Opened up a Nikon F2 from 1976 and found something wild inside

I was working on a customer's Nikon F2 this morning and pulled the top plate off for a shutter speed calibration. That's when I noticed the serial number on the curtain drum didn't match the camera body. Looked it up and apparently Nikon used leftover parts from earlier F models all the way into 1977. There's a whole spreadsheet online from a guy in Ohio who tracked mismatched parts across 400 bodies. I had no idea factory Frankenstein builds were this common. Anyone else run into weird part combos on these old Nikons?

2 comments

2 Comments

taylor.paige22h ago

I mean the "factory Frankenstein builds" thing is wild but honestly not that surprising. Nikon was cheap with leftover parts back then, it tracks. Maybe it's just me but I'd actually trust a mismatched F2 more than a perfect one.

the_finley19h ago

lol it's a cool discovery but I don't know if I'd call it that serious. @taylor.paige has a point about trusting them more though, those old F bodies were built like tanks no matter what parts they used. People act like a mismatched serial number changes everything but these cameras have been clicking along fine for 50 years with mixed internals.