Yet Another Carlton Corsa!

[Christopher]

Want want want! What lovely bikes in this thread...

 

[Goldie]

Corsa number two is all finished, and feeling a lot healthier and shinier. The decals are from Lloyds, and are really good.

Here's a reminder of how it started out:

And here it is, plus new bar tape, decals and sunshine:

 

[Spokesmann]

Loving it! Just needs a lamp bracket!

Corsa always looked good in that colour!

 

[betty swollocks]

That's a very elegant bike........esp like the forks.
Normally I detest amber-walled tyres, but here, they are in keeping

 

[garryh]

I'm a newbie here so bare with me if I am asking a pre answered question. Are the Corsa sticker available from anyone? Like many here I had a corsa around 1971 and dumped it in a clear out 10 / 15 years ago (ahhh) I have recently re-kindled my interest in cycling and have a strong desire to build a replica.
My bike was my means of school transport and I litreraly worn the poor thing out.
In the last 10 years the internet has made retro bike re-builds viable and i am looking forward to the challenge.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Regards Garry

 

[Spokesmann]

I'm a newbie here so bare with me if I am asking a pre answered question. Are the Corsa sticker available from anyone? Like many here I had a corsa around 1971 and dumped it in a clear out 10 / 15 years ago (ahhh) I have recently re-kindled my interest in cycling and have a strong desire to build a replica.
My bike was my means of school transport and I litreraly worn the poor thing out.
In the last 10 years the internet has made retro bike re-builds viable and i am looking forward to the challenge.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Regards Garry

The Acrylichome decals/stickers on these are hard to reproduce correctly. Some Carlton stuff is available from H Lloyd, but because of the chrome base sheet used on these they would not be cheap to reproduce as they should be.

 

[garryh]

Thanks for the reply Mike.

I took the plunge over the Weekend and bought a Corsa on ebay. Very pleased

I collected it on Sunday (Had to drive over 400 miles but turned it into a great day out as well!!)

Its finished in Mauve.......I expect some of you saw it on Ebay....... my original was the "Apple Green Model" I wanted the mauve but the green was all that was avaliable when I had the paperound money all saved up, back in the day.

I intend to re-spray this bike green, which is ironic, but this is one of those male menopause projects...you know what its like!

Sadly the stickers on this bike are very poor so I will have to see If I can get some, I read on another forum somewhere that they are available (as a compromise) as a two part....Chrome base with a separate printed overlay.....has anyone seen these or better still used them?

I will get some pics up as soon as time allows.....I dare say I will also have a few questions as the project progresses as well.

Regards Garry.

 

[Baggy]

Think I saw the mauve one on Ebay! Sorry, I don't know about the two-part chrome decals, but it looks as if Goldie has used them on his restoration project.

My Corsa purchase only involved a 340 mile round trip...

Mine is now up and running as a singlespeed (sorry Mike! but have kept all the original parts, of course). The cottered cranks kept coming lose, in spite of bike-shop intervention, so we swapped to a new chainset. It took a long time to find a suitable bottom bracket as my version has Raleigh 26tpi threads, and it's there's only one (very expensive) manufacturer of these around. We've got a threadless bottom bracket in now, and so far it's working well.

It gets lots of admiring glances when it goes out.

 

[Spokesmann]

Single speed? Tut Tut...

 

[garryh]

Living in Crowborough East Sussex, (An old beacon town) the option if you go for a bike ride is to start by going down to get anywhere, that of course means you have to go back....at my age I am wodering if 5 gears will be enough let a lone a single gear!!

 

[Goldie]

As Baggy says, my bronze Corsa further up the page is wearing decals from Lloyds http://www.hlloydcycles.com/ - the quality of these was excellent and although it's nerve wracking, placing the lettering on top of the chrome base layer, it's possible to get great results. Give Lloyds a call if you're thinking about picking up some decals, as they don't list them in the catalogue. They do the red/white/blue ones that are correct for mauve Corsas as well as the Italian themed ones that my bronze Corsa is wearing.

Post some pictures too!

 

[Spokesmann]

As Baggy says, my bronze Corsa further up the page is wearing decals from Lloyds http://www.hlloydcycles.com/ - the quality of these was excellent and although it's nerve wracking, placing the lettering on top of the chrome base layer, it's possible to get great results. Give Lloyds a call if you're thinking about picking up some decals, as they don't list them in the catalogue. They do the red/white/blue ones that are correct for mauve Corsas as well as the Italian themed ones that my bronze Corsa is wearing.

Post some pictures too!

I need to get some for my Continental. How are these decals supplied? Base layer and seperate letters?

Love to see some close ups!

 

[Goldie]

Yes, so (from memory - I've sold the bike now!) for the Carlton script on the down tube you get a self adhesive chrome sausage shape, then a separate cream sausage shape with red / green outlines on it, and cut outs where the chrome colour shows, such as on the letters. The second layer is on a translucent paper backing so that you can position it correctly over the chrome base.

The (vinyl?) sheet that the decals are made from is very thin, and although you'll always know there are two separate components to the decal, its not really obvious.

I think the only gap is that Lloyds don't do the top tube decal with model name, though they do produce a generic "Carlton - Truewel" one in the correct size / style...

 

[Spokesmann]

Yes, so (from memory - I've sold the bike now!) for the Carlton script on the down tube you get a self adhesive chrome sausage shape, then a separate cream sausage shape with red / green outlines on it, and cut outs where the chrome colour shows, such as on the letters. The second layer is on a translucent paper backing so that you can position it correctly over the chrome base.

The (vinyl?) sheet that the decals are made from is very thin, and although you'll always know there are two separate components to the decal, its not really obvious.

I think the only gap is that Lloyds don't do the top tube decal with model name, though they do produce a generic "Carlton - Truewel" one in the correct size / style...

I could redraw all these myself, but the trouble is the chrome part.

I need the top tube decal too, but the other would be a good start.

Is it a case of contact Lloyds direct?

My Continental needs the italian colour way. i.e. red, green and white.

 

[garryh]

These details are really helpfull, I saw the old catalogue post by Mike (Spokesman) on Retro Bike which are a great help too. I never realised that there were so many variations on the "Corsa" alone.
The catalogue pics are great to work out a date.....I had worked out that my old school bike was around 1971/2 and the catalogues seem to prove this too.

At present I am still firmly at the research stage and I have a question about sadles, all the catalogues mention brooks sadles and I find that the bike I am using to base my rebuild on also has a Brooks b5n, but my school Corsa had a more racing sadle shape (Which kinda went out of shape i seem to remember) Can anyone shed any light on what sadle it was.

I have found a pic of a bike identical to mine which may help but as I am new to the forum I am not too sure how to post it yet but I will try.