Saving Old Seagulls

Chris, Just been measuring the F and FV cylinder heads. They are completely different and not interchangeable. In the horizontal plain the stud holes centre distance is 2.10 for the FV and 1.87 for the F. The widths of the block and head are also different. 3.59 for the FV and 3.35 for the F. Are yo...

Chris, Thanks for your reply. What serial number is yours? Mine is F201. I might have a sevicable head from an FV. I have not yet checked to see if the stud positions on the F are the same as the FV. The cylinder block dimensions on my F are smaller than the FV, so thinking about it now, the FV head...

I have just acquired a Little Model Forty F. Charles P has given me some information and help concerning the model - thanks Charles. I am interested in how many of this model are still in existence and whether owners would like to share their knowledge, problems and difficulties with this model. Som...

Yes, although I have very limited knowledge of other models, I really like my FVs. They are nice and light and power my inflatable dinghy and my small pram dinghy very satisfactorly. Although the short central tiller looks unusual, I think ithe design works well, although the throttle cable routing ...

Yes, but which is the most efficient/powerfull? Staying with the cute angle - I think it has got to be the 3 or 4 bladed cloverleaf - but which one?
Jeremy

Yes, I have stripped three drive shaft tubes off the pump housing. One just unscrewed without any trouble, another took a lot of effort, and I gave up on the other one as the end thread of the tube was damaging the thread in the housing. I always wonder what the 'best' prop is for these FVs powering...

Thank you Charles for that information. I thought that there might be a greater difference.
I think the small light FVs (and Fs) are just right for a small boat tender.
Thanks again.
Jeremy

As an owner of an FV, I am interested in the slightly older F.
Can somebody tell me how an F differs from an FV.
Thanks.
Jeremy

I would think that once a CLEAN plug fails then it is going to continue to fail if it is under the same running conditions. Likewise, I would think that if a plug in a specific engine is working well, then unsurprisingly it will continue to work well for a time. The timescale to failure might well b...

I have always assumed that the ceramic insulation breaks down. I thought that the surface of the insulation developed small cracks either running along the surface or through the insulator itself. Once these cracks contained a conductive material then this would aggravate the situation and poor plug...

Charles, Thanks for your reply. I will order a 'sailorman' transfer from John. This time I switched the lights on in my workshop and can state quite clearly that the previously silver flying seagull is now white! Sorry! Even with the lights on, the old gold one still looks gold as per the lettering....

Having just repainted my early Forty Minus tank (SJM35), I would like some advice about tank transfers. SOS John states his oval tank transfers are suitable for 1960s and 1970s tanks. Would these transfers be correct for 1950s tanks? John has previously supplied me with his FV/FVP transfer, which lo...

Yes, indeed, and the round water inlet holes in lieu of slots (like FV/FVP). Although I am interested in when (serial nos. or dates) these changes occured, I am especially interested in when functional change like the steering angle limit was introduced. Do you think that perhaps they were introduce...

Thanks Keith,
What engines had the gear lever stub? Was this contemporary with this 40-?
When you say later modifivation, was this in the 1960s/
Thanks for the info.

Jeremy

There has been some recent activity on this site in determining when the '...for the world' superseded the '...in the world' wording on the flywheel cover. I am interested in the steering angle restriction. Early 40- and presumably 40+ appeared not to have the feature machined on the top of the driv...