pic of inside shell

Hello!

I'll give my two cents:

1. Just find out what I have here (grey interior?)

Grey painted interiors are not uncommon on vintage MIJ drums. Vintage MIA drums did th same thing; Ludwig with the white paint, etc.

2. I have included pics of some of the hardware in hopes that someone can date it.

I'm going to guess late 60's, early 70's...probably early 70's, based on the no re-ring shells.

3. All the hardware is here EXCEPT the legs (spurs?). Can you suggest where I might find them?

Go to a hardware store, get some metal rods that will fit, cut to a length that will work.

4. I assume the hardware with the red arrow is for a cymbal mount - Anybody got one?

I missed that picture.

5. should I put felt in the lugs? does it go around the spring completely or just between the spring and the shell?

You can use felt. I use a cotton ball, or half of one, depending on the siz of the lug. Pull the spring out, insert cotton ball, felt, etc, and put spring back in. It dosn't have to surround the spring.

6. Is it reasonable to think I might find a matching tom?

It might be hard, but try the vintage MIJ groups on Facebook, someone there might have one. You can also place a 'WTB' post on here, or on drumforum.org.

7. Does the pedal hold up the back of the drum or should I get a small riser? Seems like clamping the pedal to this rim is asking for trouble.

Not sure what you mean (missed that picture as well). Assuming the bass drum is a 20" or 22", it shouldn't require a "riser".

8. Which heads do you recommend? Ported?

This is all about preference. You'll get a million different perspectives on this. Many will say one ply coated heads, but go it really depends on the sound you're going for; wet 70's sound, jazz sound, open rock sound, warm vintage vibe, etc. Have fun with it, try different head combos...there is NO rules with this.

9. The hoops have a very deep groove in the center (ha, at least the hoops have groove!). Is this for anything other than collecting grunge and rust and frustrating restorers?

Bass drum hoops? If so, I'm gonna guess they're for inlays.

Cheers.

the pics are one post up. I have to put up a second post to get all the pics in