MilSub Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 (edited) Here's my plan for a low budget 1680 project... Get a red 1680 (660ft=200m opened 6) from PureTime. Reshape the rehaut with my lathe to make it look more like gen. Fit a 25-39 superdome crystal with a custom retaining ring. (I know it's not accurate, but I like the look.) Ageing case, insert and bracelet. Ageing dial and hands. Open up the date window to gen spec. Reshape the crown with the lathe to make it look more like gen. Reshape crown guards. Drill out the lug holes to gen spec. What do you think? What have I missed? How accurate can I get it without investing a small fortune? Edited November 12, 2010 by MilSub Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosnik Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 Way didn't you start from 1680 MBW base? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilSub Posted November 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 Way didn't you start from 1680 MBW base? Where can I get the MBW and what makes it a better base? Price? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star69 Posted November 12, 2010 Report Share Posted November 12, 2010 Here's my plan for a low budget 1680 project... Get a red 1680 (660ft=200m opened 6) from PureTime. Reshape the rehaut with my lathe to make it look more like gen. i would skip this step Fit a 25-39 superdome crystal with a custom retaining ring. (I know it's not accurate, but I like the look.) nah - not sure if it fit at all .. Ageing case, insert and bracelet. up 2u Ageing dial and hands. good Open up the date window to gen spec. better Reshape the crown with the lathe to make it look more like gen. get a gen crown Reshape crown guards. yes ! Drill out the lug holes to gen spec. okay What do you think? What have I missed? wear it and maybe a better datewheel How accurate can I get it without investing a small fortune? 73,59 % Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted November 13, 2010 Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 You can fit a t-39 but you might have to put the case on a lathe and take some metal off the outside of the rehaut to get the crystal to press on. I put a t-39 superdome on mine and it was hard to fit it onto the case. I thought it was going to break the plexi but it snapped on pretty hard. There is no way i can get it off now without breaking it with a hammer or something.. I agree with star69, just put on a gen crown. I dont think you can do much with that PT crown. Gen crowns are cheap anyways and you dont need to replace the tube. Whats wrong with the datewheel??? I guess its a little too dark but its the best one ive ever seem come with a vintage Rolex rep. I agree that the MBW is a better starting platform but for a "low budget" project, the PT submariners cant be beat. dizz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilSub Posted November 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 Where can I get a gen crown for this? I've been looking at Cousins but didn't find any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosnik Posted November 13, 2010 Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 Where can I get a gen crown for this? I've been looking at Cousins but didn't find any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilSub Posted November 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 I'm trying to keep this "low budget". Any place I can find a better rep crown? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosnik Posted November 13, 2010 Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 Genuine ROLEX parts are not for cheap. I think that a perfect 1680 it's not a low budget watch . To MOD a low budget starting Rep and to MOD a 'right' rep. , the final price of MOD, is the same, the result really different. I wish you good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sly Posted November 13, 2010 Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 This what I got recently from ebay. 2 Gen crowns for cheap, Not sure how much your budget is for the crown. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=390257488390&si=K0Uph58zOfCpBoAQ0%252FMXkVk3Bfc%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star69 Posted November 13, 2010 Report Share Posted November 13, 2010 This what I got recently from ebay. 2 Gen crowns for cheap, Not sure how much your budget is for the crown. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rt=nc&nma=true&item=390257488390&si=K0Uph58zOfCpBoAQ0%252FMXkVk3Bfc%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT +1 ebay is usually the cheapest - just look for 7mm crowns .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilSub Posted November 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2010 +1 ebay is usually the cheapest - just look for 7mm crowns .... Thanks! I'll keep an eye on the bay. Until then, I think I can probably reshape the PT crown to look pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted November 15, 2010 Report Share Posted November 15, 2010 I'm with most everyone else here. the genuine crown would be the best start for this project. No matter how skilled you are with a lathe, it's not just about taking off metal to make the crown shorter. There are genuine crowns all over the place. I've bought two of them in the past year on this forum for around 50.00 USD each. You can use a genuine tube, the PT tube will work as well as a Clark's tube. Once you get past the genuine crown, the other parts start getting pretty pricey. If you want a genuine insert w/ Tritium pearl, expect to pay somewhere north of 200.00 USD for insert/pearl. i just bought an insert for my 1665 project and it cost me 165.00 USD the pearl was 110.00 USD or 275.00 USD for both. I think one of the questions that one of the posters asked was why not start out with a MBW 1680 as a base. Probably the easy answer to that is the MBW will take genuine parts much more readily than the PT. Genuine bezels will snap on, genuine inserts snap in to the MBW bezels. This is my take on the question, if you are going to mod a watch as far as you can feasibly go, the MBW is hands down a better choice, If you are going to do a minimum of modding, and really don't care about bezels, inserts, crystal, the PT would be a logical route to go. the big plus of the PT is the 2846-2 "Slow beat" movement and the silver, flat top 3's datewheel. No matter which way you go, good luck with your project, and post photos of your progress Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted November 15, 2010 Report Share Posted November 15, 2010 "I think I can probably reshape the PT crown to look pretty good." Some replica crowns are made with a thin layer of steel capped over base metal. If your crown is made this way, be careful because just a few passes with a file etc may go through the cap into the base metal. Unscrew the crown, pull it out to setting position, and look closely around the threads to see if it is a 'sandwich' or not. Genuine submariner crowns appear to be all steel but 'gold' crowns are just a gold cap over base metal, usually nickel silver...same for 5.3mm and 6.0mm crowns. The latest gold 'monobloc' crowns are supposed to be solid gold but I have never examined one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilSub Posted November 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2010 "I think I can probably reshape the PT crown to look pretty good." Some replica crowns are made with a thin layer of steel capped over base metal. If your crown is made this way, be careful because just a few passes with a file etc may go through the cap into the base metal. Unscrew the crown, pull it out to setting position, and look closely around the threads to see if it is a 'sandwich' or not. Genuine submariner crowns appear to be all steel but 'gold' crowns are just a gold cap over base metal, usually nickel silver...same for 5.3mm and 6.0mm crowns. The latest gold 'monobloc' crowns are supposed to be solid gold but I have never examined one. Thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind and keep scouting the bay for gen crowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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