Vintage OCD

I purchased an old Cleveland Aztec Neon clock several years ago. When I purchased the clock it had a working clock mechanism, but the neon was not functioning. One ring of neon was there and the other was long broken. I purchased it from a junk store for $45.00, as the proprietor told me the clock mech had recently stopped working and the clock was only good for parts. The case was faded and chipped and the hands were long faded, but the clock face was good and it seemed all the parts were there. I opened it up and got the clock running again, and then restored the case with fresh paint. The intention was always to get the neon replaced and get it back in form. I hung it on the garage wall and let it run. There was no time adjustment bar connected to the clock mech, so every daylight savings I had to unplug the clock and let it sit until the time caught up with the clock. Four years passed and I never did anything with the clock.

I recently celebrated my 50th birthday and went on a trip. When I came home I walked into my house to see a funny glow coming from the kitchen. When I entered the kitchen I found the Aztec clock sitting on the counter with brand new neon glowing like it originally was meant to. My neighbor, who works in the sign industry, had snatched the clock while I was gone and replaced the old neon with new as a birthday gift! It was the best gift I could have ever imagined.

During the neon replacement process the old original clock mech had stopped working. I removed it and did my best to get it un-seized, but to no avail. Over the years I had done research on Cleveland Clocks and found that there was a company called Petrorelics that was reproducing replacement parts and had replacement motors. I ordered a motor and a time adjustment stick and anxiously waited for them to arrive. Once the arrived I found that the old hands did not fit the new hub, so back to Petrorelics.com it was. I ordered new hands that fit the new clock movement and ordered a hanging bracket as well. I had to fabricate a bracket to install the new clock mech, and once this was all done it went together without difficulty. It looks great, and now should last another 100 years.