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Daytona Franken Tutorial?

BoulderJ

Active Member
7/5/21
268
74
28
Looking for comprehensive instructions/tutorials for combining Noob and ARF 116520 Daytonas to create a "best parts" and "rest parts" watches. Thanks for any suggestions.
 

mari115

Put Some Respect On My Name
9/6/18
4,439
2,478
113
Nearer than you think
Best parts: Noob base, arf dial, bezel and crystal gasket. Someone used ARF's bracelet but the Endlinks don't fit sometimes.

The rest is "the rest" watch
 

p0pperini

patr0n h0arder
Gold Patron
Certified
29/1/19
8,984
30,122
113
UK
I don't know that anyone really cares about combining two factory versions since Noob introduced the v4. Particularly the 116520. 18 months or so ago, back at v2, the ARF bezel (or a CF bezel) was better than the Noob. But I don't recall anyone complaining about the 116520 - it was specifically the 116500 panda where the ARF dial (and bezel) won hands down.

The Noob is the best base, thanks to the awesome 4130 clone movement. On a 116520, the only thing I'd change would be installing the latest Clean Factory SS bezel, which is the best copy out there. Oh, and people bang on about the ARF clasp being better, so a clasp switch is also recommended. The rest of the Noob bracelet is fine, and the Noob SELs fit better on the Noob than an ARF's (so swapping the whole bracelet is a no-no).

If for any reason you wanted to install the ARF dial in the Noob, then the dial (or the inside of the case) needs to be shaved, because the ARF dial is a little larger than gen spec so won't fit until some minor surgery is performed.