Mike at Black Mountain Cycles in Point Reyes Station in Marin is probably the only guy on earth to have worked on as many Cunninghams as Charlie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Cunningham

Cool, I guess he couldn’t anodise it tho?

I doubt Charlie had the facilities or the inclination to anodise them when new. There’s raw and there’s Cunningham raw.

I’m guessing that’s been dipped to remove the corrosion , whats the deal with the welds on the top/down tube are they seam welded gussets?

From the link

Restoring a Cunningham (or any bar aluminum frame) that has seen the worst of the elements involves a two step process.

#1 apply Fluid Film, a corrosion/protectant with #8447 or #7447 Scotch Brite pads. In the case of this frame, this step was repeated 3 times. Buff with a clean terry cloth rag after each application.

#2 apply a liquid wax, Nu-Finish in this case, with a #7445 Scotch Brite Pad. This further protects the frame. Buff with a clean terry cloth rag after the wax is on for a bit.

whats the deal with the welds on the top/down tube are they seam welded gussets?

Yes I think they are seam welded gussets. The frames are incredibly light though.

Cunninghams are a bit like Vermeers, the whereabouts of every frame Charlie built is known. The chances of a tiny bike shop in Point Reyes having three in the stands at one time is pretty rare.

Glad to see this as I have an old chromed steel mtb that I’m fixing up, and I bought a bottle of Nu Finish wax for it. 🙂