Mendota Explorer

Wow. That is a steal. I got my vintage 703 for $45 and I thought that was a good price. [emoji2] [emoji106]

Wow! I love that dial!

Isn't that the truth! [emoji106] [emoji2]

Thanks for the info. Boy, yours looks nice and original. Really has that vintage look to it. My red 1680 build is supposed to be from circa '69 and I have a ways to go if I want to make it believable. One of the steps is removing my 703 and putting on either a 702 or a 700. I really like the look of the 700!

Nice job! I might have to build one of these over the winter!

Wow. That is gorgeous! Is that the paper set that one of our members here is making? Which crown is that? I love this!

Athaya sells a tube for the 700 if you have trouble finding a gen one. Just curious - with a sub from the early 1970s, was there a specific reason why you chose a 700 vs a 702? I'm only curious for my own knowledge for future builds. I like both crowns but never know when each is appropriate.

So in your professional opinion, how is the rest of the watch?

Yes!! She was definitely worth the wait!

Yeah, that is too bad. My Puretime 1680 is a great case but I've heard that Angus has been out of stock of those for quite some time, plus I also heard that the bezel assembly has been changed to feature a clip spring design. So with that in mind, do we think the Josh case or the Toro case is a better overall budget starting point?

No way! You finally found the elusive GMT? I can't wait to see pics of this. I've been admiring pics you have been posting lately of a 5513. Is this the Yuki build you are referring to? It really looks fantastic. That's a Yuki dial in there? How absolutely necessary is it to work on the Yuki case? Can someone get by without any reshaping?

Great. Thanks for the recommendation! That's what I have been thinking in my gut, so it is nice to get confirmation from a pro. I bought my vintage 703 long before Athaya even prototyped the 702, otherwise I would have just bought that one for sure. I'll take it off this winter and replace it with the 702 at the same time that I take it apart to work on the dial and replace the plexi. Seems like a perfect time for that.

Expect a PM from me when I get ready to start my build! Thanks for the great info here. That helps put things into perspective. Do you have these cases and dials, bezel assemblies readily available, or are they only for your personal projects/tinkering? I recently purchased all of my tools and I am really chomping at the bit to start tinkering and working on budget projects this winter. That's why I'm really interested in this 5512 and the 1680 that were posted in this thread, but your suggestions above sound very promising. Quite a few members on the various boards have been gracious enough to share tips and tricks with me and I'm looking forward to just rolling my sleeves up and trying my hand at it. I know I am going to mess up a few dials along the way, but that is all part of learning the skills needed for this hobby!

I just looked at the pics of the original 5512 again and I didn't notice this before - the crown position is really low on the case. [emoji20]

Interesting. So what would you recommend as the base for a budget 5512 or 5513 build?

Good luck. That's a nice dial. I can't wait to see what you do with it. You could always use an Athaya 702 while you hunt for a gen.

I really like the pics from the toro 1680 posted above. The crown position is dead center. Only thing is I'd have to get a new dial for a 5512 build. What do you think of it? Did you also purchase the same Josh Cartel 5512?

How much was the sub on Toro's site?

I've also read that Brasso works great.

@Alligoat, with a red 1680 build from the late 1960s, would you use a 702 or a 700? Right now I have a gen 703 on there.

How is yours coming?

Beautiful! Can you share the build specs?

As an owner of the Puretime red 1680 you referenced, here are some thoughts on it. I bought mine in 2011 when it was readily available. If you can find a used one on M2M sales you will be much happier. First off, it has been out of stock for most of this year. You will need to ask Angus if he knows when he will get stock again. They changed the design of the bezel assembly. Big bummer there. It now has a clip spring-type mechanism. The old design, which mine has, features a goofy plastic gasket, which you can throw away, the retainer ring, and then the bezel ring. Many people choose to have JMB custom make a new retainer ring. Rolex Addict over on RWI said this is one of the best cases he has ever worked on. The crown guards need only minimal shaping. Literally only a hair off the tips of the ends. If you look at pics of gens from the underside, and then compare those to this, they are almost spot on. The case accepts a gen size dial and a gen spec crystal. The stock tube will accept a gen crown, so you can put on a gen 703 or 702, or get Athaya's 702. I bought a used vintage 703 before Athaya offered his 702, otherwise I would have bought Athaya's for sure. The insert is a great example of a service replacement thin font insert and has a nice vintage pearl. No need to do anything to it other than age it if you want. Of course, you could always get a gen fat font insert and have more of that original, non-service look. The lugholes take gen 2mm springbars but the holes in the endlinks fit really snugly. There is no wiggle room, and in my case that meant the tips of the bars would not line up in the holes. I had to buy WSO 580 endlinks in order to use the gen spec bars. Boy are those a pain, too. The lug engravings are correct and read 1680 but the serial is from the late 1980s, long after the 1680 was discontinued. If you replace the crystal, you might have luck reusing the plastic gasket that comes with the watch, but often it gets mangled and you have to toss it. Rolex Addict says you don't need it, anyway. The date window is in the ETA position, so a gen-spec plexi with cyclops is going to be slightly out of position. People have said it isn't that big of a deal, or you can use a T19. Personally, I think the T19 looks fan-freaking-tastic. My bezel assembly is missing the tension washer, so the bezel ring is a little too loose and spins. I'm going to try to find one. I also need to age my dial, swap my crystal, and then I'm done. Regarding the dial, the print is excellent and it is a great dial, but the lume markers are flat and shiny. To make it look right you really need to do something with them. Here are a few pics of mine:

Great pic! Which version is this?