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Dammit DTM, quit typing and go create that magical missing piece. My many Yuki bands and vintage watches depend on you! You're my only hope!

Precisely. You can build a very nice little Big Crown for very little money. But if this is more than just an itch you want to scratch this month, if it's something you want to keep a couple decades, then you need a GOOD case, dial, crown, crystal, bezel and insert. Buying what Phong interprets as "good" parts isn't really the right way to do it. What looks right to YOU? This means you need to do your homework and figure out what's "right" in your eye. Then you painstakingly assemble that watch. It's kinda like the kid at high school and his parents bought him a Vette, and he knows absolutely nothing about it. I'd rather be the kid that brought an old beater back from the brink, rebuilt the engine, painted it, got some blood on the parts, and can tell you EVERYTHING about that car.

My new-new ; very franken 1680, looking for 580s ...

I used WSO's 580 endlinks with an old MBW 93150 on my 5514 build and they fit well. I used HH's case though.

Mickey, very sorry to hear about your mother. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. AJ, incredibly kind of you to do this, but you know I wouldn't expect less of the great folks in this community. So many fine guys here, makes me proud to be a part of RWG.

Hello everyone! Meant to post this a little while back when I joined, but just now getting around to a proper introductions. I have a rabid love of vintage Rolex timepieces, especially Daytonas (more on that in a minute). IMVHO, there is no finer place for Daytona lovers than RWG; so many here with such a high level of expertise and so many with some of the loveliest 6263/65, 6239/41, etc. builds I've ever seen no question. My rep/franken collection is small, although my collection of parts (mainly gen) grows daily lol. So, a little story of how I came to be so enamored with Daytonas in the first place and what has set me on my path to build a near-completely gen 6263: My father was a car guy. A huge car guy. Collected and built and tinkered with Mustangs his whole life. I grew up hunting through junkyards with him and watching him take old frames and re-build some of these cars piece by piece. It's where I learned that the hunt and the build is greater than the end product sometimes (most times lol). And he loved racing-specific sports chronographs. And I mean he LOVED them. We grew up dead-center middle class in Wyoming, Pennsylvania and frankly, a second hand watch purchase was his only option. He eventually bought himself a used Heuer Carrera second hand from our neighbor who owned the jewelry shop in town. At the time (this was 1975 or 76 if I remember), buying a used watch wasn't necessarily something you'd be proud of or "show off" per se, but it wasn't necessarily looked down upon either and besides my father didn't care, he had himself a real deal racing chrono, and one that "real drivers" wore too as he would say. Now, his "baby" was a black and British racing green 1971 Plymouth Barracuda that he had bought brand new. I swear he loved that thing more than me and my mom hahaha! Anyways on my 10th birthday (in 1981) he took me out for a spin in it. On the way home I asked him why he rarely, if ever, drove it. He had spent years saving up for it he told me, drove it pretty hard for that first year, then just put it away when my mom got pregnant with me. He told me that he was actually saving it to sell it. He said, "I'm going to sell it and put you in college and buy myself a new watch. A Rolex." When my father passed away in 1989 the Barracuda was long gone and it had most certainly helped get me into college. He never did buy himself that Rolex though. He took his Heuer with him to the next life, and after college I saved and saved and saved and eventually bought myself the exact same Carrera (which regretfully just sits in a safety deposit box most of the time; I would be devastated if something happened to it). And with little ones of my own now, buying that 6263 (that I KNOW my father would have wanted) for $25-30K is not really an option. So, I'm doing what my father may have done nowadays and build the damn thing myself. Piece by piece. I have a lovely DW-cased 7750 iteration of a 6241 (pictured), and just recently purchased a 6263 mid-case from Jensen over at vintagewatchmaker .com (en route to me now) to start my V72 build in earnest. My hope is that this mid-case ends up being the only non-gen component other than the V72. I hope to glean amazing insight and criticisms from the wonderful RWG vintage Daytona community (I've already learned SO MUCH already in the 18 or so months of lurking I've done) and I hope to share the entire journey and build with everyone here from beginning to end. Apologies for the novella, and thank you RWG for having me…

ahhh, yes, he told me you got the mq case. duh. its a nice one. the insert wasnt hard to find, just looked nonstop. I accepted the scratches because I wanted some fade, but not ghosted also not black. every other one I saw was to black or had chips which I didnt want. I think I sourced every part, all gen outside of the dial hands and case, in under a week

Gorgeous!!

I believe there is something out there, there must be, we'd have to be crazy to think we are the only intelligent life in the universe. So to answer the question, yes. Q: have you ever been in love and lost? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very very sad to read this Micky. I had to say farewell to my grandmother a month ago, these things are never easy and for me many tears with the family were needed. Don't mind about watches now mate, there are things much more important in life such as family. Enjoy the Aston ride btw

buy phongs case/caseback/bezel and go from there

I'm very sorry to hear about your mother Micky. Best of luck and my thoughts are with you and the family.

Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Thoughts are with you and your family in this time of need. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My PAM 127 on a very nice Corregia strap.

I will wear the 604 tomorrow as I am in the City, today its work from home so casual 372! I have studued the photos against a gen and cant really see any difference! I guess as they only made 99 none of us will ever find out for sure, however it is a truly amazing piece of work that I am very, very impressed by! AJ

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Couldn't agree more ! AJ

Prayers and thoughts with you Mick AJ that is incredible of you to be there mate I salute you mate If i still had The bird i Would have offered to fly you micky haha Hope for The Best

Sorry to hear the news mate. Email sent.

x 22 props to both AJ & Nanuq

Very sorry to hear about your situation Micky. Prayers to you and yours. Really great to see the willingness of the community to support each other.

Silix modded 6538 on Bond NATO today.

Even after a couple of pair of high grade Swiss 2mm fat spring bars.. And even gen spring bars... They still don't hold up good as they used to! Especially when you mount them then take them apart a couple of time... It seams that the spring get weak and don't hold up... Even gen? Love to find a good stiff spring bar that's 2mm and hold up good? Anybody with a suggestion please? Sent from my Rolex thinking brain!

This build is now complete with gen end links gen clasp to make the bracelet completely gen! So now this build is pretty much a gen on a aftermarket case! Because the ST case and Cape Co DW is the only parts that isn't gen! The build is now up for sale on RWI Time to move on to something new Sent from my Rolex thinking brain!

And your pair of franken lovelies just reminded me of something that I forgot to mention in the original post -- I would also recommend polishing the polished parts (not the brushed sections) of the bracelets on these 116520 reps with a dremel & some green & red rouge. This will help to smooth out most of the 'grainy' appearance of the bracelets that come with all these reps. I can usually tell a gen 1165xx from a rep by the way the light reflects off the polished parts of the bracelet. After modding it, the difference is much less noticeable.