1959, black paint, serial no. 959447, body, F, shutter working

Notes:

The camera was discovered in a private collection dismantled into parts, all contained in a single plastic bag. The camera was then handed over to specialist Leica repairers in poor condition.

The camera was initially assembled with parts supplied and a number of faults were discovered. Any parts fitted were salvaged/repaired parts from cameras of the same age/model. The camera is single stroke and shutter speeds are later type. The rangefinder is in good order. There are a few internal marks on some of the coatings that look like fingerprints. These are marks etched into the coatings. The optics have all been cleaned and the rangefinder is very good and has been calibrated.

With a complete deep clean of all mechanical parts, we managed to restore the camera to good working condition. Shutter speeds are good. We had to supply a few minor parts that were of the correct age but chrome. These were stripped and painted/treated/aged to blend in with the camera. These were the two black flash port bezels and the screw that holds the preview lever to the camera. There is a little vulcanite loss. We have not touched these up. Other than general cleaning, the paintwork retains the original patina.

We didn’t record every single part but any springs, levers, screws etc would have been contemporary with the camera. Black or chrome, the same internal parts were used. The only parts fitted that were not contemporary were two light seals that form part of the rangefinder. One looks like a black plastic washer and another - a black card teardrop-shaped seal for the frame line selector.

As previously mentioned, flashport parts were supplied and fitted. I believe that the original black paint M3 cameras had chrome flash port bezel rings. We found a couple of rings that we painted/fitted. In any event, many original black cameras do seem to have black rings. Normally, the release catch on the bottom plate would be chrome.

There is a tiny ring that sits under the preview lever. It can hardly be seen. It screws against the shell of the camera. That part was missing so we replaced it with a part that was painted by ourselves.

So, non-original black parts fitted: flash port beauty rings, preview lever bezel. The light seals for the RF are no longer available and are made the agent.

Service Log:

Baffle removed. Baffle cleaned. Baffle (plush) strips re-glued.

Cleaned shutter area. The main drum, spring take-up rollers and guides cleaned and lubricated. Slow-speed escapement ultrasonically cleaned and bearings lubricated.

Cams and blind release catches, cleaned and lubricated. Shutter curtains checked for light leaks/curling. Slit width and tensions reset. Transport mechanism cleaned and lube. Advance block clean and lube, forward clutch checked. Advance lever damped to prevent crashing into speed dial. Frame counter checked. Speed dial operation checked. Detent mech lubricated.

Advance clutch tension adjusted. Rewind mechanism lubricated and checked. Sprocket timing checked to ensure neg frames fall between sprocket holes. Timing stopping lever and spring replaced. Gear timing checked. Reverse function checked. Brake cleaned and new friction disc fitted (new old stock). Flash sync contacts cleaned and reset. ST mechanism clean and lube. Shutter release travel adjusted and checked. Frame counter-adjusted and checked.

Rangefinder optics cleaned including brightline mask. Rangefinder calibrated. Parallax checked and correct frameline operation checked (50, 90, 135). Preview adjusted and tested. Seal affixed. Vulcanite checked and minor faults fixed. Film door checked, bottom plate catch lubricated and adjusted. 'W' seal applied after final RF calibration. Camera reassembled, cleaned and tested.