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And make sure he sends what the pictures show. I’ve confronted him a few times and he immediately plays dumb. Be on your toes.

Yes it’s hard to tell from the pics, if that’s a silver date wheel it needs flat 3s. If it’s a white datewheel then rounded 3s are okay. It’s hard to see in this pic but this datewheel is silver.

Dammit!! So that's where my lighter fluid went. Hang tight, I've got some brake cleaner here. It works wonders keeping the bling sparkly.

Never mind that, it probably means the liquor cabinet is getting low in the Moderators lounge. When we restock it, I can get likes even for this magnificent piece. That's right, it's the Wrist Flip Watch.

At the rate I'm going, soon I won't even be able to tie my shoes.

We have members here that have done that with cases for Rolex 5514 COMEX and dials for Rolex Submariners. They labored over details and absolutely perfected them with software, then farmed them out for limited production. When they were ready people snapped them up and to this day they're utterly perfect. Sure, it can be done. It has been done. Stick around, and you'll see it happen again. Until then we have to make do with "good enough".

...............and this is all they found.

When I was young and stupid(er) I was on a business trip to Puerto Rico and ran across a guy selling Submariners with (gasp) AUTOMATIC MOVEMENTS. I had to have one. I wore it proudly, constantly mesmerized by the dark blue of its dial and bezel insert. It was breathtaking. So walking home from work one day I passed by Ben Bridge jewelers in downtown Seattle, the Rolex Authorized Dealer. I went in and admired their watches, tut-tuting under my breath that they were all black. All missing that distinctive and handsome deep blue tint. To my eye they were otherwise identical. The sales girl sauntered over and I allowed my lovely blue Submariner to peek out from my sleeve. She immediately spotted it, and sizing me up as a man to be reckoned with, asked if she could hold it? I gingerly handed it over and she looked it over, then asked if I was happy with it? I said yes, but admitted it does gain a bit during 24 hours. Like 5 minutes. So she took it back to their watchmaker in the back room and wasn't gone very long before she came back, holding it at arm's length like the rotting corpse of a dead fish. She handed it back and said "you know, that's not a real Rolex". Truer words were never spoken! I drew myself up to my full stature and said "of course not! the money I saved on my purchase paid for the trip where I bought it". Sheesh. It's amazing I survived my youth and stupidity.

And once you find The One that you simply cannot live without (it changes week to week) don't make the mistake of buying something else that's "almost as good". Because you'll do that 2 or 3 times and eventually get The One anyway, and will have wasted a bunch of money getting there. Ask me how I know.

Come to think of it, this one didn't either. What a heap.

As long as we're talking about the work you did on watches, here's the Frosty Flake you finished up for me. Remember this one?

I'll see your hand hammered bodywork and raise you one. Behold the 1936 Boat Tail Auburn.

When you're starting out in this hobby everything looks great and no matter what you buy, you wear it proudly. Over time you become more familiar with how the genuine watches look, and become familiar with their details. Then you notice your watch doesn't quite have those details right, and you get the itch. Then you're off on the pursuit of incrementally improving your watch. It's great fun, and there's really very few permanent answers, because the parts people are always improving too. So "who's best?" changes. But in rough terms there are categories of Junk, Mediocre, High End and Nosebleed. Prices go up exponentially as you move left to right, and parts become distinguishable from genuine only under a good quality loupe. For example a 2183 is a fine workhorse movement, but an ETA is better. An ETA is a fine workhorse movement but genuine is better. But which one are you willing to soak in the ocean when your seals fail? It's all in the details.

Ohhhhhhhh yes. VERY tasty. Look at that bodywork, probably all hand hammered.

This one was a Tiger, we'd dropped in a HiPo engine from a GT Mustang and added solid lifters, 3/4 cam, Offenhauser intake, 750 Holley, Sanderson headers, 11.5:1 pistons, the works. Oh, and a 2.77:1 rear end. It was built for autocross and who needs to change gears once you're driving? What a beast. It had puny little cherry bomb "mufflers" and at idle sounded like a nuclear popcorn popper gone berserk.

Oh man, the E-type is another favorite. Then my mind goes straight to the American Boat-tail Auburn. Then there's my favorite. The "Poor Man's Cobra", again with British bodywork. I almost owned this one, and never would have sold it.

I have a friend in Spokane, Washington of all places, a high school biology teacher. Maaaaaaaany many years ago he bought a 427 Cobra and tucked it away in his garage as his "retirement". In all those years he's put 50 miles on it. I'd say his retirement is going to be quite comfortable.

Ohhhhhh yeah, now we're talking. I love me some classic Fords! The 427 Cobra, is it the prettiest car ever built? If not, maybe the GT40 will have to do.

A couple years ago AJ invited me to join his crew and we raced the Isle of Man. What an experience!! What we need to do is all go stay at[mention=73322]Sogeha[/mention]’s house and watch the Northwest 200!

Hah, I’m spending a lot of time with my car too. I smacked a moose in November and it’s taken me this long to find wings and a bonnet. Now stripping and wishing I was good with a brass hammer and a block of wood. I guess I can say my replacement body parts have “character”.

Good to see you back, buddy!

Poached eggs! My favorite!

That was his Ultra Special Dustbunny Removal and Lint Extraction Service, with surcharge discount for overuse of knee pads.