Minolta Autocords

[PhilW]

I have had one Autocord since the early 70's and the other, the Optiper MVL I picked up on EBay about 3 years ago. My Seikosha-MX, vintage 1958 had a broken focusing lever and the focusing mechanism was locked up. The Optiper of 1961 vintage worked ok when i got it but the shutter speed and focusing levers were stiff to move.

On Flickr I came across the name of Karl Bryan who works only on Autocords. His prices are very modest, and along with the repairs he cleaned the cameras. They are now in like-new condition. You can reach Kark at: [email protected].

After having the cameras themselves worked on I decided to re-sew the leather cases, as the thread used originally was pretty much gone. To do that you need to do Saddle Stiching. That is where you have needles at both ends. Google that to learn the steps you need to take. After sewing the cases about a year ago, I also treated the leather to keep it from cracking more. For that I found Brooks Proofide to be the best product to use. Brooks sells leather bicycle seats in England.

Here are some photos of the end product. Now waiting for the time to get out and shoot!

 

[cgw]

Very sweet old TLRs. Thanks for sharing the service info. Repair resources are becoming so scarce for quality vintage gear. Nice stitching, too!

 

[PhilW]

Thanks! I have always liked the quality of the photos you get with the Autocord. The Rokkor lenses really come through. The stitching is something that takes some time, but is well worth it. The first case took about 8 hours. It takes you a while to figure out how much linen thread it will take. About 3 feet or a bit more each time.