Forty Minus has come home.

angusrob · Post by **angusrob** » Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:29 pm

My first post so hello....and thank you in advance for the help / advice I shall need. The story so far.........

In the late 50's / early 60's my granfather bought a new forty minus. My father was to use it (sea use). It apparently even came wrapped in plastic!? It served well and true untill very annoyingly it was sold. To a friend; whom so far as I can tell hasn't used it in 12 years.

On sunday I blagged it back as it was deemed unstartable. From Sunday night I have been avidly reading up all the advice on this site. many thanks I feel are deserved by those who run this web space.

I spent this evening examining it. It has much wrong but is 100% original (details / photos to follow).

The main problem was its previous owner couldn't start it despite a new plug. (thats as far as he went .....a relief to me!)

following the obvious I quickly discovered that the carb was ...ok, I had compression but no spark from the high tension lead.

A carefull strip down to the points showed a fine powdery reidue. Meths and fine emery and all back together.

Third pull and away she went. And thats with old fuel and visible sludge in the fuel pipe and carb! Yes I have work to do.

Now that I have established it is worth my time to service and make good I will have questions. I'll test tommorow to make sure I have water cooling.

What a great piece of engine!! Approx 50 years old. Stored unused in a salt atmosphere for 12 years. 40 MINS OF WORK AND PURRS LIKE A KITTEN (ok a loud kitten).

I think this might be the start of something.......

Cheers Rob.

CatiGull · Post by **CatiGull** » Fri Apr 28, 2006 12:03 am

A classic Tail of the 'Gull

Post by **RickUK** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 4:03 am

Well done Rob - sounds like the start of a love affair!
Don't forget to change the (140) oil in the gearcase. Rick

angusrob · Post by **angusrob** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 11:42 am

Yip took it apart last night. Its Packed with grease !!!!!!!????????? Any ideas how best to clean it all out? What damage to look for - I dont think it has run much in this state. It looks fine apart from the error of the grease.

Post by **charlesp** » Sun Apr 30, 2006 6:32 pm

Oh dear! Grease!

Petrol (Gasoline) or paraffin (Kerosene) with a paint brush, then rinse it out well.

Check that the gear teeth are not damaged, and let it dry out before reassembling.

Good job you checked it out.

Good luck.

angusrob · Post by **angusrob** » Mon May 01, 2006 10:23 pm

Yip I'm glad I checked it out. I understand from surfing this site that grease is not a good thing !!! Does it cause wear on the gears? or does it trap water causing lack of lubrication hence wear? All academic as its in for the full treatment now.. 140 oil it is once I find a moment to fully strip and clean all the bits. Thanks for the tips charlesp

Swami · Post by **Swami** » Tue May 02, 2006 1:22 am

angusrob wrote:Does it cause wear on the gears? or does it trap water causing lack of lubrication hence wear?

If any transmission is designed for oil, grease will not work, and visa versa. As a Seagull gearbox is quite slow turning and low load (compared with most other grease-packed entities), and running below the waterline, it will be running VERY cold. Grease would not "run" sufficiently between the cogs. It would just clog in lumps AWAY from the meshing surfaces leaving them dry. The Seagull gearboxes are designed; to actually ALLOW a small amount of water to seep in and out of the gearbox; to emulsify the 140 gear oil; to effectively splash all around the inside as the boat sloshes around on the waves; to prevent pressure build up; to lubricate the bushes; making the most efficient lubrication in that situation. Also, running in sandy environs, as outboards often do, gearbox and prop shafts parts will wear quickly and any grease seals would soon lose their integrity, thereby letting grease escape and water to enter, (and water and grease DO NOT mix).

Also, if they were grease, one would need to shoot them a few shots of grease through grease nipples to keep them "packed" before each usage , thus requiring always having a grease gun on hand - and that is contrary to the ideals of a simple, minimalist, reliable, low maintenance outboard which is the "Best Outboard Motor for the World" !!!! A monthly check of oil level is far easier to remember and execute than daily greasing.

Hence "The Wise Ones" at BS have designed and built for emulsified oil.

angusrob · Post by **angusrob** » Tue May 02, 2006 10:54 pm

Thanks, A more difinitive answer I couldn't imagine. I'll just keep a good lookout for any damage when I disassemble / clean. And use 140 oil.

ALAN · Post by **ALAN** » Sun May 07, 2006 4:31 pm

It may take a few flushings with parafine (kerosene to our Stateside Brothers) and run it for a minute or two between flushings to churn the grease into the parafine. Afterall, if it has been run with grease, a couple of minutes with parafine will not do any damage. I think I have spelt parafine wrongly but you know what I mean.

Good luck.

Alan.

angusrob · Post by **angusrob** » Tue May 09, 2006 9:31 pm

A good plan, paraffin it is. Although I may have to try by just pulling the starter cord as I have the tank off in the process of repainting. The corrosion / rust interaction between the tank straps and the tank its self was worring me. Thought it best to remedy the risk of having to find a new tank. And a good chance to check for leaks.

Another question for all those in the know.

I need to remove the Carb from the manifold. The hex head screw securing the carb is VERY rusty. If I can budge it I shall need a replacement. Is there such a replacement?

Yes the block need de-rusting and re-painted. Any paint suggestions / advice?

Thanks Rob.

Post by **John@sos** » Wed May 10, 2006 10:27 pm

Amazingly I still have bits like that hex nut on the shelf!

Give me a call or a mail,

Regards,
John
SOS

angusrob · Post by **angusrob** » Sun May 14, 2006 11:46 pm

Will do John, I have a list of bits now

angusrob · Post by **angusrob** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:36 pm

Right, It took a bit of effort but all the grease is out now. Being unwilling to take it apart anymore than neccesary I tried flushing with paraffin but it didnt work that well. Finally bit the bullet and remover the prop shaft / gear. Much easier. No wear on the gear teeth, just a specks of rust here and there.

Spares bits and bobs on the way from John SOS. Should be finished next week.

Any one know the origional finish on the magnito flywheel of my minus? Model SJM D3?

Post by **charlesp** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:50 pm

Your Forty Minus would have started life with a bright polished flywheel. Not exactly mirror finish, but more of a finely engine turned look, with the 'lines' going around the flywheel.

That can take you hours, and of course the alloy won't allow the finish to stay, unless you lacquer it.

The cover plate is the alloy one which had a polished finish with the wording picked out in black.

The starter rope pulley was again polished, with the lettering background picked out in black. I have seen red paint used here which is very attracctive, but I'm not convinced it was original.

I'm assuming a Villiers magneto here, it's possible that a Wipac has been fitted at some time in the past.

angusrob · Post by **angusrob** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 2:24 pm

I'm sure the flywheel is the origional, I suspected it might have been polished as you say Once a Long Long time ago. Now it has some areas of etched corosion, similar to what you would see from bird lime on a cars paint job. I have tried some synthetic wire wool to see if the finish can be salveged, Seems like it could work.

Thanks for the info tho, I wasn't sure if it was bare metal or a fine paint finish of the same colour. The remainder of the "silver" bits definately seem to have a paint finish. Ahh more work to do.
Thanks Rob,