identifying "old racing bike"

[harvey/ga]

hi, i'm new to the forum.
my wife bought a second hand ten-speed back in the late seventies from a guy in athens ga. he told us the bike was an old racing bike. at the time it had sewn tires on it. the frame is lightweight, and it's lines are somewhat more refined or drawn out than a conventional touring bike for what that's worth.
recently a guy at a bike shop damaged the crank on this bike. he told us it couldn't be repaired, and the shop owner gave us another seventies-era touring bike for compensation.
i've recently taken the bike apart to repaint the frame and replace the crank. the crank threads seem to be metric - a crank assembly from a japanese bike goes into the housing with no problem.
while i've been sanding and cleaning i've also been wondering what the make of the bike might be.
the old crank is marked "dural force carantil legedur."
the handlebars are marked "mod campione del mondo"
serial number 53571 stamped on the crank housing and the same number is stamped on the front forks.
any ideas appreciated,
regards,
harvey

 

[midwestkustomz]

Is the crank 1 single piece & the arms are held onto the crank by either bolts or push pins?

 

[harvey/ga]

hi,
this is the way it looks to me -
a metal sleeve that slips into the crank housing. two sealed bearings fit inside this sleeve.
the shaft goes into the sleeve and turns on the sedaled bearings.
the pedal arms fit on the squared ends of the shaft. threaded holes in the shaft ends receive the bolts that hold the pedals in place.
both sides of the crank housing itself are threaded - rings screw into either side and they secure the metal sleeve in place.
one side is right hand thread and the other is left hand.
harvey

 

[JOEL]

Hi Harvy,
Try the lightweight forum over at www.oldroads.com . Post a picture on the web (photobucket, villagephotos, ect) and link it to your discription. Someone there will know what it is. JOEL /Al

 

[harvey/ga]

hi joel,
ok, will do. i'll post back here with any info.
thanks,
harvey

 

[harvey/ga]

update

for what it's worth, someone on the oldroads.com site was able to identify the crank on this bike - it's made by TA Specialities.
harvey

 

[harvey/ga]

bike id

learned that is bike is a mercian king of mercia model - thanks for the help - regards, harvey