79 EFNR Lives!

[sbbloom69]

Well, I got my 3rd Seagull running: the EFNR (Silver Century). Thanks to Michael for letting loose of one of his Mark III coils. Cleaned the tank, cleaned the carb, replaced the AMAL fuel line connecter and line, put in the new used coil, put on a new spark plug cap and spark plug.

I couldn't wait on the rest of the parts coming from John, especially the recoil starter screws and throttle lever, so I just used the rope starter and the broken lever for throttle. I had to pull the carb connector and clean the screen again. Engine still runs a little rough, but it was in the tank. Got a great stream of water, even near idle, so water pump flow is no worry. Shifts OK into and out of forward and reverse.

Q: Has anyone with a "pre-80's" Mark III ignition bothered with retarding the coil plate 5 degrees? This was in the Don Meyer book as a remedy for stalling when shifting into gear.

Also, I have both a champion D-16 and a D-21. The center insulator looks a little different. Is one hotter than the other?

Q: Which plug should I use? Most of the literature says D-16, but that a D-21 is OK. I ran with the D-16 (set at 0.35), haven't tried the D-21 yet. I sail at 7000 feet altitude.

The hardest part of this resurrection was the recoil starter spring. WHAT A PAIN IN THE REAR. It came nice and packed tight with tie wraps from Sean in California. I read and re-read the instructions in the service manual and the Meyer book. I'm pretty handy, but I sure couldn't figure out how to do it coiled up. Sure enough, I lost grip (yeah, I had gloves and glasses on) and sproing.

I ended up using the method in the service manual, starting with 2 small coils in the rope plate, pushing the plate on the shaft, and feeding the rest in while turing the rope plate. The end passed through the slot and clicked into its capture slot just right. Maybe I was lucky, but it worked. I have to undo the rope again and preload the spring one more turn, the spring doesn't want to pull the rope back unless I coax it. I can't use it until I get the replacement screws from John.

Now I have to build a 5" extension to my motor mount on my Potter to run the thing at the lake. We'll see if it's too big for my little potter. I'm hoping it will work, since I want the forward and reverse.

Thanks for all of the help you guys on this site provide. 3 out of 3 resurrected Seagulls all having been dead for at least 17 years. I'm pretty happy,

Stu
Los Alamos, NM, USA

[headdownarseup]

Give yourself a pat on the back Stu. That's no mean feat you've undertaken there with the recoil unit. (i know what you mean by a pain in rear) I wouldn't have put it quite that nicely though.

A very nice motor to have are the FNR types.
Mine is about the same age (and not quite finished yet)


Have you got any pics of the nearly finished motor! we like pics here


Jon

[sbbloom69]

Here is a photo of the EFNR after the test run in my "tank". The starter is off my EFPCL, which has the blue starter of this motor. As soon as I take a wrap to tighten the spring, and get the screws from John, I'll put the right starters back on the right motors. But, they run. I'm not sure the big tank was stock or an option, but it should provide lots of run time. Once I'm sure its running long-term, I'll spiff it up a little, repaint the tank and cover, and get a new decal.

Stu

[headdownarseup]

All looks pretty good to me.

Tanks are an interesting thing that sometimes get swapped around i've noticed.
The steel tank currently fitted (as far as i can tell) would have been an original fitment. My EFNR is no different and was built in late 79.
Later models sometimes have the very nice plastic fuel tank which doesn't corrode internally like some of the steel tanks do.
Should be a fairly simple job to retro-fit the recoil unit back in place.

Blue or black (to me anyway) doesn't really matter although this may have been a standard colour combination at the time i.e blue recoil top and blue tank, or black recoil top with black plastic tank.
I think the recoil units for CDI ignitions are the same part just painted a different colour that's all.
The actual ignitions themselves vary slightly in the coil units and flywheels, but most of the other parts seem to be a straight swap with no bother.


Good job

Jon

[THCL500J8]

Nice to see another FFNR running, Its out favorite seagull.
Mine is Sept 86, its steel tank but black in color as is the starter, Its has the later transom bracket.
The engine pivits on a bolt at the front of the clamp screw's, so You can't remove the brass pin and lift the engine away from the transom bracket.
Leaving the bracket on the boat.

It runs very well the tank good for 3 hours on the water, so enjoy the motor as much as you can.

[sbbloom69]

One more photo. I put the original blue starter back on and put the black one back on the EFPCL. I had to repair the black starter which is why I swapped them earlier. The EFPCL was black tank and black starter, the EFNR blue tank and blue starter.

I got the starter fixing screws from John today (as well as a fuel tap, a used throttle lever, and 2 spare gear case plugs. Thanks John.

I now have 3 fully operational Seagulls: a 76 Featherweight 40, a 79 EFNR Silver Century, and an 85 EFPCL 40 longshaft w/clutch.

Now I have to get on the water. I can't wait.

Stu
Los Alamos, NM