Modding my Vintage PT 1680 SR Submariner - Progress so far

[Mapman57]

Some time back I picked up a PT 1680 form a member over on RG. The watch had been aged a little and some good work had been commenced.

I am not an experienced modder, but have found the work completed so far on my PT 1665 to be very satisfying and a great learning curve. Apart from general ageing/softening, it has had a crystal swap/crown swap/insert aged and recessed/pearl aged/CG's shaped/lug holes opened a touch.

First lesson to budding modders.....research the forum, be patient in what you do (especially with the search function ), be brave and only do one small step at a time - you can take more away, but you cannot put it back! My 1665 Cg's and new crown...as it is now....

At the time of purchase of my PT1680 I understood that some epoxy had possibly been used 'to seal the crystal in place, to make it waterproof'. Surprise, surprise..........Ouch!

Second lesson....nothing is new here - ask the members for help, post a thread and get the info you need.....thanks to all for their assistance.

So now the crystal is out and all parts are cleaned up. My plans include;

Age and soften the case

Shave the CGs in and out

Fit a gen 703 crown (fits on the existing tube fine, but I might still fit a new Yuki tube and gaskets)

Fit a recessed used gen insert

Fit a Clark 127 Tropic

Age and soften the bracelet and replace the clasp with a better version (thumb flip location) with 93150 markings

Add 580 end links (93150 and 580 is the correct combo)

Regulate the movement (was running fast)

Open the lug holes (just a little) and fit gen bars

The good news ;

The gen 703 crown will fit the existing tube

The gen insert will fit the existing bezel

The Clark 127 is a nice tight fit to the case

The bad news :

My case was epoxied to keep the bezel retainer ring in place - NOT to seal the crystal! :shh:

The bezel retaining ring is too large on the inside diameter - it is loose over the crystal. It leaves the factory with a plastic gasket in place. Mine is completely missing and I understand from research that once unassembled, they are difficult to re-assemble and get trashed! This must be what happened here.

Some pics for those who do not know......fully assembled, then bezel removed, then retainer ring removed - Nice glue job eh? Also, the bezel tension spring washer is missing. This is because the fit of the bezel over the retainer ring is quite loose. Put a spring washer in and i pops the bezel off!!!

I have been in touch with Justin (member JMB here) who has kindly offered to machine and supply a new custom retainer ring for me.

This will resolve all of the above issues.

So, in the meantime all other work is underway. Heres a few pics of the new lug holes, revised CG shape with the Gen 703 crown in place. The insert in these pics is the aged PT supplied version.

I am ageing (industrial grade bleach submersion and wiping technique) the PT insert to a paler grey colour. The gen insert is less discoloured. Both are without pearl. I plan to have the option to wear the grey insert on a Nato and the darker version on the bracelet. :cool:

I have collected a library of gen pics on case and crown guard shapes. They are so variable over the years and different revisions of this model.

I feel that mine are still a little too high, but I welcome any input on this point - and any other modification, of course.

The next challenge is to address the line up of the date wheel, to the dial window, to the crystal loupe. Dizzy has recently undertaken some work in this area recently and posted details - a pioneering mod you might say! Thanks Dizzy, that will inspire me to follow - but my eyes are so bad and that date window is so small!

I plan to update this thread as the mod's and final build comes together over the next week or so.

Thanks for looking and getting this far

:munch:

[Dizzy]

Lookin good so far!!

[Toadtorrent]

Fun stuff...good write-up. It's great to read other member's journeys with their watches.

[Cats]

Nice work wish i had the skills to do this myself.

( would save a lot of money )

Carpe Diem

Cats

[Mapman57]

So my 1680 came with a very nice quality and correct 93150 bracelet and matching clasp. This has been aged and aged and aged

However, the end links were incorrect being 285 reference - when they should be 580's. Why do hey do that?

I picked up a lower quality bracelet from a member some weeks back (many thanks Gileto ) with correct 580 end links. However, being of a much lesser quality (probably from a more budget rep?) the end links would not take a gen 2mm spring bar. They were even extremely tight on the standard bars that were fitted!!

So, I took my trusty (30 years old!) round needle file and spent too long, working the diameter out, so it would take the gen 2mm spring bar. I did not trust myself drilling this out, because the wall section in the tube in the end link was so thin to begin with.

As I said earlier in my thread - go gently, one bit off at a time. Added a touch of ageing and softening; and 'voila' - now we have a really nice quality 93150 bracelet and clasp, with 580 end links! And the lug pins are looking nice (see pics below)

[nick1972]

Good work

[Mapman57]

Many thanks to all for the comments

Some good news this week, I managed to source a new replacement plastic gasket for seating the retainer ring. This will provide a temporary fix for me to continue the work and the project build.

A custom retainer ring from Justin remains the ultimate goal!

[highoeyazmuhudee]

this is where a pinvise with a 2mm bit comes in handy

i thought 580s were closed endlinks

Edited October 24, 2010 by highoeyazmuhudee

[Dizzy]

i thought 580s were closed endlinks

Yes, gen 580's are closed as in your pic. Mine also came with 285's... not sure why.

[Mapman57]

Good point to highlight on the 580 end links - thanks 'high' and Dizzy.

The open 580's I have shown are from a low cost/quality rep bracelet and not gen, of course!

I do have a pair of 'closed rep' 580's on my DRSD - which in fact are wrong - should be 585's I believe?

Thanks for poining this anomoly out 'high', I will put the closed 580's on my 1680/93150 and stay on the look out for some 585's to replace my open 580's on my DRSD!

I didnti quite understand th e'pinvise and 2mm bit' reference though?