If you don't know about PPAP, it's fine.

Most people who take themselves seriously wouldn't have subjected themselves to this excessively artistic subject.

To whom who took themselves seriously, this is the gist of PPAP:

♪
I have a pen
I have an apple
Ugh
Apple pen
♪
I have a pen
I have a pineapple
Ugh
Pineapple pen

To apply the spirit of PPAP to a pair of Seiko 38 quartz watches:

♪
I have a 3863-7020
I have a 3862-7020
Ugh
3863-7020

Let me explain.

Long time ago in a job lot I acquired a survivalist 3863-7020, aka 38QRW. Its yellow bezel plating heavily tarnished, and the ring securing the caseback seized by rust.

After several rounds of penetrating oil and a hell lot of tractions, I managed to unscrew the ring and removed the back to a heavily corroded case ring bonded with the case itself.

Again after battling with the hardened gasket, rust, I managed to persuade the case ring to part from the case by removing the dial from the front, and hammering on the case ring through the plastic movement ring, causing the plastic to crack in the process.

In the process, I have bent the second wheel slightly out of flat from its pinion.

But the dial and hands, are all good.

I moved on to disassembling the rest of the 3863A movement until I realize it's missing a battery condenser protecting the circult from voltage surge. At the time, I thought this is required and therefore put the movement into my parts box as spare part for later.

Over a year later, I was casually looking for another 3863 for parts when my 3863-8020 previously restored had slowed down significantly. At the time I thought I needed extra parts to fix it, maybe the second jumper was too bent, or the stators were configured incorrectly. I stumbled upon an example of 3862-7020, aka 38QRC.

Now, 3862 isn't compatible with 3863 on the dial side because 3862 is missing the weekday display, but otherwise they share the same parts on the movement size.

Not long after I secured the 3862-7020 rather cheaply (probably because people took the description "missing strap part" to mean "missing part", it's useful to be able to read Japanese), I managed to fix my 3863-8020 by simply cleaning and relubricating the wheels from the movement side. My old batch of Moebius 9010 has thickened and I probably applied too much.

With my 3863-8020 ticking happily, I activated my other plan.

You see, the first digit on the second part of a model code (7020/8020) indicates the "dial opening" from some online article I saw, though there doesn't exist another independent source to cross-check with. Anyway I thought, I may be able to use my 3863-7020 dial on the newly acquired 3862-7020.

♪
I have a 3863-7020
I have a 3862-7020
Ugh
3863-7020

Enough.

Of course, I expected to salvage the battery condenser from this 3862 and any other parts required to revive the 3863, say the bent second wheel.

When I pop a fresh LR44 into the 3862 after taking out its existing reversely placed LR44, the 3862 started ticking after a slightly twitch, a sign of life, and that it needs a service.

I opened the back, this time again with some tractions with the case holder on a heavy duty vise and a two-handed case opener. Leverage baby.

Don't make me describe the amound of dirt that came from the tiny cavity between the caseback and the screw ring. It was dirt.zip. Is that why I don't have a photo for the 3862-7020?

Anyway, I opened the caseback. The gasket was still soft and there's one spot of rust which allows the case ring to be removed with ease. Upon inspecting where the battery condenser should be in order to harvest it, I realized it's not there.

But this watch runs…

Would 3863 work too without a battery condenser?

Before that, let's try fitting the beautiful emerald color dial with yellow/silvery applied indices onto the case of 3862-7020.

Oh it fits! And it looks pretty!

I resumed the servicing of the 3863-7020 movement which I stopped previously having thought that a missing condenser means non-working movement. I was proven wrong after having cleaned and lubricated, the movement was ticking!

I even short circuited 3 LR44 batteries by touching the base plate with the battery's bottom positive terminal, and the movement still worked fine.

I cleaned the case and polished the acrylic crystal of the 3762-7020 and managed to stuck the working 3863-7020 assembly inside, movement, dials and hands and all.

The result was gorgeous.

Why did I insist on re-using the 3863-7020's emerald color dial?

That's because it resembles my grail watch: King Seiko Vanac 5246-6030, and the Lord Marvel Special 5216-6010.

I have a dial that looks like them already, I might as well try securing a case that works. Much cheaper that way.