Regina CX, Basket Case? Or Is Nothing Hopeless?

 A few weeks ago, a member of Classic & Vintage sub-forum on www.bikeforums.net started a thread about a set of wheels he had recently picked up.  Mounted to the rear hub was this severely rusted Regina CX 7 speed freewheel.  Yes, that is rust, not caked on road grime, oil, and dirt.  He also noted the FW made a loud clunking sound.

I sent him my Regina tool in order to remove the FW and send it in for the Full Spa Treatment.  It arrived about two weeks ago, and I could not believe how bad this FW had been neglected!  Every cog had about a .5mm layer of rust.  Obviously it had lived near the ocean.  It was sad, but I was not deterred. 

A liberal dose of penetrating oil was applied to the cogs and retaining ring.  I repeated this about 4-5 times.  Eventually, the cogs started to loosen in their threads.

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Nothing pretty about this Regina CX! Rust, not road grime, was the culprit behind the discoloration of the silver cogs!

Even the body was rusted. Even more worrisome, there was significant 'slop' between the core and the body. I feared the races were shot.

Also, the retaining ring would not budge. This FW might be toast. But I would not give up and eventually a hammer and punch persuaded the ring to yield to the Spa Master.

A bath in Oxalic Acid took care of the rust. Some of the original silver finish would be forever gone. Also most of the original bearings were discolored and not salvageable.

Cleaned, greased, pawls oiled, and new bearings ready for reassembly. Would the new bearings and grease take care of the slop?

Yes! All back together, and it purrs like a kitten! Even an apparent basket case, still has many years and tens of 1000s of miles of life left!

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