A Tale of Two electro's

[b1bmsgt]

I just bought these two Electro 35's on Ebay, a GT and a GTN.

They were advertised as non-working, but no details. Got 'em both for $26!!

First of all, the GT

As you can see, the shutter release is stuck in the down position. Also, the shutter itself is stuck open.

On taking the top off, I found that the POD had fused to the other shutter rod, and jammed everything up. As soon as I pulled the lens board off and freed everything up, the shutter worked perfectly.

This is what I found after I got everything apart...

Yuck! What a mess! I cleaned everything up...

Installed a new POD...

and set everything aside for later.

The GTN had a stuck film advance...

On taking the top off, I found the window from the frame counter jammed in the advance mechanism...

Pulled it out...

and everything worked just like it should...

As the restoration progresses, I'll post more updates.


Russ

 

[martin-f5]

that's a nice story and two beautyfull cameras

 

[free2move]

The Electro Hospital sure does look a lot more comfy than the Electro Graveyard 😛

 

[PaulDalex]

Enticing
A feel ashamed to ask. Meaning of POD?
Cheers

 

[free2move]

Enticing
A feel ashamed to ask. Meaning of POD?
Cheers

POD : Pad Of Death

 

[ItsReallyDarren]

Great info and walk through. I got an Electro GT heading my way as well. If I cant get it working it might come knocking at your door!

 

[martin s]

Hey I just got mine in the mail today, it's a GS. I paid 21 Euro's for the camera, 7 Euros for the adapter and another 7 euros for the battery. The mercury battery which has been in there for probably the last few years leaked, so I had to get all that nasty fluid off first. It did work right away though, I just finished 24 frames of HP5.

 

[martin s]

Well I'm just holding the blank, developed negative in my hand. Now I just have to find out what it is, that doesn't work...

martin

 

[Clark.EE]

Cover Removal

Cover Removal

So whats the secret of getting the leatherette off Yashicas without ripping/stretching?
The Yashica J and MIII i have tried to remove have been glued on with some very sticky stuff!!!! Both unusable after removal...
Whats the base plate on the GT? Solid or cutaway?
Chris..

 

[b1bmsgt]

So whats the secret of getting the leatherette off Yashicas without ripping/stretching?
The Yashica J and MIII i have tried to remove have been glued on with some very sticky stuff!!!! Both unusable after removal...

I use a flat bladed screwdriver that has been ground down to a fairly sharp edge. I use this to get under the edges, then push and pry to release a little bit of the leatherette at a time. You can't go too fast, but it usually only takes about 15 minutes to peel both sides back to where I can get the lens board off.

Whats the base plate on the GT? Solid or cutaway?

It is a cutaway base, which I prefer. This makes it pretty early in the production run.

Regards,

Russ

 

[b1bmsgt]

Well, the GT is done. Came out pretty nice, I think. Here are some shots of the finished product:

Time now to work on the GTN...


Russ

 

[free2move]

Nice work on the crimson "Electro" font! Adds that touch of funk to the GT.

 

[b1bmsgt]

Update

Update

The GTN is finsihed, except for a releather job. Here are some pix:

I'll be going with a nice Navy Blue Composite leather. I'll be back when the leather is on...


Russ

 

[b1bmsgt]

Hi all!

Well, the GTN is done. Here are some pics:

This is what it looked like when I got it. A little grungy, film advance jammed, light seals deteriorated into a really nice goo...

Here it is now. A small improvement.

And a few more shots:


Before releathering:

After releathering:

In case anyone is interested...😀

Russ

 

[FallisPhoto]

Enticing
A feel ashamed to ask. Meaning of POD?
Cheers

In the fourth photo down, see the rod on the right with the spring coiled around it? Just to the right of that, do you see the small speckled lump of rotten rubber? That is the "pad of death." It is the thing that is most likely to be wrong with a Yashica Electro 35 that has not been overhauled and it can cause all sorts of problems. You pretty much always have to replace it. Two photos down from the photo with the bad pad, it has been replaced by a nice new rubber pad.

 

[Tom Harrell]

Very nice work Russ! The cameras are really nice to look at and enjoy using! I bought a GSN from somewhere in a like new condition! It is still in the box and has the warranty card with it! After seeing your cameras I took my GSN out of the box and began cocking the shutter and firing it. I noticed that the shutter button sticks for about a second before popping back up, do you think it could be caused by a faulty POD? Or is it sticking from not being used regularly?

Cheers,
Tom

 

[b1bmsgt]

Hi Tom,

There is really nothing in the shutter release mechanism to make it stick other than the POD, so I would say that would be the cause. I have seen quite a few GSN's and probably half of them had bad POD's, the other half being OK. Apparently they changed the POD material somewhere in the production run and the new stuff doesn't deteriorate like the original. Unfortunately, I would say that you have one of the former.

Russ

 

[Clark.EE]

Pod

Pod

Hi Tom,

There is really nothing in the shutter release mechanism to make it stick other than the POD, so I would say that would be the cause. I have seen quite a few GSN's and probably half of them had bad POD's, the other half being OK. Apparently they changed the POD material somewhere in the production run and the new stuff doesn't deteriorate like the original. Unfortunately, I would say that you have one of the former.

Russ

Do you think that the POD would dissintergrate faster in your warm hot climate?
Most of the electros i have worked on for the most part seem ok.
POD`s look almost like new, more problems with battery leaks.
Certainly never seen anything like the one in you photos.
Chris.

 

[b1bmsgt]

Do you think that the POD would dissintergrate faster in your warm hot climate?
Most of the electros i have worked on for the most part seem ok.
POD`s look almost like new, more problems with battery leaks.
Certainly never seen anything like the one in you photos.
Chris.

Hi Chris,

I suppose that's possible. Never really thought about it before. I have done over 50 Electro's, from early non-G models through late GSN's. Every non-GSN camera had a POD in similar condition to that in my pictures. GSN's can go either way. The good ones are made of a clear substance with an orange tint, which stays in perfect condition. I have seen other ones with a similar material that looked OK but crumbled when probed a little. Never know what you are going to find until you open it up. I imagine that sooner or later you will come across one... 😀

Cheers,

Russ