John Doe No. 438

[fsjaak]

We have no idea what it was or what it will become.

[KOTA]

RRBBO6................Is now complete!

[bean]

Ooooooooooohhhhhh Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[snydur]

its a cat. and it will be a cat.


jk

[strangeframe]

Eyes glued to this one. .Ive only seen his history,now i get to see it created...Cool..

[herr_rudolf]

look what the cat's dragged in...

That patina looks scary...

Good luck and have fun!

[skillsthebarber]

look what the cat's dragged in...

now thats funny

[Markm]

Now its a party!!!!!!

[texasbigjon]

Now its a party!!!!!!

oh yeah! somebody flew in to "spike" the punch bowl! this should be alot of fun!

[SSG]

Nice oldie. Good thing you saved it, it looks like if it had sat any longer it would have been a wall hanger. That's some pretty gnarly pitting.

[fsjaak]

Once the forensics unit had finished their work at the site, the remains were sent to the laboratory to begin investigations to determine the true identity of the subject.
The headset is the first area of concentration.


Once opened up, the internal structures revealed interesting details which might be useful clues.

Some Details:
1. Bearings employed in top bearing race are .15625" and still enrobed in grease.
2. Bearings employed in bottom bearing race .09375" and rusted with at least two actually broken.
3. The clip over top of steerer tube indicates that expander bolted bar stem was not used.
4. Curved fork crown flows into fork blades seamlessly.
5. Axle mounting holes are not slotted for easy wheel removal.

We will continue to report points of interest as we progress in the hopes that someone might recognize the subject and contact us.

[druggedonions]

still enrobed in grease.

Not the only reason I've got to follow this, but it sums it up nicely.

[fsjaak]

Although a pretty rare sight these days, this type of bearing assembly was popular with some builders at around the turn of the 20th Century. Basically the bearing cups where inserted into the bottom bracket shell and then the bolts were tightened to prevent the cups from spinning or moving side-to-side. In some circumstances this would allow for some additional adjustment if necessary.
It is also apparent in this photo that only the left crank arm is secured to the spindle by one of those very often frozen and troublesome little cotter bolts.


Since the cotter has been soaking in liberal applications of MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) for about two weeks, we are able to remove it with a special tool devised in the lab which greatly reduces the chance of buggering the whole thing up and rendering it no longer fit for service. We do not assume that replacements can readily be obtained.
We also take note of the leather dust shield positioned between the bearing cup and the adjuster cone which is also threaded onto the spindle.


Once the cotter is removed, a particularly unique and completely unexpected condition presents itself. The crank arm is not only affixed by cotter, it is also threaded onto the crank spindle with left hand threads cut into the spindle and crank arm! This must be a very costly and labor intensive detail. Someone intends to guarantee that this arm does not turn or loosen with use. This discovery is a "first" for us and we are so thankful that we decided not to use a big ol' rubber mallet on the crank arm to loosen up what we initially assumed to be some resistance due to rust. Indeed, by turning clockwise, it simply spins off the spindle as a nut will from a bolt. Any damage to these elements due to mishandling would definitely become a very serious hindrance when attempting to re-assemble the subject.


To date we have noted at least six distinguishing features of the subject and are still unable to develop theories as to the identity of the form before us.

[bighit]

Just another victim.

[Gdcast]

We don´t know were it´s coming from, but could be possible to know were it´s going?