Vintage sims decks

[dcgnus]

That’s a bit rough , I love the sims laminated decks , very nice

[punkboy]

couple of old pics

[punkboy]

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[dcgnus]

Lovely decks there , love the wheels on the taperkick

[punkboy]

33" nos taperkick

[Bugsyb]

Are you selling up your collection? Or thinning down?

[punkboy]

thinning down but theres not that much thinning left although i seem to sell one thing and buy two more

[punkboy]

[Itsonlymoney!!!]

couple of old pics

Considerable difference in the wheels base of those similar length decks

[punkboy]

yes the phase 3 was more of a snub nose making the wheel base longer

[black_forest_roller]

dear vintage sims decks lovers,

i did stumble into your world by inheriting something unkonwn to me from an uncle of mine and would like to get some ideas of what to do with it. as far as i know, it was not in use for at least 20 plus years, probably even longer.

i don't know yet, whether i might become part of the rolling community and take this board as my starting piece or if i might focus on my other things and try to sell it to someone, who would like this piece to become part of her/his collection.

please find some pictures below.

i am very happy about any kind of support from you.

kind regards from the black forest in southern germany.

sebastian

. . .

[Bugsyb]

Hi Sabastian,

You’ve inherited a 44” oak Sims pure juice long board, probably dates from around 1975 to 77
The 44” was possibly the longest version, hopefully someone will know for certain.
Wheels are possibly slightly later than deck, and look like Powell Bones (difficult to make out which!)
Trucks are even harder to identify, maybe Energy??

These boards are very much of the mid 70’s era of skating, bombing down big hills, carving pools, very much influenced by the cross over with surfing.

They are collectible, not overly rare but one a Sims collector would want!
Condition dictates value, maybe with a few more detailed photos someone could give an estimate.

Sure to be lots more info available on line.

Possibly needs new bearings and pivot bushes if you’re considering riding it.

Hope this helps
Paul

[black_forest_roller]

dear paul...

thank you very much for your lines and the additional information on the board, that provided the perfect entrance gate for my research.

and well, the research again brought my decision: not selling but restoring and starting to make use of it will be what happens next.

i'm a late 1970ies man and so this 44" board share my time on this planet and i share it's. would not be wise to not accept this form of karma when something enters your life unplanned.

from the very first moment i somehow felt in love with the board and now - having stripped the grip tape and brought it's real beauty to light - this love just deepened.

however i am an absolute beginner in this topic but as a builder and mechanic, who restored his own vintage car i got the skills and tools to give this piece of oak a proper restoration without destroying it's character.

i just took everything apart and will attach some further photos of the deck, the trucks and the wheels for a very welcoming additional set of thoughts from you and anyone who would like to share support.

three short questions for tonight would broaden my mind and brighten my smile.

1) i probably will use the board when finished for cruising only. it feels like a sacrilege to sand the upper side of the deck entirely and by doing so to remove the original lettering. but as i would like to use minimal grip tape later or maybe to use transparent one, i need to create an optical clean surface. maybe i keep the lettering out from sanding and only try to remove the glue residuals. the bottom of the deck i would love to keep the way it is and just softly clean it and spray with boat paint. sounds good?

2) the trucks are from ENERGY and i wonder, whether i could keep them and just give them new bearings and pivot bushes. i thought about cleaning the properly with dry ice blasting. does that sound appropriate?

3) the rolls are powell & peralta bones rolls, measuring 64x57 mm. i do guess they are not original on a sims deck. am i wrong? i would like to restore the board as much towards the original state as possible.

with a deep grateful bow to the community.

best regards from the german black forest - where even going downhill with the board might become big fun... when i'm brave enough.

sebastian

[punkboy]

the energy freestyle trucks are period correct but an unusual choice for the deck as you normally see them fitted with trackers/bennetts or gullwings,the wheels are a lot later and the truck copers are home made by the looks of things,it should clean up pretty nicely and the top logo is in very nice condition still

[Bugsyb]

Hi Sabastian,

This’ll be a great project and looking forward to seeing your efforts!

My thoughts on the deck would be to protect the the top logo as it looks to be in excellent condition, maybe tape a patch to protect. Possibly best to hand sand (orbital can leave noticeable marks) starting with a 400 grit and slowly moving to a finer 2000 grit. I’ve used domestic (household) bleach which will help soften the aged wood, washing off with warm water. You will probably want to slightly lighten the aged wood until you’ve achieved a reasonable match.
The bottom of deck and edges can be sanded to remove/ blend in any knocks from use!

You may also want to darken the wood around the painted logo and there are water based stains available (do a test sample on the other lighter areas to determine)
Clear deck tape would be a good idea if you intend to ride the the board!


Regarding the trucks, I would use a needle file on the hangar or similar to flatten out any raised nicks/ dents while maintaining the Energy logo on face of hangar, they’re are different types of scotch guard available (similar to wire wool) which is very effective and less abrasive than blasting.


The base plates can clean up nicely too by removing/ blending in any knocks / dents and spraying with a matt acrylic (I’ve used Montana Gold professional)black spray paint.

Truck bushes should be readily available on E bay, or a local skateboard shop?

Wheels if you intend to ride would be best bought either on line or a local supplier ( maybe a cruiser type) or if displaying maybe some Sims pure juice)


If the truck hardware can be saved I would reuse or look out for period correct!

Hope this may help .,…..enjoy your project
Paul