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Here is a bit of a run-down of my A2E project so far.
Frame as received
Another pic showing some surface rust on the frame the rest of the pearl paint on the rear was well useed.
Mag 21’s stripped cleaned & resprayed waiting new decals.
NOS Barracuda branded stem mated with the Cuda bars received on the bike.
I have a very specific colour scheme in mind for the bike, that I am sure will emerge during this thread. Found some bar ends. Liked the shape, the colour didn’t match so removed the purple anno and polished them.
Replacement seat post.
Cook Bros cranks & Chainrings. I think the CNC machined on the chainrings are cool.
NOS M900 XTR shifters and Canti brake set.
Complete M900 XTR Groupset
With most of the parts collected the frame went off to the chromers to get a new coat of Satin chrome.
Its now off at the powercoaters getting a cany red back end and a clearcoat over the whole lot, as per the original paint scheme.
Just need to get the decals sorted out here is what I have drawn up so far.
Hoping that cudarider1 can help with a scan of the head tube decal from his set, then I can arrange to have them printed.
I need to sort out some wheels, seat & grips. Any suggestions or thoughts welcomed.
Thanks
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Hey David128,
Looking great so far ! ! !
If you don’t mind me asking, where in the world did you find some NOS, period correct, XTR components? Was it crazy expensive or did you come up on a smokin’ deal? I gave up trying to find any of that and what I found was cost prohibitive, so I simply started gathering the “grey” XTR that I loved so much. Do you know (or maybe Mark if you read this) what grouppo came on the A2E? With a $1,299.00 retail price in 1995, I could see the A2E coming with some or all XT grouppo but I remember a price point near $2,000.00 for an “XTR” bike. I upgraded my wheelset on my ’94 Zaskar to XTR hubs with Mavic hoops and it set me back $500.00. I also upgraded my fork Scott suspension fork at the same time to a Manitou, that Mani cost $400.00. XTR was true “race” level and the price alone kept it somewhat exclusive. I know I could only afford to upgrade one piece at a time when my XT got tired. I guess, I’m still green with envy, anyone who’s rollin’ on “silver/gray” XTR has a champ ride in my mind.
Looking forward to seeing this beauty when it’s all together! I really appreciate you building it and so generous of you to donate it to my stable… I can’t thank you enough.
-DON-
Thanks for the encouragement have been working away but back now and back into it.neo_pop_71
The XTR bits took a bit of searching to find NOS but I have been collecting them for almost 12 months now and I hope the bike deserves them when finished. Oh and I am glad you think I could help fill that empty spot in your stable. 😆Cudarider1
Sent you an-mail re the decals that would be a great help. When I have them all drawn up as vector files I will send them to Mark for addition to maybe a central database.Frame weighs 1950g on the ‘small 50kg’ scale at work so I don’t know how accurate that is but its still light for a 15yo steel frame. I have a newer Sintesi Snake frame in ally that weighs more!
Got some more parts while I was away.
Just waiting for the red ones to match.One small problem with the cable ends was that they did not fit tight enough in the cable stops for me so I will have to machine some adapters/spacers up from black nylon.
What I need now is a saddle, rear cluster, chain, bottom bracket and some wheels.
I am looking for a red leather Flite style saddle so if anyone can help wtih one or know of one around it would be much appreciated and I am open to suggestions for the wheels.
Bit of an update, almost 12months since the last but…..She’s Finished 😆 😆
Got my bum into gear sent it off to the powder coaters and had a cherry red put on the rear of the bike, not the original finish but as close as I could get. I was a bit dissapointed that they didnt follow instructions and the finish was too far along the tubes. But hey thats life the overall result came out pretty good anyway.
A Few shots as she went together
And then just like that.
Some shots of the detail.
Now remember I said I had a color scheme in mind when I started can anyone guess what it was???
Tight on for time right now. There is some more shots to come and a real interesting peice of Barracuda history for us here in Australia.
@mixalive wrote:That satin chrome looks awesome.
Some of us here on the Barracuda forum could really use some of your scans. I for one could really use the Tree Amigos and the Tange scans. If you submit the big scans to Mark, I am sure he could post them on the decal page.
T…Mixalive the images used for the decals are not scans I drew them from photos of the originals and I am more than happy for them to go on the decal page. I will send them to mark for him to put up.
The decals on this bike are one of the things I need to get sorted out better. The ones on there are ‘waterslide’ decals that are really soft and should have a clear coat put over them for protection. Evan being super careful they are showing signs of damage just from assembly.
What I want is someone who can print them on clear for me just like the originals. Gone to a bit of trouble on this and want it to look the best it can.
Does any one have any ideas who will do small runs of decals like this??
@neo_pop_71 wrote:
Damn… XTR with CBR is a tasty pairing ! ! !
Bless you for going with that Cook Brothers Racing crank, as if the XTR group was enough, you had to pull in the slick vintage cranks to “cherry” the top and complete one sweet build!
Neo_pop
Thanks for noticing the cranks and your correct what else could you pair with the XTR. They sure took some finding to get some red ano high end period cranks in a good condition (when you put it all together like that I guess it should of taken some looking) they were also the most expensive purchase on the bike!. I really like them thought about having them re anodized but then I would have lost the laser etching.Interestingly enough the other thing that took ages to find was the red bottle cage. I use my bikes for off road touring so the two bottle cages do get used and yes there will also be a pannier rack installed for touring only!!
I needed a red one, of course that I could cut the middle spine between the bolts out of to clear the front mech. So it had to have the wings either side of the spine and of course when complete it had to look like it was supposed to be that way. I recon it came out ok.
What I would like is another set of wheels to ‘fit’ the bike. The rear wheel is a Velocity deep V laced to a period correct Parallax hub but the front is a CAC (Cheap Arse Chinese) wheel and I feel it lets it all down. Any suggestions or if anyone has anything that they want to part with, for a good cause, input would be much appreciated.
For the bit of Barracuda history that I mentioned earlier.
From previous experience I can not adjust canti brakes, I only have two hands and I cant get it right. So when the bike was finished I knew one of my LBS’s had an owner that knew the Barracuda brand and I thought why not take it in to him to have them adjusted. You should have seen his face when saw the bike, he looked at it, looked at me and back down at the bike.
Turns out he knew the brand, he used to have an A2E in fact he raced it back in the day. Yes he raced it for the Barracuda team in Australia that he managed!! 😮
He reminisced for a while about the bike and the fact that he rode it against Cadel Evans and got his butt kicked. He rode the A2E because he didn’t want aluminium.We were both pushed for time so I left the bike at the shop where he hung it up in the window. He said he had some old barracuda stuff in the garage that he would pass on, he wasn’t around when I collected the bike so I will catch up with him to see what other info he is willing to pass on.
Hows that for good luck!
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