Save the clock tower ... Back to the 56

[klogsdonjr]

Call from Clockworks ... They are ready to give it the 12volt clean and rebuild, will also reface the black backing. Should be about a week from here they said. Easy pay of the invoice via PayPal.

[klogsdonjr]

Clock Works packed the box very well on return shipping. The added a sticker to the body so that you can remember where it was serviced last. A nice tag that tells you about the ins and outs of maintaining it.

they even added the two screws on the back that i was missing when i sent it in to them (so ill return the ones i bought from lowes in prep for the clock coming back)

tried to upload an MP4 of the clock working but its not supported for upload. its lovely to see the clock working in normal time - no more double time! Clock Works will also repaint your hands or resurface your backplate for a nominal charge. I had them do the backplate because it looked like someone had taken a screwdriver to it in the past - now its like new!

They indicated it was a worn escapement, which is common. Nice to bring back this antique clock!

[klogsdonjr]

Holding steady overnight. Still ticking and keeping good time.

[klogsdonjr]

It's taken a little while to adjust and dial in the timing screw at the top of the clock so the clock doesn't lose time over a week. But now she's keeping good time. Very pleased with the work they did!

[klogsdonjr]

POST MORTEM? ... She ran well for about 9 months. Stopped and sent her back in for cleaning under warranty. Then she ran well for another 9 months and stopped. I pulled her and cleaned her myself. Then another 3 months or so and stopped again. While pulling her I blew the fuse (again), since it's very easy the get crossed in that tight space.

After driving around with no power for a while I decided to convert her to a quartz battery movement. Got a DIY kit off Amazon, was able to use the original hour and minute hands. Used the second hand from the kit. Now she runs quiet and I'll just have to replace the battery once a year or so.

I hated giving up on the original clock system. But just too delicate to keep going over time. I do miss the mechanical "tick tick tick" though.

[55blacktie]

Apparently, there was a bad batch of quartz movements for the Tbird conversions. I've not checked recently to see if the situation has changed. I had my 55 clock converted a few years ago; I finally got around to installing it, but no juice yet.

[ward 57]

According to the shop that converted my clock Clockwerks or clockworks they both go to the same location, Borg clocks were used in the T-Birds and westclock clocks were used in the standard cars. At least in the '57s. I would contact them.

[ron56]

klogsdonjr, could you post the connect info on the DIY quartz conversion info.

[klogsdonjr]

I bought this kit and another comparable one to see which one I would use. I ended up using this one but also used the brass nut from the second kit. I had to open the hour hand ring a good bit to get it around the post. I used the second hand from the kit and clipped it down to size and painted it white. I also crafted a black ring spacer to move the clock further away from the glass because the post is a little longer than the original clock. The light bulb wouldn't fit all the way in but I was still able to get it to make ground contact to work when lights are on. I left the clock in place without securing the back of the dash - that way I can remove it easily whenever I need to oil the speedo and, now, replace the clock battery.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07G5PSP ... asin_title