What have I done? Carlton Corsa finished - it's gone from blue to orange!

[DCLane]

There could be a nice bike under there. One thing I notice is the stem, theres a lot of it showing, is it past the max mark?

Looks like it's at / just over the limit. It won't be once I've got that far.

Progress: Carlton badge and it's purple under the blue paint, so a Carlton Corsa from around 1968-1972.

And will originally have looked similar to @Spokesmann 's:

 

[midlife]

Is there a frame number under the saddle on the seat tube?

 

[DCLane]

Is there a frame number under the saddle on the seat tube?

Found one on the back of the seat tube: NB5??3306 - so Nottingham built in February 1975?

It's under a lot of paint, which is coming off very slowly. That'll be a few weeks before finding out what state it is in as life is about to get busy with students starting next week. The seatpost just about moves, which makes continuing worth it for a bit.

 

[midlife]

Yep, 1975. Just out of curiosity I looked at the singles chart for the time your bike was made. Crikey I can remember most of them lol

 

[mikeymustard]

Yep, 1975. Just out of curiosity I looked at the singles chart for the time your bike was made. Crikey I can remember most of them lol

funny how you can remember all the music from your early to mid teens, my tastes had dived into more "prog" and heavier rock by 75 but I can remember almost every single from 73 and 74.
I am a proud child of glam rock!
Why does it have a Nottingham serial number?

 

[midlife]

funny how you can remember all the music from your early to mid teens, my tastes had dived into more "prog" and heavier rock by 75 but I can remember almost every single from 73 and 74.
I am a proud child of glam rock!
Why does it have a Nottingham serial number?

If you remember Sweet and your mum liked them then we are both children of the 70's lol

Raleigh simply sourced their Carlton frames from whichever plant they had.... Including Nottingham They also got them from Falcon if they were a bit short of capacity!

 

[mikeymustard]

If you remember Sweet and your mum liked them then we are both children of the 70's lol

I can still remember all the steps to Tiger Feet and thought Roxy Music were the greatest (and weirdest) band on the planet.
Then one day one of the older "cool kids" got on the school bus carrying "Dark Side of the Moon" and my musical life changed forever....

Raleigh simply sourced their Carlton frames from whichever plant they had.... Including Nottingham They also got them from Falcon if they were a bit short of capacity!

Very interesting!

 

[midlife]

I can still remember all the steps to Tiger Feet and thought Roxy Music were the greatest (and weirdest) band on the planet.
Then one day one of the older "cool kids" got on the school bus carrying "Dark Side of the Moon" and my musical life changed forever....
Very interesting!

Carlton Corsa frame having left the factory as a Europa , Raleigh badge engineering at its best

 

[Illaveago]

@DCLane at least one of the cherished "C" nuts is not blue !
That's how my Dayton came to me all painted including rims etc etc

Do you think that somebody may have started a trend ?

 

[Illaveago]

I've got an identical hung up in the garage that someone's painted green! Keep meaning to do something with it

Paint it blue perhaps ?

 

[southcoast]

View attachment 429926

Carlton Corsa frame having left the factory as a Europa , Raleigh badge engineering at its best

Yep that’s the one I owned bitd. 10 speed simplex gears Lol. Got it about 1973, replacement for my 1970 highback Raleigh Chopper.

 

[DCLane]

OK, a sort-of progress update: this bike's going to be turned into a fixie for my 14yo on his summer holidays next year. Based on a small budget, we thought we'd got some blue/lilac wheels from eBay but the seller decided after purchase he wouldn't post them. A pity, as blue/lilac would've looked good.

However, we've got some orange wheels instead. And an orange saddle on the way. A black fixie crankset. Plus some moustache bars. I've got some lovely orangey bar grips.

Paint to do first as under the blue was lilac or rust; currently the bike looks like this plus a box of heavily oiled / blue bits:

The cottered cranks need removing, along with the bars (stuck) and rear light holder (very stuck). Then cleaning the old paint off properly, preparation for paint and painting, which I'll do, and that's likely to be in Rustoleum Orange.

 

[Kempstonian]

This bike pretty much confirms the identity of the one I used to have.

https://www.cyclechat.net/attachments/poczzmobj-jpg.435865/

 

[DCLane]

This bike pretty much confirms the identity of the

True. Except yours was almost certainly nicer and in a better state.

 

[Kempstonian]

Well it had extra decals anyway!