Stuart P55MR

[AusAnzani]

I have wanted a Turner off and on for some years, but like other bigger engines I have had over the years, it all comes down to lack of space, I think I even have a R2 book about.
I used to go for the flat twins, like the Norman T300 and the PU8, it makes a change doing something different ones in a while.
Its all looking good so far.

Just do it Keith, buy another and get in to it!

Because of the weight and space issues, I procrastinated for well over a week and risked losing it in the process.

Getting in to it now however, I can understand why there are so many more collectors of vintage stationary and marine engines than there are of vintage outboards, at least in Australia anyway.

Doing this also brings me back to my younger days when road registered race cars and regular high hp engine builds were my thing. I just wish I hadn't let go of all my tools, cranes, benches, wash down units etc ie as working on this would be so much easier.

An ST R3M would be nice! Go for it mate.

[Collector Inspector]

Once again I get sidetracked by other things and on returning so much has been done and progress made.

Tips me lid S.

Try these guys for your fastener and threading tool needs aye.

http://www.classicfasteners.com.au/

BnC

[AusAnzani]

Thanks for the link B, I will certainly consider using them in future.

Although I feel I'm not doing this in the right order (some not so good advice and the lack of a 3/4 W socket has prevented me from removing flywheel and prop shaft coupling first) a little more progress was made over the weekend. All rusted/frozen bolts have now been removed allowing me to separate the gearbox from the engine. In doing that, I could see why the unit would remain in gear after shifting back to neutral. Lack of oil, water ingress (possibly condensate) and internal surface rust inhibiting proper movement of the clutch assembly.

As you will see from the pic below, all barrel/head studs have been removed, just making the whole thing easier to work on.



A little bit of good fortune too, in that I was put on to a collector of marine engines not too far from me who has several Stuarts as well as some parts I needed. The copper drip tray (underside shown in the pic) was a mangled mess but I managed to straighten that out without too much difficulty.



All that's missing now is the bronze dome nut that's used secure the water outlet fitting, the copper head gasket which I'll likely replace with a high temp fibre unit anyway, and a bronze ahead/astern lever in good condition. I anticipated that these levers would be hard to find, but have rejected 3 so far in ordinary condition, 1 in the UK and 2 in Australia! I'm sure a good one will turn up somewhere soon.

Will have to start priming some of the removed parts soon.

Regards,
Spiro

[AusAnzani]

Unfortunately Ballarat Swap didn't deliver in terms of the larger Whitworth tools I was looking for, but I did pick up a 33mm socket which is near enough to 3/4 Whit (33.02mm) needed for the flywheel nut.

With the flywheel nut off, a little bit of heat around the key way, followed by a few gentle taps and the flywheel was also off.



Having done that, I proceeded to remove the pistons and split the crank case. This allowed for a thorough inspection of all components and a good clean of internal crank case. Well worth the effort.

Accessing the nut which secures the clutch assembly is a real problem. A ring spanner wont fit or reach, and a socket cant be used either due to the shaft. This leaves two options a) source a whitworth tube spanner of suitable size or b) leave the clutch assembly and the rear crank case intact. I've decided option b will do!



As of last night.



Still some cleaning to do however, weather and time permitting, some primer will be applied in the next day or so.

Regards,
S

[AusAnzani]

The last of the parts needed to make the P55 100% complete arrived in the post from Tasmania this morning.

Must say I am more than happy with the condition of both as well as the outstanding service provided by the seller.



Both will polish very nicely.

Regards,
S

[Hugz]

Which avenues to you use to source parts? You seem to do well locating bits for your projects!

[AusAnzani]

Which avenues to you use to source parts? You seem to do well locating bits for your projects!

I wish that were true Hugo. That fact is I have so many unfinished (and unstarted) outboards with missing parts it's not funny. Overwhelming at times might be the best words to describe it.

With parts for the Stuart I think I may have just got lucky. All parts were tracked down through discussion forums much like SOS. More specifically, a member of "The Board" put me on to the first guy, and the most recent lot via a member of the TOMM forum. Between all that however, I was also in touch with a guy in the UK.

I do spend a lot of time also searching Ebay, Gumtree etc, local and overseas, but seldomly find what I need through those.

Regards,

[croweater]

Have to agree with Hugz you are very good at tracking down parts, I've been looking for a donor motor for months
haven't seen any advertised. Someone has asked me to sort their motor out and its missing a few correct parts previous
owner has changed the ignition, carby, gear selector mechanism.


No id plate on either the motor or gearbox.

Have been following this build and the others you have done previously love the quality of your builds and you even make the decals.

John

[AusAnzani]

There has been a P55 advertised on Gumtree over the last couple of weeks. Asking price is only $100 (VERY CHEAP), so might be worth considering even with interstate shipping. Needless to say, I passed on details to our mates in WA shortly after I spotted.

As for the Stuart in your post, my guess is that it's probably a P66 with Dynastart. Some different parts to mine (P55), but much is also the same. Not sure about your gear selector though, I'm not familiar with that style.

If you like, I can pm you details of the guys who I managed to get parts from. They may be able to help you out also.

Back to the one on Gumtree, click this link to view http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/bunbury- ... 1104845012 You might even be able to convince him to send you parts only eg Magneto & carby. Those are worth more than his total asking price alone.

As said before, always happy to help.

Regards,

[AusAnzani]

PS: The one in your post looks to be in good nick. Certainly worth saving.

[Hugz]

I saw you had a magneto coil rewound on one of your rebuilds. Do you use a local firm and would you recommend then. Might have been a riptide but I could be wrong.

[AusAnzani]

No, not me Hugo. I have never had a coil rewound.

Regards

[Hugz]

My mistake. For some reason I thought one of these coils you had rewound.

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5194&start=30

But then again our Aussie coils are a bit "how's your Mum"


Another clothed cover cable! I'm all over the shop today. Back to Stuart.

[AusAnzani]

No probs Hugo.

Although energy and motivation have been lacking this week, I did manage to get some work done.

I decided the parts individually as they are easier to handle and get good cover in to all the difficult places. Final coat will go on after assembly to give a more factory type look. Colour is Deep Brunswick Green.



Hope to have the bottom half of the engine reassembled tonight, and the gearbox and barrel later this week.

Temporary trolley is also underway.

Question: When stripping down was surprised to find that there were no gaskets or sealer used on any of the crank case components ... somewhat strange for a marine engine. Interested to hear what you guys about that and what you would normally use.

Thanks & Regards,

[Nudge]

If they are nice close fitting parts fit them together with shellac.