3 Ampex 351 local bargain - missing amplifiers..shoul'd i?

heya fellas.
sorry for not updating so long. it's been busy times..i moved to a new place, went thru the exams period, all in relative success. the Ampex project went on and on, being the most interesting aspect of my studies, there's so much to learn. the amount of work on this machine is actually crazy, got me to think how much effort was put into engineering it back in the times.

moving on..the next thing i encountered while diving into the transport section is a worn out spring from the braking mechanism of the take-up reel. picture shows it actually deformed over time..and wallaa! the purchase of 3 machines starts to bring it's fruits. the spring on the other stereo machine is intact. and that's only the start of the cannibalizing game as you will see...
the spring had been changed :

the bad guy:
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the good guy:
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buddies:
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there ya go
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the AC transformer that i had mentioned got a new cord instead of the old one that was very tasteful at time for the garage rats. also it lacked any form of grounding, and that was taked care of by coonecting an outer bolt on the transformer to ground(there is no proper way to do so inside,. just not enough space):

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Up in the next post: pinch roller got a new look..changing guide's bearings ...and some wood work!

keep up
 
So it was the pinch roller i suspected the most that woul'd need a replace for a new one . those new rollers going for about 70-100 bucks if i remember correctly. not too bad, but i do try to save every dime on the project, and as long as the parts i have around can do the job i rather use it. as you can see, it's initial condition was quit nasty:
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I have disassembled the pinch roller to pieces to understand to construction of it, and ofcourse to clean the old grease too. it's a nice machine to do a first restoration on, because everything is OVERSIZED! it is a dinasour compared to fourtracks or cassette decks.
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i gotta praise this stuff by ATHAN corp. : PINCH ROLLER CLEANING SOLUTION FOR ALL ATHAN POLYURETHANE PRODUCTS 8oz (ATHAN) | eBay


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it did an awesome job on the 30 years old pinch roller, not only cleaning it real nicely, but it also restored some of it's elasticity. it was hard as rock, and now feels way better in my hands. i have not used any rubber renuer because of mixed experiences i have encountered on this forum and others.

old vs new:

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actually..there's an obvious crack in the other pinch roller..what's your toughts?is it beyond repair?
 
Re the transformer earth? Whilst belts and braces is no bad thing, surely the traff will be earthed when bolted into the machine's chassis?

Modern UK/EU standards insist that the incoming mains earth is taken to a dedicated earthing stud and that NOTHING else is fixed by said stud. If that is the only earth in the recorder it does not qualify over here. Of course all must be PAT tested.

But, JEEEZ! You are a glutton for it! Well done.

Dave.
 
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