After picking this seagull up from a boot sale last year for £10 (must have seen me coming) and after giving it the once over but never been happy with the look of the engine, I have given it one good clean up.
As I'm a lover of engines and go sailing weekends but has no use for the seagull on my laser, I managed to pick up an 8ft fiberglass tender that was going to be a large flowerpot at my sailing club, woodwork rotten but now has been replaced and would suit my fvp i think, so will be going out for a day up the river and will take some pictures of the day.
I know you like the fvp's Charles and i can see why, so easy to handle.
I just wish i could something with the tank any thoughts.
Theres a bit on the main site about getting dents out of tanks and the attendant risk of explosion etc. I can fully see why you want to complete the job as the rest looks so good but if it were me I would use a decent fuel safe body filler of some kind ( Think Frosts might be able to help there with products made for repairing motorcycle tanks ) you should be able to get a good finish as the tank end is smooth with no impressed wording. Then respay and new transfer?
You're absolutely right I like these little chaps. They're a bit quirky internally, but that's part of their charm
Yours is a very nice looking one, and represents a tenner very well spent. An FV went on eBay last week for around £150, so you were not 'seen off' in any way.
Tanks. There's a whole subject all on its own. Each type of tank attracts its own dents, and each requires careful thought.
From what I can see yours isn't a bad one. In fact my preference (if it was my motor) would be to leave it exactly the way it is; I now regard the remaining decals as being original finish that it's best to preserve, and the couple or so fairly mild dents as being honourable scars won in service!
If you really feel you need to restore the tank then I suspect the hydraulic method may not help here due to a slightly sharp edge to the ding we see in the photos, so filling it is a better bet. I rather favour lead loading (or solder loading to be precise), which would involve a very thorough scalding out of the tank, in order to remove every trace of petrol, which can be lethal anywhere near a flame. Detergent, boiling water, repeated until it's absolutely clean and devoid of smell, it'll take a while.
Then apply flux and solder with a blowtorch; you can with practice roughly shape the puddle of solder (plumber's solder) with a wooden paddle. Final shaping can be done with emery or similar, and finally paint.
We have covered these subjects before, and there are pitfalls. Whether you use solder or filler you will have immense difficulty obtaining a contour that looks right when the tank is painted. A glossy finish will show unmercifully any deviation from the right radius on the hemispherical end, and the first time the thing is laid on its side scarring will start again.
The next bit is the new decal. I am aware that the chap who does John's 'Sailorman' decals does a 'White Bird' one for these - he used photos of one of mine as a model - the last sample I saw was no way close enough; it was way out of scale. So as far as I'm awatre there's no decal available. At least not one that would look like the original.
The last point about this is the same point I have made before about new chrome. If you do succeed, with the tank all perfect and glossy, with a correctly dimensioned set of decals, then the rest of the motor begins to look tatty. You'll be thinking of new chrome on the leg and exhaust, newly chromed dome nut, new magneto cover, new plating on the air intake.
You've done a great job on the motor. I would leave well alone!
I can only agree with charles, leave it as it is! To my eyes it looks fantastic as is,any attempt to restore the tank will spoil it,use it and enjoy!!
Oh by the way" see you sunday charles"
