A new rally diver mod comes together - your input invited
Jul 19, 2013 7:34:11 GMT -8
dasher, Hobbes, and 1 more like this
Post by seikoholic on Jul 19, 2013 7:34:11 GMT -8
I'm not much of a modding guy. Generally I prefer stock vintage watches. However, a few years ago I had enough parts from enough destroyed watches that I put together a mod I really liked - the Seiko Rally 5'er. The key part of it was being able to use a case from a late 60s 5126 Rally diver. It had suffered a catastrophic seal failure, and the dial / hands / movement were junk. These are rare watches, hard to find in decent condition, much less in parts form. Anyway, the mod came out well, and I still have it today.
Fast-forward to last spring, when I saw another 5126 case being sold out of the Philippines. Messed up, empty, missing the crystal retaining ring, rotating ring. But it was good for modding. So I picked it up.
I'd previously seen another mod done using an SKX007 dial, and wanted to see about that. So while I was waiting for the mail to arrive from the Philippines, I started assembling other stuff. I had the following parts lined up:
6306A 21j hacking movement with Kanji daywheel
6119 rally diver rotating ring
6309-7xxx insert
6xxx-series caseback (the 5126 caseback was too shallow to use)
various movement and dial rings to get the internal spacing right
a set of baton pilot hands from Dagaz
unknown maker / vintage orange sweep out of the hands boxes
NOS SKX007 dial
When the case arrived it was a little depressing since like many watches from the Philippines, this one had been used very hard. Someone had even engraved their name in the side though this could barely be seen since the case was so beaten up. Thankfully Shawn is an ace casework guy, so he was able to straighten it out for me. I still owe him for that. I haven't forgotten, Shawn.
Using the 007 dial on a 6306 meant that I had to snip the dial feet. I'm still fighting with how to get the dial set where it needs to be. Because of the weird internal spacing issues, the dial isn't held firmly by the crystal ring. I'll probably have to come up with a spacer to take up that slack.
Anyway, here it is. I've got it on a vintage rubber Tropic-style rally strap made in Hong Kong, but that's by no means a final choice. I prefer bracelets.
Double Oh Rally.
Fast-forward to last spring, when I saw another 5126 case being sold out of the Philippines. Messed up, empty, missing the crystal retaining ring, rotating ring. But it was good for modding. So I picked it up.
I'd previously seen another mod done using an SKX007 dial, and wanted to see about that. So while I was waiting for the mail to arrive from the Philippines, I started assembling other stuff. I had the following parts lined up:
6306A 21j hacking movement with Kanji daywheel
6119 rally diver rotating ring
6309-7xxx insert
6xxx-series caseback (the 5126 caseback was too shallow to use)
various movement and dial rings to get the internal spacing right
a set of baton pilot hands from Dagaz
unknown maker / vintage orange sweep out of the hands boxes
NOS SKX007 dial
When the case arrived it was a little depressing since like many watches from the Philippines, this one had been used very hard. Someone had even engraved their name in the side though this could barely be seen since the case was so beaten up. Thankfully Shawn is an ace casework guy, so he was able to straighten it out for me. I still owe him for that. I haven't forgotten, Shawn.
Using the 007 dial on a 6306 meant that I had to snip the dial feet. I'm still fighting with how to get the dial set where it needs to be. Because of the weird internal spacing issues, the dial isn't held firmly by the crystal ring. I'll probably have to come up with a spacer to take up that slack.
Anyway, here it is. I've got it on a vintage rubber Tropic-style rally strap made in Hong Kong, but that's by no means a final choice. I prefer bracelets.
Double Oh Rally.
