sacrilege?

[goamules]

I've seen a couple Graflex where the person took the time to polish all the metal fittings down to brass (a big chore), which then makes the camera look totally different. Then I'd sand and stain the wood (It's mahogany) with Potassium Dichromate and finish.

[E. von Hoegh]

Yea Von.How dare they ruin that fine Ford engine with that crappy Jag body.

Weel, the Ford did have one advantage. It was oil tight.

[banjo]

I have never done it to a Graflex BUT I have 23 Burke & James and
Busch Pressmsan C sand them and stain the wood
I call it my little Naked Busch the burke & james don't as good

[UberSquid]

tearing further into the camera last night I realized that the Crown was talking to me and made all the decisions for me!

The reason I couldn't get the rangefinder to work was it was missing a piece so off it came. The viewfinder was so pitted that there was no restoring the optics so off it came. The original handle was replaced by a cheesy rainbow nylon strap so off it came along with the hardware. I pulled the back off and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned some more. Once it was back together I played with it some more to try and decide where this project will go next. Right now I have a tattered leather covered box. I'm actually thinking of doing away with the wood box and making a new one but then I may cut dowels to plug the holes. I also haven't decided if I'll refinish the wood or recover it. If I recover then it will be no big deal, a bit of wood putty to make the surface smooth and we are good. I've given up on the griptac idea.

Thank you all for your input. I'm liking this camera more all the time. Hopefully I'll get to go out this weekend and shoot with it a little bit!

[Dan Fromm]

Um, will tinkering with cosmetics make it work better?

[unixrevolution]

They're warming up the lowest circle of hell just for you. You do know it's filled with cuckoo clocks, right?

Surely the lowest circle of hell is for people who swap Chevy 350/Turbo 400 drivetrains into things. At least there's a tenuous link between Ford and Jaguar, and the Jag will start in cold weather with the Ford lump in there

For years, I've been pissed off about people with no imagination swapping chevy engines into Fords, and not just Model A's...I've seen it done with Rancheros, Torinos, Shoeboxes and even Galaxies and Thunderbirds. The worst offender was a big-block-chevy-engined custom 1932 Ford wagon with a big, airbrushed painting on the back, stating, "80 years of the Ford V8" with a huge Ford V8 logo behind it.

It's like people spend so much time and effort on these beautiful interiors and bodywork, but when it comes time to make a simple decision about Powertrain, rather than be the slightest bit creative they suddenly come over with the IQ of a deck chair.

Wait, this isn't a car forum?

As for the Speeder, if it was pristine I'd say don't touch it, because I love Large Format rangefinders. But as it is...Give her new life. She'd rather be out shooting photos no matter how it works out, and she'd probably be thankful for the new clothes and weight loss anyway

EDIT: And it looks as though you have done! I would love to see pictures of the finished product.

[jayabbas]

I say, "Make it yours". After all your only renting it until you reach the lowest circle of hell.

[Scott Davis]

It depends on which series Jag you're swapping the engine into - are you talking a Series I or a Series III? The Series III E-type had that massive bloated pig of a v-12. If they could fit the 5.3 liter V-12 with its four side-draft carbs in that engine bay, you can certainly squeeze in a big block Ford or Chevy with a nice overhead 4 bbl or dual quads if you're really sick. And authenticity aside, you'd be doing whoever owned the car a huge favor. That V12 was nothing but trouble.

[E. von Hoegh]

It depends on which series Jag you're swapping the engine into - are you talking a Series I or a Series III? The Series III E-type had that massive bloated pig of a v-12. If they could fit the 5.3 liter V-12 with its four side-draft carbs in that engine bay, you can certainly squeeze in a big block Ford or Chevy with a nice overhead 4 bbl or dual quads if you're really sick. And authenticity aside, you'd be doing whoever owned the car a huge favor. That V12 was nothing but trouble.

The sixes had more than a few surprises for the unwary. Like the valve lash adjustment - shims under the cam followers. And the only way to deal with the oil leaks was to pour fresh oil into the sump. And the Lucas electrics ........

The 12 was a 60 degree engine, and took up all the room in the engine bay. A big block - 90 degrees - wouldn't fit without drilling and blasting. The big block would be taller as well.

[E. von Hoegh]

Um, will tinkering with cosmetics make it work better?

Of course. Don't chrome rocker covers make a car go faster?