Fly 3000 miles to Philadelphia and I will do this for you in 20 minutes, for free. (I hate such intractable distances.)
This lens was one of the most proudly built in the history of photography. Just to watch the parts unfold as you disassmble it is a joy to behold. You got the helicoid off. That was easy. The BRASS (yes!) helocoid ring comes off easily, and the whole lens assembly comes right out.
You must make certain that the steel shaft (which prevents the whole lens from turning as the lens is being focussed) becomes securely placed into its indentation on the outside casing. And you must line up the aperture lever so that the mount lever will engage it correctly. ColdEye, it really is not difficult at all but EVERYTHING must be lined up correctly. (Just try taking apart a Canon FD 1.8/50 and you will celebrate this Minolta PF for its utter simplicity.)
First, place the brass ring onto the outside body: screw it in ONLY a little bit so that it does not fall off. THEN, start screwing the lens body onto the ring. This is where it becomes tricky and even though I have done this about one dozen times, it still is difficult to thoroughly explain with words. But both the steel shaft and the aperture lever must be aligned correctly. Certainly, you must be able to START the lens onto the brass ring's threads. After you start this, screw down slowly until you feel resistance. Then discover WHAT is causing the resistance: i.e., either that steel shaft or the aperture lever. At this point turn the lens body so that it will align correctly. At this point that is all I can say. If you want to call to let me TRY to walk you though this 'not so diffuclut task', I will try but not promise to succeed. Bottom line: when you actually manage to get this done you will understand that it is truly no rocket science.
Having done this alignment successfully, you might have to, again, disassemble in order to get the ability to focus to infinity if you do not start the threading of the lens body at the right point on the brass ring. The AMOUNT that you screw into the body determines how your focusing is going to turn out. You might find that you cannot achieve infinity BECAUSE you did not start the helicoid at the right point and find that you now do not have 'enough room' to zero down to infinity. But, good news, once you learn how to align the lens correctly, it is easy to disassemble so that you can start at the helicoid at a different point. There is some 'play' here, in that you do not have to enter that ring at an absolute point, but you must realize that whether focussed at infinity or closest distance, you must, at both stages, have the threads on sure footing. It is easier to do than to explain.
One final caveat about this particular lens: the second to the last element is made of a rare earth glass that SCRATCHES easily. If you disassemble the LAST element set for cleaning, beware that this inner element scratches easily. If my memory serves me correctly, if you do NOT disassemble this last set you can clean both OUTER sides without much worry. - David Lyga 215.569.4949
