Kodak Pony 135 Model C Shutter Repair

[br1078lum]

This is one of those cameras that came to me over a year ago in a box of four.  One of the guys over on RFf was talking about his 'new' one, and I got to thinking about finally fixing mine.


Kodak Pony 135 Model C by br1078phot, on Flickr
Manufactured from 1955 to 1958, it is the third model in the Pony 135 line.  Improvement on the Model B includes a solid mounting of the lens, instead of the collapsible type, and the body color was changed from black to brown.  It has an Anaston 1:3.5 f=44mm lens mounted in a Flash 300 shutter with four speeds (1/25, 1/50, 1/100, and 1/300) plus B. Minimum aperture is 1:22.  There is a cable release on the upper left of the lens mount as you look at the front of the camera.  It still has the old Kodak flash terminal.  It originally sold for $33.75. This camera looks clean, and there is very little wear and tear on it, but the shutter speeds were all at 1/300.  It’s time to tear it apart to see what's wrong.


Flash 300 Shutter by br1078phot, on Flickr
Speed notches at the top, Charging Lever at 2:00, Flash Terminal at 4:00, and Cable Release at 10:00.  The problem is with the Cam Follower at the 6:00 position. I love simple construction.  If not for taking photos, and a slightly recalcitrant lens element, I wouldn't have had ten minutes into this job yet.

Complete teardown and repair at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N07/sets/72157628464406287/

Shot a roll of Ilford FP-4 in it over two days (with a rain day interspersed between them), and will pick those up on Monday.

PF

[Julio1fer]

Beautiful, PF. I love those simple cameras.

Did you really use Ilford HP4 or is it a typo?  If it was HP4, it probably had already expired by the time of the Moscow olympic games...

[br1078lum]

Julio, thanks for pointing that out.  Yes, it is supposed to say FP-4.  I do shoot some Fuji 400 from the 2002 Fifa World Cup held in Korea and Japan, but it's been in the fridge all this time.

PF

[r-brian]

I have a Pony 828, with the collapsable lens, that was my mother's back in the 50's.  The last roll shot with it was my freshman year of college in 1970-71.  Need to take the shutter apart and clean it also.

Brian

[martolod]

got a hammer?

[melek]

I found that you have to lightly lubricate the shutter release plate, especially the part that goes around the lens barrel.

The shutter is very complex, considering it's a simple viewfinder camera.

[br1078lum]

It seemed pretty greasy in there already, so I just put some lithium on the mounting posts of the cam follower and regulating gear.  Everything else works perfectly.

PF