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gerry freed
New member Username: gerry_freed
Post Number: 1 Registered: 10-2012
| Posted on Tuesday, October 02, 2012 - 06:51 am: |
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I bought a single cylinder Vinco during the '90s at a second hand boat parts shop at Tom Ugly's bridge. It was essentially complete although the piston was seized and the cylinder head water jacket rotted and cracked. John Forrest provided a new set of 1/4 in rings and a new coupling to the magneto which is a BTH. I welded up the cylinder with partial success and left the restoration for a day with less sunshine. Nearly twenty years later, I am just getting round to it but I now live in France - not a country known for its Whitworth threads. I would like to be able to date the engine if anyone could help. It has a flywheel with three holes and the plate carries the address of 44 Park Road Glebe. It suggests that I use Gargoyle Mobiloil "AF" in the ratio of one pint to 4 gallons of motor spirit. I haven't found a serial number. Any ideas on other features that might help date it or things to know about its quirks would be appreciated. |
Mark S
Senior Member Username: marks
Post Number: 144 Registered: 03-2002
| Posted on Wednesday, October 03, 2012 - 04:55 pm: |
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Gerry, It's pre 2nd world war as Vinco moved to Ryde after the war. The three hole flywheel also gives it away as pre-war. Later engines have a solid flywheel. How many mounting bolts does the water pump have? You may find a serial number on the edge of the magneto mounting bracket, although they are usually full of paint and hard to read. That said I don't know of anyway to date by serial number only roughly by the number of water pump bolts and flywheel type. The mag may or may not (more likely) be original. Cheers, Mark S. |
gerry freed
New member Username: gerry_freed
Post Number: 2 Registered: 10-2012
| Posted on Thursday, October 04, 2012 - 07:16 am: |
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Thanks for replying, Mark. I was beginning to wonder if there was anyone around who remembered these motors, having found that John Forrest never made his century and the collector of data at the Sydney Fleet has also gone. The bottom casting is pitted under the paint. I have found the area where the serial number was and without the aid of a Police forensic unit, the best that I can decipher is 6530. The pump has 3 fixings to the cylinder pot. The magneto is a BTH and has withstood 20 years without attention and gives a solid spark. The cylinder outer was badly corroded and cracked into a dozen pieces with a gentle tap. I cleaned out and phosphate treated the water jacket and then started welding the jigsaw back in place. It wasn't very successful because I was reluctant to heat the casting in an oven to avoid losing the bearings, which were in good condition. In spite of working on a sand bed and preheating the casting continued to crack. Then I changed to a Managanese Bronze gas stick and managed to seal most of the cracks and pores. 15 years later, I am finishing the job off. One other feature. On the photos on this forum I see that the outlet at the top of the cylinder has a pipe to a cooled exhaust pot. Mine has a cast exhaust pot with no cooling jacket. In addition it has tapered screw with a boss that goes right through the water jacket of the cylinder into the combustion chamber. It seals off against the taper and I suppose could be used to release the pressure in the event of a water lock. I don't see the point, as one can always remove the plug, which is a Champion but relatively recent. Everything is there and working, so if I can seal the cylinder, then it should be running soon. regards gerry |
Mark S
Senior Member Username: marks
Post Number: 145 Registered: 03-2002
| Posted on Thursday, October 04, 2012 - 05:12 pm: |
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OK Gerry, It's a fairly early one perhaps late 20's, early 30's. The cast iron exhaust can be drilled and tapped (taper thread) to just dump the water out into it. I have only seen one or two jacketed exhausts out of quite a lot. If you can find one a bronze exhaust is a lot nicer and polish up well. The tapered screw is for a priming cup me thinks and also helps date this as an earlier engine. I have a collection of cast iron pots and pans I've picked up at various garage sales etc. These are good to cut up and make new water jacket pieces and it's a lot easier to weld on than salt affected iron. My technique is to make up new water jacket pieces and then drill, tap (not completely through so the bolt locks up just as it appears on the on the internal side) around the piece edges and bolt up with fine steel screws every 1/4 to 1/2 inch. I then cut cut off flush and make grooves between, "spot" weld on top of the screws and finally fill the grooves bit by bit using as little heat as possible. I've got engines that I used this technique on 10 years or more ago and no signs of cracking. Regards, Mark S. |
gerry freed
New member Username: gerry_freed
Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2012
| Posted on Sunday, November 18, 2012 - 02:39 am: |
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Thanks very much for those ideas, Mark. I don't have the collection of bits of cast iron to do the same thing. The damage is in the awkward spots to get at, at the base of the water jacket where it meets the crankcse in the casting. Here are some pictures of the parts at http://www.globalfreed.net/moteurmarine. I will be in Sydney over the weekend. Is there any chance of having a chat by phone or meeting up? regards gerry |
Todd Vidgen
Senior Member Username: todd_vidgen
Post Number: 233 Registered: 03-2008
| Posted on Sunday, November 18, 2012 - 08:28 pm: |
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I Have a post wwII twin that is missing the crank case, I have the crank ,rods,pistons etc,etc,does any body have one? Cheers ,Todd |
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