MG-branded Timex Quartz M-cell from 1985!

[gutt3d]

Cards on the table, I've never attempted a watch repair in my life.  The only reason I'm considering it is that I found what I think is a very cool retro Timex - the branding exactly matches my car (a bit of info and my car passion here), and in fact the watch came with a display case, instructions, and an original receipt from an Austin Rover garage .  It arrived today and while it looks great (beauty is in the eye of the beholder), it doesn't work.

Pics attached.

First thing I did was to check & remove the battery.  While the battery hadn't actually exploded, it had leaked and the damage doesn't look good - attached pic of the movement shows that the negative terminal is missing (for what it's worth, I do actually have the negative terminal - but I'm assuming I can't reattach it; maybe you guys can correct me on this...)  Something has seized or is otherwise jammed: if I pull the stem and try to turn it, the hands move a fraction and then stop and I can't turn any further.

I don't know the movement - I can't see under the edge of the crystal (yet) so can't ID it that way.  Inside the case I can see "motion unadjusted", "Timex Philippines", and what I think is a date code under the battery (the code is 857, which I gather means July 1985).  I'm going to get a crystal lift to see if I can cleanly remove the crystal and read the code from the face.  My plan - such that it is at this stage - is to try and ID the movement, then find a donor, and try and get my MG watch back up and running.  I'm hoping (??) that if I can get the crystal off then I can get the hands off and will be able to put the face and hands onto a donor movement.

I appreciate that the watch has zero value (in fact probably negative value, after I've spent money buying tools to see if I can get into it! ) but I think it's pretty cool, and I'l love to be able to get it working if I can.

So that's my project.  If anyone can help me ID the movement, or has any tips about getting the crystal off, or any advice about swapping hands/face onto a replacement movement, or even just some fundamental advice (dos and don'ts - e.g. don't drown it in oil to try and free it up ) please let me know!

Cheers,
Dan.

[JerseyMo]

yep, mid 80s for sure,  I'll say don't waste your time with the movement.  Best bet is to look for a working donor watch.  something like this should have the same movement.

 

 

[Endeavor]

If you have a MG, it's for sure a fun watch. Sometimes (or often) the "sentimental" value of a watch exceeds the commercial value. And, once completed, it will be a reminder on your first watch-repair ever

Why do you want to lift the crystal? Doesn't the movement wants to come out from the back? First, you have to pull the stem. Not being able to see the movement from up close, but the is a chance that if you press with tweezers in this hole (arrow) you may be able to pull the stem. I would assume that after that the whole thing drops out(?).

As JerseyMo suggested, look for a replacement movement. Judging the screw-heads, it looks like that somebody had a go at it with some garden-tools.

CousinsUK has "millions" of quartz movements, in different shapes & flavors. eBay could be another source. You may want to swap the crown on the winding stem to keep the watch "original".

The most important things to watch for is that the replacement movement, next to the same movement diameter, has the same pivot diameters for the hands as your old movement. Therefor it would be nice to identify the old movement and to find information of it. To fit the dial, you may have to do some "Mickey Mouse".

There are again "millions" of video's on YouTube how to pull the watch hands, the dial etc, so you have to do some work yourself .....

Also read the beginners section, your questions have been asked, here we go again; a "million" times before.

Since I've been talking so many times about "millions", I'm now going to check my bank account, maybe something funny has happened 

Suc6

 

Edited March 23 by Endeavor

[rjenkinsgb]

The stem has a clip fixing rather than a sprung setting lever; it's not the hole..

See around the 6th reply in the article here:

https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/removing-the-stem-on-a-vintage-timex-quartz.1837898/

I've not found the movement name or number yet, but this one on ebay appears to use the same basic movement, though with calendar.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175763757672

 

[Endeavor]

8 minutes ago, rjenkinsgb said:

The stem has a clip fixing rather than a sprung setting lever; it's not the hole..

