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PAM 187 - Fitting a Swiss 7753 and working around the usual troublemakers

Natas78

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Hi,

Since I've been a member here, one of my all-time favourite watches was the 187 Chronograph. I first bought it almost two years ago, and never got enough of it.
I've been wearing it now even with a silly 7750 with white & (offcourse) sunken datewheel because it simple is the watch for me.
A broken strap buckle made me drop the watch on my office floor, and the a7753 movement was FUBAR. The chrono bridge is very bad (from factory) and now the balance staff is broken. So I read all of the info there was to find on fitting a swiss movement in my 187, and saw the attempt someone here made and failed, because of the swiss datewheel not lining up and the problems with hand sizes.

That didn't stop me wanting to go swiss though. I can live with compromise, as long as the chrono's work well and it keeps good time, AND if the datewheel is pretty much centered.

So here it goes:
I found, after months and months of searching, what I believe to be the perfect donor movement:
a Swiss 7753, from a Montblanc Timewalker Meisterstück Chronograph, same 3-6-9 position for subdials, and a black datewheel.
So I bid, and I won it for a very good price. It is malfunctioning though, so it will be repaired, but first I want to see if everything fits well...

Left is the a7750 I'm using now for a temp movt., center is the swiss 7753, and right the Asian 7753



Meet the Swiss Montblanc movement:



So as you may or may not know, the hands all fit except the chrono hand - which is too small to fit the gen.
But too small is no problemo! We have broaches & roomers! So with only a bit of work, the chrono hand fit just right!



As you can see there is a tiny gap in the date window, where the edge of the datewheel is visible, I will work around it eventually, it is not like that for all numbers, the 10 is the worst. I checked them all.

With the other numbers it is rater good:



Next week I will start work on the movement, it runs but the hands won't move.

Stay tuned!
 

chris3007

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The movement runs but the hands don't move? Sounds like the driver cannon pinion is loose. Should be a easy fix.


Sent from my iPhone 6
 

Natas78

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Will check it out next week, thank you for the heads up ! ;)

The movement runs but the hands don't move? Sounds like the driver cannon pinion is lose. Should be a easy fix.


Sent from my iPhone 6
 

nalomb

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Really cool project -- I was hot to trot on something similar about a year ago but time got the better of me. Look forward to your progress!
 

Natas78

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The big difficulty is finding an affordable movement with the right dayewheel and subdial layout. Almost a year after I started looking I got lucky! These go for big bucks usually...


Sent with iPhone 6 - Tapatalk
 
D

d4m.test

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The old Asian 7753 has a date wheel that is too small to fit the Swiss 7753. To do the Swiss upgrade and really do it well, you'll need an OEM dial...like this one:

;)


The lighting today is perfect for it. So the colors came out just right.

One thing to notice is the dial marker surrounds are matte finished on the gen, but glossy on the noob rep. Other than that and the date window pistition the rep dial is very nice.
 

Customcbks

Getting To Know The Place
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Cool build!!!
This would be one of my dream frankens too. :)

Let me know if you'd ever sell that dial, Grim! ;-)

The old Asian 7753 has a date wheel that is too small to fit the Swiss 7753. To do the Swiss upgrade and really do it well, you'll need an OEM dial...like this one:

;)


The lighting today is perfect for it. So the colors came out just right.

One thing to notice is the dial marker surrounds are matte finished on the gen, but glossy on the noob rep. Other than that and the date window pistition the rep dial is very nice.
 

Natas78

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Very cool dial Grim, Pretty rare I believe!
My project is slowed down a bit, had to order an hour wheel, seconds wheel, chrono gears... This movement had been abused a fair bit, but it's worth it... [emoji1303]


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Natas78

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The movement will fit no problem, it's the chrono hand and the date wheel that could be a problem.
The asian date wheel won't fit the swiss movt.


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Natas78

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Thank you :)

Mine is finished now but I want to relume it, polish the bracelet, and a few other small things. Sadly my teacher didnt take any pics as he reassembled the movement and had to fit a new hour wheel and main chrono gear. The ETA movement is awesome, PR is amazing, chrono pushers are smooth... well worth the investment. Now just to finish it up when I get around to it.


Sent with iPhone 6 - Tapatalk
 

Enfield

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Mine is finished now but I want to relume it, polish the bracelet, and a few other small things. Sadly my teacher didnt take any pics as he reassembled the movement and had to fit a new hour wheel and main chrono gear. The ETA movement is awesome, PR is amazing, chrono pushers are smooth... well worth the investment. Now just to finish it up when I get around to it.


Sent with iPhone 6 - Tapatalk

That sounds great - how did you solve the date wheel?
I have been looking at printing a New one?
Do you plan to relume the hands? I
Post pics when you are done.

Chr
 

Natas78

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I just took a chance with the one that was installed, and all the numbers line up. It is a bit off center but I can live with it. Less than a hair. Got lucky that the movement was for a montblanc watch with the exact same layout than the 187


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Riquesa

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Sorry to bump in here - but it seems the knowledge is around ;-)
Wouldn't this fit in my 187 - I also have the one with the A7753. http://www.watch-tools.de/movements-32/movements/eta-valjoux-7753-automatic-chrono-movement.php

Looking forward to see your progress [MENTION=39799]Natas78[/MENTION]

Best regards
Chr

Hi Enfield, have an 187 with recessed and ETA movement is a dream for me, so I'm reading a lot about it.

One short question. Following the link that you include, appear this page.
http://www.uhrenwerkzeuge24.de/catalogsearch/result/?q=7753

Do you know if this is an Eta or an Asian?. Sorry because my English is bad, but my german. .. simply don't exist.
 

Natas78

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Hi Enfield, have an 187 with recessed and ETA movement is a dream for me, so I'm reading a lot about it.

One short question. Following the link that you include, appear this page.
http://www.uhrenwerkzeuge24.de/catalogsearch/result/?q=7753

Do you know if this is an Eta or an Asian?. Sorry because my English is bad, but my german. .. simply don't exist.

Hi, that would be an asian chrono movement, based on the 7753. You can find them on ebay for half that price.


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Enfield

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Deleting my post - did not se one of the pros already answered[emoji6]
 

AxiAziz

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I just took a chance with the one that was installed, and all the numbers line up. It is a bit off center but I can live with it. Less than a hair. Got lucky that the movement was for a montblanc watch with the exact same layout than the 187


Sent with iPhone 6 - Tapatalk


Guys i have a question, if there is a answer on this topic and i missed, sorry about that.

if i have a rep 187 with a 7753 mov, and i want to replace mov. swiss 7753, can i buy any 7753 mov. and replaced it, or do i have to find specific one?

Thanks.
 

Natas78

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Guys i have a question, if there is a answer on this topic and i missed, sorry about that.

if i have a rep 187 with a 7753 mov, and i want to replace mov. swiss 7753, can i buy any 7753 mov. and replaced it, or do i have to find specific one?

Thanks.

Hi, since this topic I have improved my swiss transplant technique. This results in a perfectly positioned datewheel but involves machining of the dial and case.
You do end up with a fantastic 187 with all the benefits of the swiss 7753 and no drawbacks