The hard part is done...

[stac]

The hard part is done on my MBW 1680. I fitted a genuine case tube and crown and corrected the HUGE crown guards with about three hours of filing, sanding and polishing. Before I drill out the lugs I have a few questions. The genuine spring bars will not fit through the small rings that are attached on the inside of the MBW end link. They are actually appear to be the same in diameter as the end-link rings...drilling them would destroy them...

What are my alternatives besides spending big bucks on a genuine 1680 band?

[Jetsons]

I used a dremel cutting blade and sliced the little metal hoops at the center.

You can then spread the metal apart with a screw driver and the OEM bar will fit securely.

I drilled another pair but that was very tricky work as there isn't much metal to work with. You also need to be careful performing this operation (use lubricant).

[stac]

I used a dremel cutting blade and sliced the little metal hoops at the center.

You can them spread the metal apart with a screw driver and the OEM bar will fit securely.

I drilled another pair but that was very tricky work as there isn't much metal to work with. You also need to be careful performing this operation (use lubricant).

That's a great idea!

Why is this the first I'm hearing of this procedure?

Thanks for the advice

[bruce79]

If you do some searching, there are a few posts on this very subject. You may actually find it easier to just remove them, that's what I did on my franken 16800, you won't even know they're gone.