My bike originally had just a rear brake–standard issue at the time–so the later Dia-Compe 883 front and rear setup will go. (They're not for sale.)
My original setup: a chrome Dia-Compe MX-1000 paired with a Shimano DX lever.
Where most brake levers pull the inner cable, this one pushes the outer sleeve.
But I had lost the cable guide that fits between the cable housing and the lever.
Fortunately I found someone making repops: VRC Cycles out of Australia.
The postage cost more than the pieces–they sell them by the pair–but they arrived very quickly.
And fit exactly as advertised.
Who's your best friend when working on brakes? That's right, your third hand. I still have mine. Like the bike (and me), it's vintage.
And once I had the brakes more or less mocked up, one last detail–that, sadly, covers the little brake piece that came from halfway around the world.
I still have my original Terrycable mud cover. 
I didn't have a black cable from the '80s, I subbed in a new Dia-Compe cable from Porkchop BMX. It's now one of the very few new parts on the bike.
Back in the day, we ran Flite Donuts. Why? Who knows. Blame peer pressure. And glossy magazine ads.
I still have mine. 
Instead of pressing in the proper rivet for the quick release, for now a button-head bolt and lock washer will have to do. (Shhh, don't tell the judges.)
One last detail for the brakes: something to keep the cable from fraying.
Most brake cables come with a little aluminum cap that's crimped into place.
We usually lost that cap, so at the bike shop where I worked, we'd just grab a spoke nipple and some Vise-Grips. (Still need to adjust brake pads here.)
Somewhere along the line, I also lost the stem pad. I had the frame and handlebar pads, though.
Finding a replacement MCS stem pad in silver seemed nearly impossible.
Finding a plain silver stem pad seemed equally impossible yet, somehow, I scored on via BMX Museum. Until then, I had never seen a plain silver BMX pad....
Time for the unveiling.
A week ago, my bike looked like this–frozen in time since I broke my arm riding it late in 1986.
I turned 16 soon after. That's when I got my Honda scooter, closing Chapter 1 in my BMX life.
And now, we're back to how the bike looked in 1984. It now matches the 911, and we're ready for Radwood later this week.
And the Porsche 911 is just about ready for Friday, too.
What to wear, what to wear?
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I really really hope we'll see a future GRM/CM cover of you jumping your Porsche with your MCS.
David S. Wallens said:
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to David S. Wallens :
I really really hope we'll see a future GRM/CM cover of you jumping your Porsche with your MCS.
Maybe?
Stu Thompson did it back in the day, jumping over one of the Oakley guys Porsche. Make sure you move that seat back and angle it up first!
That Takagi 180 with that particular Tioga B/B with the additional balls and DX's was the best one piece crank combination available at that time.
Yup. The Porsches belonged to Lynn Kastan (Redline), Bob Osborn (BMX Action) and Jim Jannard (Oakley). An iconic shot. 
That crank is one of the few pieces on the bike to have never been changed. Even though I just "back-dated" it to 1984 specs, I had already changed a few things–the bars, the pedals, the seat, the wheels, etc.
Off the top of my head, the crank, stem and chain ring were never changed. The wheels and tires were changed the most. The bike came with alloys–Sumo rims with Suzue hubs–while I also ran these Tuffs, aqua Z-rims and I think at least another set of Tuffs. I remember once having a coaster brake on there, too. That might have just been for a short while.
The goal here was to get the bike back to its 1984 guise. (I got the bike in 1983.)
The mystery here: Why do I have some parts but not others?
The old Z-rims are up in the attic. I had a box in the garage with the brakes and some other small parts. The seat was in the garage.
I can't recall how that all got from our old house to here.
And where did the rest go? My parents really did terrific, caring job when they packed up my stuff when they sold the house. Are there other parts somewhere in an unopened box? Did a box containing parts get put into storage at their new house? Did I trade/sell the rest? Questions that I don't know the answers to.
Fun times in Lakeland and, yes, that's my old Haro plate.
The bike rode back from Lakeland in the back seat:
But now it's all back together:
And I'll have it out again this Saturday:
Details here.
(Note: not selling the bike.)
Fun times this past weekend at Juvee Hall. 
Nice attention to detail.
Love that you've had the bike for almost 40 years!
In reply to RandolphCarter :
Thank you. It's the details that matter, right?
These BMX swaps/shows started out only in the warm states but now they're hitting the rusty ones too so I'm going to try to make the Dayton one next year.
