I bought some time!

With my efforts to restore the clock in my 280z proving to be fruitless, I looked for an alternative.  If I'm not bound to using the original movement I want something that will last and is accurate.  I now found myself looking for quartz mechanisms.  I first thought of adapting one of those battery operated quartz clocks you find in most decorative clocks, but those just "feel" cheap and prone to failure, plus they make an annoying ticking sound every second.  I then turned my searches to automotive quartz clocks.  There are retro kits out there for older American car clocks, but I couldn't find a kit specifically for my Kanto Seiki from Japan.  Surprisingly enough, there aren't that many automotive analog clocks for sale at all anymore; I guess we really live in the digital age.  

After a bit of searching I found this clock that, aside from the diameter, was a close match to the clock in my car.  I decided to take the plunge and I purchased the Equus clock; surely I could make this work!

Equus 8000 Series 2" Clock

I proceeded to remove everything from the old clock and strip it down to the mounting plate.  I treaded lightly and made sure that I could return the clock back to stock form if for any reason this endeavor failed.

Hands and Face Plate Removed

Mounting Plate Ready

I then needed to open the Equus clock to remove the quartz mechanism.  Once I determined that the bezel was simply crimped onto the housing, the removal was easy.  There's no returning this item now!

Now that I had the mechanism out of the Equus clock, it was time to figure out how to mount it on the Kanto Seiki plate.  One of the two mounting holes on the movement lined up perfectly, so I used a long bolt and two nuts to secure that side.  I was not that lucky on the other side, but I found that an old stereo mounting brace from a custom installation in my 1988.5 Ford Escort (long gone) made a perfect mount after a bit of shaping.  Yes, I keep stuff like this mounting brace forever.  In fact, the alarm system in my current truck also came from that car, but that's another story.

Mounting Brackets Ready

After mounting the quartz movement onto the mounting plate and returning the face plate, I was faced with a dilemma.  The original clock hands required some delicate work in order to mount to the much smaller spindles of the new clock movement.  I could use the hands from the Equus clock, but they would need to be painted and might not look original.  After some consideration and examination, I decided to try the Equus hands first.  After all, if they didn't look right I could still attempt to use the original clock hands.  After a couple of coats of flat white model paint on the Equus hands, I put it all together and was ready to see if my Frankenstein clock actually keeps time after the fabrication.

Ready For Testing!

I spun the clock through a 12 hour cycle to ensure the hands did not bind and that the spindles were perpendicular to the face; nothing was dragging and the hands moved freely.  I connected the power and waited 60 seconds...  which seemed like 120 seconds...  tick!  The minute hand clicked off it's first minute in its new home!  

Since the bezel was removed from the clock I decided to polish the plastic lens; it had a few scratches accumulated from years of wiping away the dust with paper towels.  I used some Novus "minor scratch" plastic polish to make the lens look almost new again.  After restoring the bezel though I discovered a problem: the adjustment knob was barely contacting the minute hand and restricting movement.  I spent so much time aligning the mounting brackets that I did not find the task of readjustment appealing.  Instead, I used some tiny washers to space the bezel out just a hair;  this did the trick and the hands were free to move.  The clock is back together now awaiting re-installation in the car.  I've been a bit under-the-weather lately, so that installation will have to wait for another day.

Regardless, the clock turned out great and you really can't tell that the clock hands are not original.  I look forward to seeing the clock in the dash again!

Ready To Roll!