Kessels-Merckx Team Fiat

This is an Eddy Merckx built by Kessels in Team Fiat livery.
Merckx rode for Fiat in 1977 so it is safe to say the bike is about that vintage.
Kessels from Belgium also built frames under his own "Main d'Or" label and is one of the many framebuilders connected to the Merckx name. Some say that Eddy used frames by Kessels personally at some point of his career, i only know that Kessels had the rights to distribute frames under the Merckx name for several years. The range goes from very basic models to very nice ones. This is one from the upper end of the scale though not a top one. The freemason signets on the fork crown and the pantos are characteristic for Kessels.

It came to me as it looks on the pictures, i only took it apart and regreased it. It is rusty, it is dented, it looks like it has seen a few hundred "Kermessen" and that is exactly what it was built for. It rides very well and i used it to ride the "Merckx Classic" 2011 at Salzburg.