Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]DAG (and others) will do the conversion but they have to machine your old take-up spool shaft to fit an M6 tulip take-up spool on. I have heard from people that I trust, both that the work is excellent, and... that it is Mickey Mouse. You pick :-). Then just pick up a used base plate or have your old one modified to accept the film locator wheel. I have both an M6 and an M2 with a rapid load kit and they both are equally fast to load so I never pursued the after market conversion. If you use the original M4/6 parts you have to change your top plate and counter mechanism to...you guessed it...M4/6 type. It is much cheaper to purchase Nubian slaves to load your film and they are very helpful around the house as well.* :-) John Collier *This is a humorous reference to a story by Saki (H. H. Munro) and is not in anyway meant to condone slavery or imply that Nubians are anything but the fine upstanding people that are, were, and will be. > From: "Steve LeHuray" <icommag@toad.net> > > And on this parts topic, do you know if M4/M6 rapid load parts are > available. I am still considering the takeup spool on my M2 over to the > later Rapid Load system (not the kit). > >>> From my discussions with Kindermann Canada there are some parts that are no >> longer available. Finders for the M3 are not available or repairable from >> Leica. There are some people resilvering M finders but I cannot say how >> successfully. All the other early finders can only be replaced (by Leica) >> with a M4-P finder, this can be done with an M3 but it requires some >> machining (read dollars). M4 and earlier hinged backs are no longer >> available and are replaced with M4-2(P) backs. The shutters are also >> replaced with new ones which are different (the subject of much LUG minutia) >> but still fit in the older bodies. I understand that original parts for the >> winding mechanism for the M2, MP, M1 and MD are getting a little thin on the >> ground; and, of course, parts for the winding mechanism of the M2R are >> extinct.* There are NOS vulcanite body shells about but for how long is a >> good (moot for me as they are so expensive) question. Thankfully, Leica does >> manufacture PVC replacement covers for its older cameras. I think that all >> the M cameras will be repairable by some means or other long after the last >> EOS-1V and F5 has fried its circuit boards. >> >> John Collier > >