Williams lightweight project

[RichardB]

This thing started as a request for ideas and information in Vintage and Classic, but now that it's become a proper project I am starting a thread here.

This is the original thread: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/source-of-lightweight-frame.267277/

I bought a 531 Williams frame from a forum member, without any clear idea what I wanted to do with it, other than build it into a useable bike. I have done a fair bit of servicing, repairing and modifying bikes, but never built one from a bare frame, so I was to some extent treading new ground. Budget was a big consideration, as I am now retired and on a limited income. I'm not poor by any means, but I'm not in a position to throw money around. Thanks to @biggs682, this arrived on my doorstep:

Initial assessment: headset v. good, frame threadings all clear, fair bit of rust and a few knocks to the paint. All as expected. Chromed forks showing some pitting. I checked with Willams Cycles in Cheltenham, and they do not sell decals any more and were unable to provide any details on the frame's history. With a little reluctance, I decided to have the frame shotblasted and leave it plain, although I made sure to acquire the correct 531 decals first. I quite like chromed forks, and as these cleaned up well, I have given them a rustkiller treatment and waxed them. Hopefully they will look good for a few years yet.

Here's the frame back from West Wales Aquablasting - when you consider the sheer ballache of getting sandpaper into all the nooks and crannies of the bridges and lugs, this was £20 well spent (and an excellent, friendly service, recommended if you are in Pembrokeshire or nearby).

First job was to get a coat of primer on it before it started to rust before my eyes ...

 

[RichardB]

What to build? Well, the first consideration is that it must not duplicate the function of any current bike in the garage. (Years of experience witrh multiple motorbikes has taught me that.) The ebike is for heavy shopping and lazy spins out. The Amazon is for general duties, light shopping, and "I'm just nipping out for an hour". The Corsair is the dignified vintage matron, a lovely ride on sunny Sundays. I have a yen to have another fixed-wheel bike (I'm too old to call it a fixie). I had a Carlton Corsair in the 80s which had a flip-flop rear hub and I rode it fixed for the whole of one winter and enjoyed it. Perhaps something similar in my 60s? I did a lot of Googling but failed to find a reaonably-priced 27" wheel with a track hub, so I opted for one with a threaded hub for a traditional freewheel. I thought I might go single-speed. Wheels, tyres, tubes, bottom bracket, chain, freewheel and crankset were duly purchased.

I found a set of gumwall 27" tyres, which were unavailable when I was kitting out the Corsair, so I bought those, put them on the Corsair and put the black Nutraks I put on the Corsair on the new wheels. Also got a tin of grey primer ...

 

[RichardB]

The frame now has 3 coats of primer on it and I have decided on the final colour of the frame. Here in Wales we will be entering a new period of lockdown on Friday, so I decided to get the body colour paint now rather than wait a week when it may be impossible to shop for things like this. I have chosen Fiat Broom Yellow. It's really nice!

I am going to fit drop bars and suitable brake levers, and I am going with a single-speed transmission, at least to start with. Rear and front derailleurs and a compact chainset are possible later on if the hills round here make a singlespeed pointless.

Most things have been sourced from SJS Cycles and a few others, and always on the basis of 'as cheap as possible and still work'. I have a 44T chainset and an 18T rear freewheel, giving an overall gear of 66". Here's the frame all masked up and ready for primer:

Oops, I put the gaffer tape back after taking the photo!

Frame is now looking good in three coats of grey primer. I'm going to let this harden off, rub down as necessary, and then start with the main colour. The painting is going better than expected. Only one (small) run so far, which for me is brilliant.

 

[raleighnut]

 

[biggs682]

@RichardB all looks good and i can't fault your idea

Just enjoy it once finished

 

[RichardB]

Five coats of primer (all from a 500 ml Halfords rattle can, good value). I thought I had a few runs but all but one seem to have healed themselves in the drying process. Only one needed a slight bit of rubbing down before the next coat. Primer done:

Made a start on the main colour, Fiat Broom Yellow, which I rather like. This was the result after one coat:

The colour paint is a lot runnier than the primer and I got a few runs on the points of the lugs and near the stay bridges. I think I am more used to painting a flat panel, and getting the can round a 360 deg shape is more of a challenge. Never mind, it is drying after its second coat and looking better. I got five coats out of the 500 ml primer can, but my second can of yellow (300ml) is nearly empty after only two coats, so I think I need to get myself over to Halfords in the morning to get another couple of cans. It's cheap enough. I'm aiming for four coats before the lacquer.

