Possible to put 2824 into a WBK Sub-c?

[HooDude]

Hi everyone,

I have a WBK Sub-c (his item #104), and I also have an ETA 2824-2 that I purchased off of eBay years ago (like, back in 2005). WBK says that the movement in the Sub-c is a Miyota movement and from what i've read they are pretty good. My questions are these:

1.) Is it possible to drop in the ETA 2824-2 movement to this watch with minimal trouble?
2.) Would swapping to the 2824-2 result in a smoother appearance to the movement of the second hand (i.e. a faster beat)?
3.) Would the ETA 2824-2 be quieter? I notice that with certain movements of my wrist I can noticeably hear the movement that is currently in this watch.
4.) In your opinion would you bother?

Thanks for your expertise!

 

[cwazy1]

1. nope, there are lots of incompatibilities between the two movement, including the hands, and stem, and movement ring
2. yes
3. how quiet a movement is depends on how well greased your rotor is. a 21j can be as quiet as an ETA2836 as long as the rotor is greased.
4. don't bother. just get a 2836 clone based sub. It'll be better quality in any case.

 

[HooDude]

Thanks for the reply,

When you say 2836 clone-based sub, do you mean an asian 2836?

How about selling my 2824 movement and buying a 2836, would that be an easy enough drop-in replacement for the average watchsmith to do?

Thanks again, sorry for my newbie questions!

 

[cwazy1]

yes, same thing.

you can do that, 2824 will not swap with 2836

 

[HooDude]

So I have this 2824-2 ETA movement and from what I understand genuine ETA movements are getting pretty hard to find now. Are there any other rolex reps that I could slap this thing in to instead of just selling it? Or is there anywhere that someone could point me to via a link that would detail for me exactly what i'd have to do to retrofit it into my WBK Subc?

 

[HooDude]

Bump, anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

[rsh]

a TC sub is a current high end rep that comes with a Asian 2824, same with a Tudor black bay

 

[bc1221]

WBK subs dont have a miyota movement unless you somehow got a different one.
his subs have a 2813A movement in them.

not sure if that makes any difference to what youre trying to do though.

 

[egroegart]

I would sell the watch and get one with a proper movement. Going to be a lot less hassle. You could probably sell that watch if you priced it right in the first day. and then order a good sub with the right movement that sweeps like the genuine rolex does. to me swapping the movement, having to change the hands, and whatever else needs to be done to it is not worth the money, when you can sell yours and have a new one in a couple weeks.

 

[Raddave]

If you are planning to use that 2824 in a rolex rep you are going to also need to put the taller cannon pinions and wheels in it to make it work properly, unless its already equipped that way, which i doubt.

As others have said, you could probably sell the 2824 and the sub and walk away with enough $$$ to get exactly what you are lookin for

 

[bc1221]

couldnt he just buy a set of hands for the 2824 like these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hands-ETA-2...372?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35d43e5c6c

i would think the swap would be fairly easy then.

take the dial/hands off old movement
install dial on new movement
install new hands on new movement.
put rep crown on new stem.
now you have a better rep.

no?
he already has the movement. its not like hes out trying to source one for this purpose.

i thought about trying something similar but i like to tinker.
selling and buying a better one would be the easy option but it wouldnt be nearly as fun.

 

[Raddave]

couldnt he just buy a set of hands for the 2824 like these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hands-ETA-2...372?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35d43e5c6c

i would think the swap would be fairly easy then.

take the dial/hands off old movement
install dial on new movement
install new hands on new movement.
put rep crown on new stem.
now you have a better rep.

no?
he already has the movement. its not like hes out trying to source one for this purpose.

i thought about trying something similar but i like to tinker.
selling and buying a better one would be the easy option but it wouldnt be nearly as fun.

Yes and no,
It could probably be done, but it wont just be a drop in swap.

First off, the dial wont fit with out modification. the feet wont line up. so he would need to clip the dial feet and use dial dots, or source a new dial with the ETA feet locations.


Secondly, hell need to install a rolex date wheel overlay to the 2824, when he does that itll lift the dial up a little highter than normal.

If he were to use those hands you posted, at this point the hands will drag on the dial, unless he swaps the cannon pinion and wheels to the H4 setup as i mentioned earlier.

2836s come from the factory with a H4 setup because of the day/datewheels, the 2824s do not.

And lastly, hell need a movement holder which adjusts the movement to the proper height for the stem location to the crown tube. Im not sure if the one he has would work OK or not, but it might.