dieselpower

Cheers chaps. A thumbs up from 'Nook - praise indeed! Do you reckon when I shuffle off this mortal coil I could sell it to God himself? As we already know, he wears a 1665, but he could need a decent rep in reserve - just in case   

Along time ago with a modder far far away.......

I sent my old school MBW DR1665 to BigRedJoe (remember him?) and he actually did quite a good job. Shaved the cg's fitted a gen tube and crown I was happy. Then about two years later I wanted to move up a level and Tribal (again - remember him?) was my modder of choice to fit clarks (I think) hands, a clarks superdome, age the case and fit a 2846 slow beat movement and an Ubi datewheel overlay. This he did with aplomb and again, I was happy. Recently I started to reassess the daily beater and having acquired a gen T39 plexi I thought it was time to raise the bar again. I contacted a modder and put forward my proposals. Improve the He valve, relume the dial and hands and fit the gen T39. He was happy to do this and the watch was duly despatched.

First the He valve issue. Rather than go to expense of a functional He vale we agreed to go with a visually accurate 'plug' that did not involve compromising the case but looked the part to the naked eye. As I am no deep sea diver I would never actually use the He valve function anyway so again, I was happy. Here is a photo of the metal plug used to replicate the valve:

My friend then pointed out a couple of issues with the dial that I had supplied with the watch (flaking of the markers etc) and he offered to fit a lightly aged ingod GW rail dial, replace the Ubi DWO with a brushed steel flat top 3 DW. I agreed happily with his suggestions and he kindly sent me some photos:

I didn't want to be a total pain in the a**e but I told him that one of my pet hates is when the dial markers, hands and bezel pearl do not match colourwise. He very kindly took my comments on board and set to work. Here is the result:

Now to the movement. I had fitted a slow beat eta but this had been running slow and caused me some stress. I'm not a mad Japanese style stickler for punctuality but I do like to know what time it actually is rather than what time it roughly is so I had asked my modder to address this. He pointed out that he could fit a replacement slow beat movement for less money than the cost of paying for a full service on my slow running engine. Brilliant, we agreed a movement swap:

So, now we have the following specs:

Old schoold MBW case - CG's shaved, gen tube, gen 703 crown, lug holes drilled, He valve 'plug' added and overall case aged.

Gen T39 superdome fitted.

Ingod rail dial re-lumed and aged with brushed steel open 6 and 9 flat top 3 datewheel.

PMWF bezel insert with yuki pearl painted to match hands/dial.

Slow beat ETA 2846 fitted.

Clarks hands re-lumed to match dial.

I think that's about it. I have to say I've really enjoyed the whole development of this watch and it has re-kindled my passion for our hobby. Here's a photo of the finished product. The only thing I have to think about now is the bracelet. I have the original MBW riveted one that I am happy with but I'm wondering if I should shell out on a gen or at least one of the highly recommended Yuki offerings?

Anyway here is a shot of the 'finished' product:

The watch is still with my modder and these are his photos (used with kind permission). I can't wait to finalise the deal and strap that baby on my wrist. I think it will be sitting there for a long while....... Then there's the 1016 to think about!

I've got the same combo as tomhorn on a 5513. Best 'bang for buck' I reckon. However, I've got a JMB caseset for a 1016 so I've just tried fitting my 5513 bracelet to it and I'm afraid it's not quite  right. The 2mm springbars fit fine into the lugs on their own but when put into the endlinks the 580's don't allow the springbar to line up with the lug holes. It's very close but not quite there. I'm no expert on endlinks but some with slightly smaller 'hoods' might allow the springbar to line up with the lug holes then, I reckon you're in business. Hope this helps.

What does it say above the gates of hell? "Abandon hope all ye who enter here."

Sorry my friend but you're in here with us now....... and there is no escape. Wa ha ha ha Wa ha ha ha ha ha ha

Ebay, readily available last time I looked. Your watch is fantastic, it needs that NY bezel!

1680?

tapeworm

arseholes

I think my PM inbox must have been full. I've emptied it now.

Tube on the left looks like a 7030. Don't know about the other one.

I remember reading rave reviews of yuki's 7206 but he seems to be out of stock most of the time.

Hey fabio! I just realised I may know why you want the bezel - am I right? Drop me a PM I may be able to help with the handset 

Having read davids100 replies then I'd say 100% watchNY. And yes, if you can get it for a good price then go for it, I reckon it's the best aftermarket option. I've got one on my 6263 and apart from the print quality when looked at through a loupe I'm very pleased. The biggest 'tell' with DW bezels is the gap between the 1's on the number 110. Have a look see and you'll get what I mean.

I think it's a watchNY bezel.

1665, is there a better watch? Nope.... I don't think so.

Nice piece, wear it well.

Brilliant stuff! May I suggest a watchNY bezel?

Alright I suppose.... for a noob 

Look at us. One female joins our ranks and we're all a tizzy like bees round a honey pot. Ahem. May I take this opportunity to welcome you aboard, in a proper, English, gentlemanly fasion. Greetings from London. How do you do.

nourishment

Keep the 1665. As Nanuq once said to me "If you were to look on God's wrist - he'd be wearing a 1665!"

Welcome back from another oldtimer(ish)

Looks a bit ropey to me.

Here, here...

You've gotta love a trier.

Left. No question.