Bremont MB1

Yep, it's a '1' :-)
Yellow sweep hand, yellow markers and of course 'MB' on the dial.

 

3 day weekend anyone?

That would get my vote.
Then I could have an extra day for watch and car tinkering :-)

 

 

Bremont U2/DLC

Can't get enough of this 1 just now.
Love the clean dial and perfect fit.
Tried it on the MB1 Nato but looks and feels way better on the Temple Island rubber.

Actually reminds me a bit of the early Heuer Master-Time rally clocks - large clear numbers, knurled crowns etc.

Monte-Carlo time...

Finally got round to fitting the Monte-Carlo timer into the Spider.
He joins his 'Master-Time' brother fitted a while back to replace the fogged out quartz clock.
The gap where the quartz clock was is now filled by an oil pressure gauge.
All change...:-)

More hardtop pics...

After a fair amount of fine tuning, it's on and I'm happy with it :-)

 

 

 

124 Spider - Hardtop sorted, nearly...

Progress -
So, I knew I was missing something wrt the latches and how they attach to the roof.
The holes I had in the roof were close to 10mm but the bolts were only 5mm with nothing to screw into.
So after a bit of fiddling and investigation I discovered a plate that had dropped behind and sure enough, 2 threaded holes - same on both sides.
Next was the rather tricky part getting them back into position behind the larger holes.

Anyway 10 minutes and lots of swearing later, with the help of bits of string, wire and cable ties, they were in and I could attach the latches.
The original roof liner was missing the foam backing (well in fact it crumbled and disintegrated as I touched it) and was also a bit too stained to reuse directly.
I decided to colour change the liner from cream to a more practical black using vinyl spraypaint and glued it to some self adhesive foam sheet which I'd already applied to the roof.

I also cleaned and filled the area around the latches - I'll probably paint it properly later.

Now what to do with the side catches.
I tried the turnbuckle approach, both with and without the original thumb levers but just couldn't get them to attach to anything securely.
Looking at what was there originally (the one on the right :-)) I bought a couple of J-bolts (M6x60mm), attached them to the original fittings and they worked a treat :-)

As you can see from the pic, there's an angled rod end (reverse thread), threaded joiner and the J-bolt.
They're hooked onto 2 bolt heads tucked away inside and are secured fairly tightly by the original thumb levers.
So, now it's attached and looking great (as viewed from through the rear window).

I do however have a problem...I can't open or close the doors with the windows closed :-)
Maybe just a bit of fine tuning but I fear I may still need to remove the soft top, either completely or at least detach the rear of it to make this work.

124 Spider - Jeremy Clarkson, I fear the worst

Looks like the next series of Top Gear will feature Jeremy driving a Fiat Spider.
I hope he's kind.
Back in 1995 along along with a m8 we drove my own Spider down through France to the Monaco F1GP.
On the way back we stopped off for fuel and Jeremy pulled up at the pump next to us to fill up his TVR.
He was as loud as ever, calling across the forecourt to various film crew colleagues etc.
The spider was brilliant on that trip and we managed to get in a lap of the circuit before we left for home :-)
Anyway, here's the link -
http://www.topgearbox.com/2014/news/top-gear-series-22-sightings-spoilers/

124 Spider - Markku Alén

Spotted a post over at OTD pointing to an Italian watch forum.
Turns out that 70's Finnish rally driver Markku Alén not only raced 124's but he was also an Heuer Monaco fan :-)
Here he is getting airbourne in Nigeria in 1974 and also a shot wearing the Monaco (73633).

124 Spider - Hardtop

Arrived today and looks great.
A few minor jobs to do to get it up to scratch but I'm really pleased so far :-)

124 Spider - Abarth style bumper block fitted at last!

This has been a project and a half.
The Abarth style bumper block is fitted to a shaft which is secured to the frame by a 4" bolt.
Problem is that the only way to get the left hand side bolt in (or out) is to remove the fuel tank.
I've still no idea how I got it out in the first place when I removed the daft, 1/2 ton US bumpers.
Anyway, when I was removing the fuel tank I noticed the shield that protects the underside of the filler pipe had seen better days.
By pure coincidence someone was selling a new shield on eBay, in the UK!
Now, to find most parts for the spider you need to look overseas (they were never officially sold in the UK) and even then parts are so rare these days - after all the car is 35 years old.
So what are the chances of that turning up?!
Amazingly it fitted straight out of the box :-)
Of course removing the filler hose from the tank meant cutting off the rusted wire clamp so I need one of those also.
Incidentally, never buy the cheap fuel siphon hose contraption thingy from a well known car and bike parts chain - utter garbage!

 

Gratuitous front end shot for fairness...

124 Spider - Pininfarina Hardtop

Really hope this works out.
Should be here by next weekend :-)

International Mail...

Sometimes it and the internet just work perfectly together.
Looking for an extremely hard to find part for a watch movement and there was one for sale on eBay in Argentina.
A couple of clicks and 1 week later it arrives through the door :-)
All that way for the price of a couple of stamps.
Incidentally the part is a 'setting lever screw' no longer than a couple of mm.
Its for a 1969 Cal 11 Heuer movement.
The early ones were weak and broke easily.
Hopefully this one's good for another 45 years :-)

2 1 for Holland!

And yes, of course it was a penalty! :-)
As I'm supporting Holland in this World Cup, tonight I'm wearing my home modified Heuer Autavia.
I swapped the black, white & red dial for a black & orange one and the steel/red hands were replaced with bright orange :-)
Max made me up an orange and black loom band bracelet also.
Anyway, seems to have done the trick as Holland are through to the next round.

The Gamble!

Took a risky shot on a German auction last week.
Photos were rubbish and the info slightly inaccurate but there was something telling me it could be a wee bit special and sure enough it is :-)
Clear the dirt away and there is what must be one of the cleanest Tranny dials still around.
I'm delighted and for now not even bothered about the later hands.

 

 

SEIKO 6138-0030

Pretty impressed with this bargain.
And, not that far away in style from a Tranny Monaco - seriously, metallic blue dial, 30 minute/12 hour chrono - just rotate the dial 90 degrees :-)
Another cool feature is the day in English or Arabic.
Oh and did I mention the quick-set date?

 

 

 

 

I've missed this fella!

Normal, everyday life just seems to get in the way of me wearing my Heuers so much these days.
For around 6 months now I've worn my Bremont 99% of the time.
With kids, cars, bikes, a dog and fun on the beach, I just get too nervous.
Anyway this evening's different and I've gone for the McQueen :-)

 

124 Spider - Looking good

Beaten by time!

Alas, I just don't have the time to complete this.
So, if anyone's interested in a nice wee Monaco project, drop me a line :-)

Lucky find?

As you probably know already, the strap is actually made from a synthetic material called Corfam manufactured by DuPont and dating from the late 60's, early 70's.
The one pictured is the correct strap for an Heuer Monaco of that period :-)
Best bit is the all original Heuer buckle too with the correct 'Sun' stamp on the back.
A very rare find these days.
If you want to see a really tatty old Corfam, look here!

124 Spider - 70s Pininfarina meets Heuer MasterTime

New year resolution No 957 is to get the Spider on the road by April.
Tempted to have a go @ doing the timing belt myself also.