Vintage Steel - Achieving Historical Accuracy.
Welcome to the Vintage Steel & Kuwahara BMX Museum. The majority of the BMX’s in my collection are Factory builds, meaning that they are ‘Factory Stock’ with original components that they were originally released with from the factory in the 1980’s. I do build non-factory spec BMX’s as well. and usually build a ‘Rider’ version of my favorite bikes.
Each BMX I’ve acquired has its own interesting story and along the years, have been subject to wear and tear, neglect, or dust by sitting un-touched in some basement or garage since it’s heyday. And throughout his life, sometimes the original parts were replaced with an aftermarket part, damaged, or worn out over the years.
The restoration process of each BMX starts with a complete disassembly of every single part right down to smallest nut or ball bearing. This is followed by cleaning and degreasing of every part and polishing of original paint and chrome. Worn out decals are carefully removed, scanned, traced and re-produced through my company, Vintage Steel. Wheels are disassembled, hubs are cleaned and re-packed, and then its re-laced & trued. Original tires are cleaned and rejuvenated.
I love brand new… especially Vintage new. So, I try to stay completely Factory Correct using only NOS (New Old Stock), re-furbished, or original parts in Mint or Excellent condition at the least. Even the parts you can’t see must be Factory Correct, like inner brake cables, tire tubes, bolts, and nuts, and as well as date codes on all dated parts. I try not to use reproduction parts unless I absolutely must or if I’m going custom. I also try to keep chrome/paint and decals original, but if I need to re-chrome and re-anodize I do all the prep work myself making sure its done right.
Upon completion, I apply my Factory Correct Licensed Kuwahara decals which I produce myself under license with Kuwahara Japan or Custom designed decals for that finishing touch.
And nothing tops a beautifully restored vintage BMX like Original Factory Stock tires… which I believe is the Icing on the Cake! Enjoy!
