jackflash

5517

5513 gilt PCG today

It will naturally depend on your budget. Generally the watches off the shelf from the trusted dealers all need modding. Modding can be a fun and frustrating experience, if you don't want to tackle the task yourself there are some very talented modders on the forum to help you. Alternatively keep an eye on the members sales section or start a "want to buy" thread. Decent watches do crop up. Profiteering is frowned upon so you could pick up a decent watch at a lot less than it would cost to buy new and mod.

Triumph

5513 today

Gilt

Gilt

5513 today

In that case, you may get lucky and find a thicker aftermarket tension spring, there are a few on the bay, here's one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEZEL-INSERT-TENSION-FLAT-SPRING-FOR-ROLEX-SUBMARINER-1680-5508-5512-5513-5517-/160907267371?hash=item2576d20d2b:g:LEAAAOSw4A5YpNfR

1 minute ago, jigelow said:

I may try putting a third spring in.

Hopefully you won't need to do that. Have you tried the assembly together with the crystal on the midcase yet?

5513 today

 The bezel is pretty loose on the retainer.

Great tip! Thanks for posting! Looking forward to seeing your finished 5508.

Tarts

You'll find info on my 1680 case to 5513 PCG escapade here:

https://rwg.cc/topic/169433-5513-pcg-odyssey/#comment-1330780

 

What is a source of your bracelets? they look good.

There are also solid midlink bracelets available without the line on the last link. WSO has them, you will just need to swop out the fliplock with the rep version as the WSO version is unmarked. WSO also sell the gen spec 580 endlinks and 2mm spring bars with rounded ends:

http://m.ebay.com/itm/SOLID-OYSTER-BAND-BRACELET-FOR-ROLEX-SUBMARINER-FAT-SPRING-BAR-20MM-93150-F-LOCK-/310586969327?nav=WATCHING_ACTIVE

The newer Cartel 5513 midcase is actually what they use for the 1665, hence the extra thickness. You can check out some comparison shots in my 5513 build thread:
https://rwg.cc/topic/181702-the-updated-cartel-5513/#comment-1447801
Be wary of the 1680 cases you may find it requires a slightly larger dial 26.5 - 27mm rather than the 26mm of the 5513.
Here are my Cartel builds, the newer version on the wrist, older in the hand.

MQ is worth checking out for a high-end dial:
http://vintagewatchesmq.com/minhquy/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=800&category_id=146&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

There are no accurate inserts. There is one from Helanrou with serif numbers, however they are too small and the quality of the insert material itself pretty poor.

Here's mine with an ETA 2836 movement next to s gen. They dial was from Ingod44, unfortunately no longer in business.

I agree with you. I dig both of mine very much!! The Heuer is a slept-on piece. It was available for next to nothing up until last year. I think people are finally catching on to the stellar Flyback Valjoux 230 mov't & also the fact that the watch is thin but 43mm in diameter without the pushers/crown. It's a big contemporarily-sized watch but elegant and wearable due to its thinness!

Dragged this out of storage and slapped in a (gasp) new battery. Haven't worn it in 10 years! No fan of Quartz but the watch has provenance as a military issued watch.