The frame and forks don't have serious damages, but there are quite some scratches on the paint. A bit of rust, too, but nothing serious. The paint looks cracked all over. The ears of the set lug are a bit deformed, but that can be repaired, I hope. I hope that a glued in reinforcement will keep it allright afterwards.
To be honest: it doesn't look very good. The style of the frame is really 1970's, a very basic build as we know it from Ko Zieleman, nothing fancy, not as stylish as the frames from the 80's and 90's. But I hope that, after cleaning and a good rub with Commandant cleaner, it will look a lot better and brighter.
I seriously consider a repaint with original logo's and decals as far as I can get or reproduce them. If the paint would have been okay, I wouldn't have considered that, but since all Zieleman frames seem to have quite a poor paint job and this one doesn't look nice at all, I think it's the best option.
Started looking for and dreaming about nice colour schemes already. At the moment I prefer a plain (metallic) champagne / pearl-shell gold colour with black and white logos.
Most probably, it will get a full Campagnolo Record gruppo, which I still have to find, with tub wheels, quill pedals with clips and straps and all other classic parts from the 1970's and 1980's. Most parts are still available, but prices are increasing. And good, unworn parts are rare and bloody expensive. I've to hope for a very good occasion. E.g. and old, complete bike that doesn't have too much km yet. An owner who stopped riding, never started riding or is just going to ride more modern. Such a bike will be not easy to find and it may take some time. But I'm not in a hurry. I don't have to look for a particular frame size and I can re-sell the frame set and get a few Euro's back.
Some challenges will be the long reach brake arches and all the clamp bands (shifters, cable guides at BB shell, top tube cable guides, bottle cage). I will keep using the clamp bands and not have parts brazed on.
The project has started for a very aceptable price and I hope that I can keep it that way. In the end, the value of a Zieleman will only increase.
