This rather sorry looking Bulova was sent in by Paul. No winding stem, no crown, the crystal is a mess, and first impressions aren’t great…
Neither are second impressions – I can already see some rust.
Ouch. Lots of rust.
This is just about salvageable …
Rust everywhere.
After a lot of cleaning, I start reassembly with a new mainspring.
All nice, clean and rust-free.
Top plate done.
Now it’s time for the bottom plate.
The auto-winder assembly is mounted on top.
Now it’s time for the dial and hands.
And the movement goes back into the case.
I couldn’t find an original crown, but the generic one I could get hold of doesn’t look too bad… Compare this to the “before” photo …
I have a 1957 / 10BPAC, It is not in as bad of condition as the one you showed for service. I was wondering on what it might cost to get mine running again??
It appears to be all intact and has not been taken apart since date of manufacture..
I can send pics..
I can’t quote without having the watch in front of me. You can book it in for a quote.
Hello Christian,
I’ve just acquired one of these 1955 23’s and I’d like to get a new crystal for it (my first try at replacing a crystal). Can you tell me what style and size of crystal this 23 takes, please?
Hi Paul,
Just measure it – I don’t remember what crystal the watch took.
Kind regards,
Christian
Hi Christian! Thank you for another great overview of your repair work! May I ask where you sourced a new mainspring? I’ve been told since the 10BPAC has a “sealed” barrel no replacements were made available for this specific caliber. Did you use another Bulova caliber mainspring? I’m currently testing a 10AN, which seems to be working so far, but would prefer if I could get the correct part!
You can measure the old mainspring with a micrometer and get a new one by size.
May I ask How the keyless goes back together? I’m having a hell of a time. I can’t seem to get the set lever screw (I think) back in. It’s driving me nuts!
Hi Robert,
I’ve sent you an email with what his hopefully the solution to your problem.
Christian, many thanks for the great work on this cheapie Ebay buy. It is keeping great time and is actually getting wrist time despite how small it is compared to the modern standards!
Glad you like it. I rather liked the watch as well, but, unfortunately, I have to ship them back 😉