One learns every day

 

[rjenkinsgb]

According to one ebay seller, it's a "B64" movement, though I cannot find any other reference to that..

[gutt3d]

Thanks, all!

I've had the stem out already - there is indeed a spring clip holding it down.  I was surprised at how small the clip was, I was surprised I didn't lose it, and I was also very surprised I managed to get it back in   But after removing the stem, the movement didn't come out - it looks like there are maybe some tabs that are holding it in that I'd need to bend out of the way (?)  If that's so, then I thought it safer to lift the crystal to see the ID on the face.

Thanks for the image of the Timex Q.  I've seen a few on eBay, and did wonder whether they might do the job.  Excellent!

Thanks also for the tips on where to get info on lifting the hands.  I'm a bit nervous about that, as I don't want to bend anything!

And yep - I hadn't actually noticed until I viewed the photo in close-up, but it looks like at least one of those scrws has been hacked at!  I gave the movement a wipe over with IPA, and didn't notice any rough bits, but I'll ook at that a bit more closely next time I have the back off (at the moment I've got the case back on as I don't want to get any further dust/debris inside it!)

Dan.

[Endeavor]

28 minutes ago, gutt3d said:

Thanks also for the tips on where to get info on lifting the hands.  I'm a bit nervous about that, as I don't want to bend anything!

I once wrote an article on WUS. Perhaps not exactly the same as on your watch, but you should get the drift .....

To read the full article, hit "see more"

https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/how-to-change-hands-dial-on-a-vostok-24xx.5311825/

Edited March 23 by Endeavor

[gutt3d]

39 minutes ago, Endeavor said:

I once wrote an article on WUS. Perhaps not exactly the same as on your watch, but you should get the drift .....

That's fantastic - thank you.  I've read it, and also have favourited it so I can come back to it!

[Endeavor]

I'm sure that you will fix your watch. When you own a MG, you better don't have two left hands

And as with the MG, get the proper info and take your time .....

[gutt3d]

I bought this for only a few quid (less than £10, delivered):  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/355570514833

The Timex Q is fully working - and in fairness, it's a very handsome watch.  In fact I'm in two minds about whether to cannibalise it for the MG watch.  However - the movement does appear to be virtually identical.  The MG watch is from 1985, according to a code stamped into the battery tray; the Timex Q is from 1984, based on equivalent markings.  I'll add side by side pics to this post when I've recharged my phone, and I'll ask you guys whether the movements are interchangeable.  I see a couple of what appear to be very minor differences, but I don't know if they would be problematic at all.  I also still need to figure out a way to get the dead movement out of the MG watch body - I now have a crystal lifter and have given it a go on the acrylic crystal of the MG, but I'm a bit nervous about giving it too much welly for fear of breaking something.  Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and give it an extra twist - but having not done it before, I'm perhaps being a bit overcautious.

 

[gutt3d]

Apologies for the reply to my own thread - I had hoped to edit my previous post to include an image, but I can't see how to do that so I need to add the image here instead...

Here are the two movements, and they look practically the same to my untrained eye.  I'm hoping to be able to use the top one into the bottom watch body, and my plan is to swap the face and hands over.  Ideally I'd use the stem and crown from the MG watch in the movement from the Timex Q watch - if the movements are similar enough, is it safe to believe that I can try switching the stems round?  Alternatively is it possible to remove the crown from the stem so I can swap the crowns over?

The differences I 've noticed are:

• the marking on the smaller of the two chips is different
• there's a triangular marking on the movement, close to the battery positive terminal - I don't imagine the mark itself would affect anything, but I don't know what it indicates so perhaps it means there's some other difference that I can't see
• One end of the coil (left end, as I look at the image) is clearly visible on the MG, but not clear on the Q - maybe that's just my poor photography!  I'll get the back off the Q again and double check.

[rjenkinsgb]

It looks pretty good - though the top one has some corrosion on the battery contact, it does need a proper cleaning before use.

I think it be a direct fit, if you use the original crown & stem from the MG one.