I'm enjoying this.

 

[RichardB]

The frame now has four coats of yellow, but it's still quite thin as every time I am having to rub down a couple of runs, and this takes it almost back to where the primer is showing through. I'm finding it hard to spray the frame without getting runs, no matter how careful I am with the speed and distance of the spray. The strange thing is that what looks like horrible runs when I have just sprayed goes to almost nothing when it is dry - it's almost as if the paint layer is healing itself as it cures. It's not going to look perfect when I am done, but I think it will be acceptable. I much prefer painting flat panels!

I started spraying by hanging the frame (via a wire through the derailleur cable stop) off the garage door. I thought this would be OK, but 1) the light was poor and I was missing large amounts of frame, and 2) all my other bikes, and the trailer, and the chicken bins, and the barbecue, were getting a light dusting of yellow.

I have now brought a workstand and an old set of bullhorn handlebars into the mixture and it seems to be working much better. I can now spray in the middle of the lawn, which is much better for marital relations. Quite pleased with this idea:

It's going pretty well, all said and done. I have enough paint for two more coats, which should fill it out and make the colour deeper, and then it's time for decals.

I've got some oil-based paint pens on order as I want to line the lugs in black. Not sure whether to do this before or after the lacquer coat.

 

[Spiderweb]

What decals are you using?
Did you find some ‘Williams’ reproductions?

edit - forgot to say it looks very nice!

 

[RichardB]

What decals are you using?
Did you find some ‘Williams’ reproductions?

edit - forgot to say it looks very nice!

Thank you! I think the photos flatter it a bit, to be honest. My camera takes good photos!

I have a 531C decal ready to go on the seat tube in the original location. (I also got decals for the forks, but I have decided to keep them as they are for the moment as the chroming is quite sound.) I contacted the Williams shop, and they didn't seem too bothered - no build records, no decals, no frame number, just 'send us a photo and we'll see if old Mr Williams recognises it'. I could get some decals custom made, but to be honest that would cost a lot. It's a nice light frame, well-balanced and well made, but a Williams isn't a Bob Jackson, and I am trying to keep the cost as low as possible. I'm thinking about a custom decal for the downtube, but I can't think of anything witty or wryly humorous, so I will probably give it a miss and leave it plain yellow with the lugs picked out in black.

 

[RichardB]

Another rub down of the paint nibs, and another coat of yellow, and I think it might be finished. Or, at least, as finished as it is going to be in the real world. Every coat of paint seemed to produce a nib or a run somewhere, no matter how careful I have been. But it is now 98% good, which is acceptable in my world, and I have strategies involving decals for the slight imperfections.

The frame is now resting next to a radiator to help the paint dry and harden. I have the 531C decal ready, and a couple more on order, so that will be the next stage of the build. Then some lacquer, and then the fun starts. I have decided I don't like painting frames! Mechanical stuff is much more fun.

I've been watching an American guy on YouTube who has built a singlespeed and a fixie from normal road bikes, and this has raised an issue I hadn't considered - the chainline. I've done some rough calculations and it seems my freewheel may be out from the line of the chainring by as much as 10mm when it's all finally together, so I need to think about that. The YouTube guy's solution is to redish the wheel, but I am not sure my kit and skills are up to that. I may try spacers on the threaded hub, or even a shorter bottom bracket if there is clearance with the chainstays. We shall see!

This is the frame after its final paint coat and a shower of Welsh rain (fortunately, about 30 minutes after I finished spraying, so no harm done).

 

[midlife]

Seat stays look a bit Mike Kowal I wonder if he built it for the shop?

Loving the yellow

 

[RichardB]

Seat stays look a bit Mike Kowal I wonder if he built it for the shop?

Loving the yellow

View attachment 554488

That's remarkably similar. Always interested to hear more ...

 

[midlife]

I'm sure I've got a Williams badged frame in the garage, Raleigh underneath I think. There a Williams on ebay that looks like yours.

 

[RichardB]

There a Williams on ebay that looks like yours.

This one? The seat stays look familiar ...

In other news, I have declared the painting stage finito Benito, and have moved on to decals. More to come this week, Covid and the Welsh lockdown, sorry, 'firebreak', permitting.

 

[midlife]

Yep, that's the one on ebay