A tale of two Grandis

I've been trying to buy a Grandis for awhile now. Finally found a nice more contemporary model on Ebay. Bike was in Italy but I decided to go for it. Looked like this in the ad:

Unfortunately it arrived like this:

Too small a box and the freewheel packed up against the down tube. After a lengthy process with Ebay and a seller who didn't want to take responsibility I ended up with the damaged bike and funds to fix it.

Trying again I found this Grandis, again in Italy.

Went for it again. Again damage. Same problem, packed the freewheel up against the seat tube this time. Again the box was too small. Damage is tiny but it is actual gouges in the tube, not just the paint.

I should be able to touch this up and got a partial refund from the seller.

Common elements were trying to pack into too small a box in order to meet Post Italiane rules and packing the freewheel up against the frame. In addition in both case the pieces (frame, wheels, etc.) were not tied to each other or down so they were able to move around in the box.

No more buying from Italy.

Finally a Picchio

Just bought this wonderful Picchio Special frame. This is a very special aero frame. More when it arrives.

Cool crimped tubing. Lots of beautiful lug cutouts. City of Torino colors. Can't wait to build this up.

Just purchased: 1964 Bianchi Specialissima

Just purchased: 1964 Bianchi Specialissima. More when it arrives.

Just arrived: 1961 Frejus

Just got in an early 60s Frejus. Pretty cool. White panels are painted not decals, Oil ports on head tube and bottom bracket. Early Record FD with unslotted cable stop. No Record hubs. 151 BCD crank. Will update as I tear this down for an inspection and cleaning.

1973 Galmozzi

Got this Galmozzi in a few weeks ago. Just got decals to finish it up.

I've been shopping for a Galmozzi for awhile now. This one showed up on Ebay and appeared to be an unmolested early 70s Galmozzi.

1973 Galmozzi in original condition with what I believe are mostly components installed by the original owner. Full Campagnolo Nuovo Record/Record build with Cinelli stem, bars and seat, Regina chain and freewheel, Rigida clincher rims. Rear derailleur is Patent 72, front derailleur is correct for year, wheel locknuts are 72 date code, no date code on crankset, etc.

1983 Colnago Superissimo

Just finished building this beautiful Colnago Superissimo from a frame.

1982 or 83 Colnago Superissimo. Reproduction decals. Original Saronni Red paint and chrome. Ambrosio Colnago 6 arm crank. Colnago panto seat post and brake levers. Fluted stem. Campagnolo Super Record group. Assos saddle.

1972 De Rosa

De Rosa frame built up into fantastic looking bike.

I have been looking for an early De Rosa for along time. They are very hard to find and very expensive when they do show up. I finally decided I would just have to pay the cost of entry. Since I don't mind restorations when this frame came available on one of the forums I frequent I went for it.

Since a frame like this deserves a top notch build I tried to source everything as period correct as I could. Luckily I already had most of the components. I used:

• Campagnolo no date 170mm Nuovo Record crankset (from personal inventory), 
• Campagnolo Nuovo Record PATENT-72 rear derailleur (from personal inventory), 
• Campganolo Record front derailleur with no circlip on top pivot (from personal inventory), 
• Regina NOS chain (from personal inventory), 
• Regina Oro freewheel (from personal inventory), 
• Campagnolo 1037 pedals (Ebay), 
• wheelset consisting of Campagnolo Record high flange hubs and Super Champion Medaille D'Or rims (from personal inventory),
• Campagnolo Record brakes and levers, early 70s (from personal inventory),
• Campagnolo NR seat post (from personal inventory),
• Cinelli Unicanitor saddle (Ebay),
• Cinelli "Milano" 1A stem (Ebay),
• Cinelli Giro D'Italia bars (old style) (BikeForums),
• repro globe hoods (Ebay).

I decided to polish the crank, seatpost, stem, bars, shifters and brakes.