Work in progress [Dawes Red Feather]

A while ago, I came across a bike which had been left behind by a departing University student. It had been mangled in an accident and left for dead, but it seemed in good condition otherwise and was a Dawes alloy framed hybrid. I had a Dawes Windsor tourer until recently - a lovely bike, handbuilt frame and decent components, but it had dropped handlebars and a non-indexing gear shift and I wanted something more like a mountain bike. So when I saw the redundant Dawes languishing I decided to see if it could be saved.

It's a Dawes Red Feather, like the one in the photo, but oddly it seems hard to find information about them. All the web searches come up with the latest Red Feather version, unlike this one, or a vintage fifties model again unlike this. This one is a hybrid with 700C rims, 7 speed Shimano derailleur with a granny gear and modern handlebars with an indexed short twist-grip shifter. The brakes are centre-pull callipers, the frame is a chunky alloy hand-built with oval section down-tube. It was just what I wanted but I have no idea when or where it was made.

 The bike had certainly had a hard bump - the derailleur mechanism was damaged and the drop-out was bent out at an angle, the back wheel was buckled and the front mudguard was shattered, and there is a chunk out of the crank spider. However after a clean-up it seemed worth a try.

The first problem was the drop-out. If it couldn't be successfully straightened then I might as well give up immediately. As it came out, I was able to apply leverage with a scaffold pole (strong and five feet long) and the drop-out realigned without breaking. The derailleur had to be replaced and after a detour caused by someone selling me one which operated the wrong way round, I eventually got a suitable new unit  for £25. The buckled wheel cost me £8 to find out that it was really beyond repair, but adjusting the spoke tensions has given me a straightish wheel which might do to make a trailer or some other light duty function. The new rear wheel cost £30 and some rim tape £2.50, then it was just a matter of transferring the gear set and the tyre. It looks as though a new mudguard set to match will be around £12; the crank spider is perfectly usable although it will probably be replaced at some point. The saddle has been replaced by a Lepper leather one which has yet to be moulded to my contours, so that's something to look forward to (not). Otherwise the bike is in much the same condition as the one in the photo and I hope to make good use of it. It will be the first bike I've had with an indexed gear change and effective brakes and I'm looking forward to getting out on it this summer. It really is "as light as a feather".
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UPDATE 11 July 2014
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I've used the bike for a while and it's great, but it has a problem with occasionally missing a gear. Research has shown that the derailleur set which was sold to me is "suitable for 7/8 speed cassette" but the hysteresis in the changer mechanism means the the exact positioning of the cage is slightly different when changing up through the range than when changing down. This causes one or other of the middle gears to be out of line with the cage so there's a glitch until a slight pressure is put to move the changer up or down from the indexed position, and that usually means jumping over the gear you were trying to select. I can live with that, but it illustrates the difficulties that can arise when you try to mix parts of different gear sets.