Back in June, I found a late 70's Nautilus Aluminum Cam Plateloaded Pullover. I had read that some of the old plateloaders were, perhaps, the best pullovers ever made. Upon trying out my new purchase, I decided to totally restore the machine and retrofit it with cables and needle bearings in place of the old chain and bushings. I disassembled the machine and had it sandblasted and repowdercoated. New parts ordered were pads, pulleys, seat belt, olympic weighthorns, cables, 6 tiny Torrington needle bearings, as well as all new hardware. I wanted to chrome the handlebar and counterweights but that proved to be too costly. This particular early model didnt have an adjustable seat, so I ended up raising the seat 2 1/4" to better fit me personally (I am 5' 9"). It took a while to get all of the parts, but I finally got it all back together. It really turned out better than I thought it would. The cables and bearings made it a ton smoother. Hope this is kind of interesting. I have 9 or 10 (before and after) photos of the project to download. Enjoy.
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08-18-2012, 07:17 PM #1
- Join Date: Feb 2012
- Location: Johnson City, Tennessee, United States
- Age: 56
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Nautilus Pullover Restoration/Retrofit Project
Last edited by deadwoodgregg; 05-28-2023 at 12:30 PM.
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08-18-2012, 07:20 PM #2
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08-18-2012, 07:26 PM #3
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08-18-2012, 07:35 PM #4
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08-18-2012, 07:43 PM #5
- Join Date: Feb 2012
- Location: Johnson City, Tennessee, United States
- Age: 56
- Posts: 4,265
- Rep Power: 373255
I had someone do the sandblasting and another guy did the powdercoating. After that it was just ordering parts and assembling. I had to learn how to attach the cables to the aluminum cam. Luckily, I sold an old Flex shrugger to a guy in Knoxville (3 minutes from Legend) who knew how and he showed me what I needed. This was really a fairly easy project.
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08-18-2012, 08:00 PM #6
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08-19-2012, 02:52 AM #7
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08-19-2012, 05:35 AM #8
- Join Date: Feb 2012
- Location: United Kingdom (Great Britain)
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That is one nice refurb job, very impressive. Good choice of colour too.
My training log:
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http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=153596291&p=1062453741#post1062453741
[]---[] Equipment Crew #43 []---[]
-!!!---!!!- No Excuses Homemade Equipment Crew #1 -!!!---!!!-
()---() York Barbell Club #4 ()---()
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08-19-2012, 08:53 AM #9
- Join Date: Oct 2008
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Top notch work man. That thing looks like it just rolled off the assembly line floor. After you mentioned refurbing this pullover in healthnuts thread I actually had a dream about buying a used one and refurbishing it. I am not a very exciting man.
______________________________________________________________
"All I want out of life is to be a monkey of moderate intelligence who wears a suit. Thats why I've decided to transfer to business school."
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08-19-2012, 10:41 AM #10
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08-19-2012, 10:53 AM #11
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08-19-2012, 02:00 PM #12
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08-19-2012, 05:55 PM #13
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08-19-2012, 06:46 PM #14
- Join Date: Jul 2010
- Location: Shiner, Texas, United States
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Great job! That thing looks amazing....
_______________________________________________________
-!!!---!!!- No Excuses Homemade Equipment Crew #2 -!!!---!!!-
_______________________________________________________
TXBRASS
"LIKE" us on ********: Get-a-Grip Personal Performance
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Once you go RACK, you never go BACK.....
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08-20-2012, 05:09 AM #15
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08-20-2012, 05:18 AM #16
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08-20-2012, 05:36 AM #17
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08-20-2012, 11:42 AM #18
Great job, OP.
No brain, no gain.
"The fitness and nutrition world is a breeding ground for obsessive-compulsive behavior. The irony is that many of the things people worry about have no impact on results either way, and therefore aren't worth an ounce of concern."--Alan Aragon
Where the mind goes, the body follows.
Ironwill Gym:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpost.php?p=629719403&postcount=3388
Ironwill2008 Journal:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=157459343&p=1145168733
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08-20-2012, 12:03 PM #19
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08-20-2012, 12:20 PM #20
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08-20-2012, 03:55 PM #21
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08-20-2012, 04:08 PM #22
- Join Date: Feb 2012
- Location: Johnson City, Tennessee, United States
- Age: 56
- Posts: 4,265
- Rep Power: 373255
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08-20-2012, 04:32 PM #23
- Join Date: Dec 2010
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There are probably collectors out there crying right now because of the alterations.
It looks really great and I gather it works much better. I would like one of these. . . .You need a good rack, a bench, and a 300-lb Olympic weight set. Now, what was your question?
My home gym: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=652376&p=1465291461&viewfull=1#post1465291461.
()---() York Barbell Club #1 (DD, RH, Kg) ()---() []---[] Equipment Crew #36 []---[] []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #51 []---[] [M]===[6] Mech6 Crew #29 [M]===[6] ~~ 4 Horsemen ~~
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08-15-2013, 10:16 PM #24
Hi, great info, incredible restoration. I was wandering...looking at the frame, the left and right frames are welded to the bottom frame, correct? That is, they cannot be disassembled right. I asked because I would like to purchase a similar plate loaded pullover, but the stairway to my basement is narrow @ only 27". Looking at the picture, the shortest dimension is greater than 27" right?
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08-16-2013, 03:12 AM #25
- Join Date: Feb 2012
- Location: Johnson City, Tennessee, United States
- Age: 56
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08-16-2013, 04:54 AM #26
- Join Date: Dec 2010
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Gorgeous, but I do like the old blue color of Nautilus machines.
You need a good rack, a bench, and a 300-lb Olympic weight set. Now, what was your question?
My home gym: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=652376&p=1465291461&viewfull=1#post1465291461.
()---() York Barbell Club #1 (DD, RH, Kg) ()---() []---[] Equipment Crew #36 []---[] []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #51 []---[] [M]===[6] Mech6 Crew #29 [M]===[6] ~~ 4 Horsemen ~~
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08-16-2013, 06:38 AM #27
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08-16-2013, 06:44 AM #28
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08-16-2013, 08:21 AM #29
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08-16-2013, 09:13 AM #30
- Join Date: Feb 2012
- Location: Johnson City, Tennessee, United States
- Age: 56
- Posts: 4,265
- Rep Power: 373255
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