Hetchins Super Special c1950

AL9000 · November 4, 2007, 4:56am

After spending a week in sunny, windy Perth, on my last day I stumbled upon a bike shop in Fremantle with an Abbotsford vibe. While chatting with the staff an old bloke on a carbon Merckx came in wanting to know if the shop would be interested in purchasing a Hetchins. My ears pricked up, especially after the guy wasn’t overly keen to buy at the time. It was apparently a track frame that was converted by the previous owner for timetrialling, so it had road dropouts, bottle cage mounts, shifter mount etc brazed on. The current owner had planned to restore it, but ran out of time (did I mention he’s 83?).

I went to have a look and saw this as he opened the garage:

With the exception of the clunker in the middle, it was all class.

I was running short of time before my flight home, but considering it was my size and I didn’t know when I’d next get an opportunity like this I bought it and high-tailed it to the airport, getting stuck in Red Bull Air Race traffic. Had to change my flight and buy a Qantas bike box (~$17, very big, nice and sturdy), but managed to pack it up and get it home safely:

~1946-1951 Hetchins Super Special frame, probably Reynolds 531, vibrant/curly stays, twin plate fork crown with round blades. Not as ornate as the Magnum Opus, but still nice.

Belled head lugs with internal races (Only 50 years ahead of its time!), rear track ends (with serial number) replaced with semi-horizontal dropouts, bidon mount/shifter mount added. Given the light mount on the rear seat stay, this may have been a club racer instead of a pure track machine.

Quick parts wrapup: (Purists look away)
Dura-Ace cranks/rings, heavy strap wear
Huret front derailleur
3TTT fluted seatpost
French (spidel?) headset, not sure how the cups work with the belled lugs, will have to investigate
Campy Record hubs, 5sp freewheel, Mavic clincher rims
Suntour Cyclone 7000 rear derailleur
Suntour symmetric ‘aero’ shifters, auto trimming (entire assembly moves as you adjust rear cogs, moving the front derailleur to avoid chain rub). This dates the frame conversion at ~1983.
Turbo saddle
CLB brakes with flint catchers
Cinelli bars/stem
Campy quill pedals with dustcaps

Given the unique shifter mount, the symmetric shifters will have to stay, unless I go with retro-friction bar-cons and a clamp on cable stop. Not overly keen on the derailleurs or brake levers, any suggestions on what to build it up with? The frame is crying out for a proper repaint with decals and box lining / pin striping, but for now it will only get a cut and polish and an internal rust proofing.

Super Special lugs and Hetchins headbadge

More photos:
Flickr: Search ah_blake’s photostream

17/8/11 Update:
Finished & photographed:

Photoset: Restored Hetchins 531 - Suntour Superbe - a set on Flickr (Many thanks to Andy White for the studio shots)

system · November 4, 2007, 10:29pm

What a shed, I want’s me a shed, just like that one…

Good luck with the wiggly bike Blakey, it sounds like a rather involved project indeed!

Let me know how you go with the pin-striping.

Captain_Commuter · November 4, 2007, 11:56pm

Holy crap…Aladdin’s cave :-o

Just out of interest I’ve got a late 40’s /early 50’s cecil walker club racer with belled head lugs and an early precursor to our ‘modern’ integrated headsets. Everything old is new again eh?

GarthMc · November 5, 2007, 1:20am

Sweet pickup mate, a deep bergundy with pinstrips would do that frame proud.

So what did you part with to take it off his hands?

-Garth

JP1 · November 6, 2007, 1:54am

i like those shifters mate… auto trimming! superga. also, i think the brakes look nice, the logo is rad. heres something (its not much) on em

http://www.yellowjersey.org/clb.html

i guess both the brakes and shifting system dont really match the bike, but i like em. suggestions… maybe a pair of diacompe gran compe brakes? and shifting, i think any old campy, huret or simplex that you can which is complete will be nice. i wouldnt bar end it if youre trying to make it nice.

and not being as ornate as a magnum opus, in my opinion is a very VERY good thing. i think they look like trash yetyou know theyre quality… kind of like sophia loren last time she was out here with those sunnies and leather cleavage.

system · November 7, 2007, 12:43am

Speak of the devil, look what just appeared on FGG today…
Ornate indeed, but tarty… hmmm…

AL9000 · November 7, 2007, 4:50pm

And it’s now on BSNYC as well. I agree with him, the owner was definitely trying too hard with the arty poses and shallow DOF.

I’m thinking the symmetric shifters will have to stay due to the funky mount, so to get OCD on it would mean superbe cranks/brakes/derailleur. Right now though, all it’s going to get is a good strip/clean/rustproof, replace cables, brake pads, bearings&grease and freewheel/chain if necessary.

Rhino · November 7, 2007, 6:55pm

C’mon…what did you FLEECE the old bloke for…

AL9000 · November 7, 2007, 7:49pm

No fleecing involved! Paid him what he asked, which was what he paid years ago.

$400.

spud · November 7, 2007, 8:42pm

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AL9000 · November 7, 2007, 8:53pm

What about them?

kombicol · November 7, 2007, 9:05pm

Which bike shop you were at? Sounds like Mercers…

AL9000 · November 7, 2007, 9:17pm

Bang on. (Not hard to guess, how many bike shops can there be in WA with stacks of vintage rides hanging from the rafters?)

kombicol · November 8, 2007, 4:03pm

My favorite bike shop in Perth, I am in there all the time…every pay week at least.
Weren’t in town for aspire were you?

AL9000 · November 9, 2007, 1:48am

Naah, had a training course, based in Scarborough.

In other news, these parts will be winging their way to me soon:

Suntour Winner Pro ultra6 freewheel
Mafac centrepulls
Mafac non-aero levers with good hoods
Suntour Superbe cranks (old Record style)

Excited!

AL9000 · May 11, 2008, 11:00pm

Update!

Decals have arrived from the UK and Joe Cosgrove is going to give me a heart attack when he tells me how much it’ll cost to repair [^] and repaint.

[^] non-driveside chainstay bridge joint has cracked, possibly when being respaced from 120 to 126mm.

spud · May 12, 2008, 3:57am

What’s in the dealy-bag?

AL9000 · May 12, 2008, 5:41am

Brass rivets, used to attach the headbadge to the frame.

AL9000 · October 22, 2008, 4:20am

Blue colour applied, head tube / ST panel on… HT to be cleared over tomorrow also DT / ST etc. decals to be applied also, to be able to clear over as well…

Woo!

prawza · October 23, 2008, 5:16pm

that is one sexy bike.