I found out about them here on the CABE. The are intended for racing/mountain bikes with disk brakes. The contour of them is rounded the same shape as a wood rim and painted they look exactly the same. They are also a larger size 700C so they fit the bike just as the originals and i think they did come out at one point with a wood grain pattern. I did a quick search and here is a link.
https://www.amazon.com/Velocity-Blunt-SL-Rim-700c-Black/dp/B005ELVSJ2


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## pedal_junky (Nov 27, 2016)

locomotion said:


> I keep reading about Velocity rims, what are they exactly? and where are they sold?




A quick search here on the Cabe netted pages of info on Velocity wheels replacing 28 clad or wood wheels. I've built a few sets, they look and ride great.


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## oddball (Nov 27, 2016)

locomotion said:


> I keep reading about Velocity rims, what are they exactly? and where are they sold?




The rims you want are Velocity Blunt 35 29ers 32h or 36h, I've done a dozen or so and they're the best. Go to www.modernbikes.com for best price, $69.49 per rim per and $6.99 shipping for one rim or more, so get  a few who need them and save money. Made these up for my 1916 Sears Chief


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## theterrym (Nov 27, 2016)

Those are incredible!! The patina you put on them is astounding!! Now that is true art. Anyone can paint something shiny new, but it takes true creativity for this kind of work!!


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## oddball (Nov 27, 2016)

Thank you much, but your Excelsior is amazing, the colors are killer, great job!!


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## theterrym (Dec 30, 2016)

Im going to ask a question to you all that I know there is no real answer. What do you think its worth? I hate asking this question because I assume when people ask it they are pre advertising and seeing what someone is willing to pay. I AM NOT INTERESTED IN SELLING. Yesterday i renewed my house insurance and was looking at the bike and wondered what would happen if my house burned down or someone stole it. I know original bikes are far more sought after and a value it mostly where you live. I also know i spent more on the bike than its worth, but it was money well spent having fun!! Im just worried an insurance company would see a claim for a bike and say " Heres $80, go buy another bike at Walmart".  Al least with this I could say"These people Know bikes". I have to many years into this bike to ever want to loose it, but I figured to know what you have. I have always had written appraisals for any old car I had, but a bike it a little harder, at least where I live.  If you feel like throwing in some input, feel free. It would be much appreciated.


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## stoney (Dec 30, 2016)

Thank you for sharing this absolutely beautiful bike. I fell in love with it when you first started posting it. The colors are striking. I don't know the value but I would not be selling either if it were mine.


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## Mercian (Dec 30, 2016)

Hi,

I can't value it, but I can tell you my experience of claiming on a household 'New for Old' policy on a stolen 1943 BSA 'Parabike'.

I had dismantled it to strip the postwar paint, and it was in the boot of my car when the car was stolen. Neither car nor bike were recovered.

I claimed on the household insurance for the bike, since the car insurance would not cover it. I had some interesting conversations with the insurer:

Insurer. "was it locked or otherwise immobilised?"
Me. "It was in 22 pieces, locked in the boot of my car"
Insurer. "OK. It's a new for old policy, how much did it cost, and how much to buy a new one?"
Me; "I paid £60, I have a receipt for it. It would cost around £600, but you can't get them new;"
Insurer. "Wow, no wonder you bought it! Can you get an expert in the subject to write a letter confirming the value?"

As it happened, one of my friends was, at that time, the expert in the subject, so one short letter later, they said:

Insurer: "We accept the letter, but we won't pay you £600 for something you admit to paying £60 for. How about £400?"

I had to accept. I did find another at less than £400, but It still took me three years (pre internet) to find it...

So, lessons. Make sure it's insured for use in and out of the house (there was a Bicycle clause in the policy), keep it locked as much as possible outside the house, and try to get it officially valued, remembering the value of the effort you have put in during restoration, and that the insurance company will try to negotiate downwards. 

Here's hoping insurance is never necessary.

A+

Adrian


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## theterrym (Dec 30, 2016)

My house insurance covers all items in the house. I doubt it will ever be left alone outside. I hoped this forum held all of the experts. I have had to deal with insurance before and hope I never have to again. 
Adrian, im glad (taking three years) it somewhat worked out for you. The claim I made on out house took two years. 
Thanks for the input!!


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## dave the wave (Dec 30, 2016)

I say for the amount of time and money you put into the bike put a value of $2500 on it.


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## theterrym (Dec 31, 2016)

I know from doing cars the amount of time you put in is worth a total of $0 dollars. If you dont love doing it, its not for you. Also in general it usually costs far more to restore anything than actual value. I dont save receipts for the exact reason I dont want to know how much I spent.  Thanks Dave for throwing in a idea, I know im asking a pretty tough question. I guess that a major reason for the shortage of responses.  Anyways thanks for at least looking!!


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## theterrym (Jan 2, 2017)

I guess I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. I told my wife I was asking all the bike folks for an "opinion appraisal". I assumed she knew how much I spent on the bike. I'm sure at some point I eluded to the cost of restoring, but I'm guessing when I talk about bikes or cars she zones out and just agrees and says "uh huh". I told her I didn't have an exact figure, but gave her the ballpark amount. Apparently  we share different opinions on where we should spend money and where in the house bikes should be displayed. She now has the crazy Idea I should downsize my "junk" collection. 
I think I'll just clean everything up really well and keep my mouth shut from now on!! Don't worry This bike is the nicest thing in my front room and I plan on keeping it there.


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