Saving Old Seagulls

Yeah, good stuff indeed Noel

I think this one is now a "keeper" after everything both you and it have gone through.

What's the next one going to be!


Jon

Well folks the saga continued.
She ran for twenty minutes and stopped,I prayed,and not Sunday church sort of prayers.So I left it in a corner 'til yesterday.
Stripped her,had 75psi,but for fun I changed the piston,95psi,checked the crankcase faces,smooth as a babies behind.Checked block face,the words of the Nathan Carter song,"Rock me like a wagon wheel " came to mind.On to the glass and the wet 'n' dry,half an hour later the rocking stopped.
Reassembled,pulled the cord,no go,out with the drill.Got her to run for about a minute,full stop.
I had been bleathering to a mate about it he said "spark plug". I said couldn't be,only about an hour and a half run time on it including the time I ran it with the drill.But I changed the plug anyway,no go.I tested both plugs,cold I had continuity on both,but when I heated them up,only one had continuity,the one I took out was done.But still no go
Changed the points,she tried but no go.I give up,sat down with a bottle of 10yr old "Clontarf" whiskey.Very tasty.
Light bulb moment,put the timing light on her,intermittent spark,pulled the flywheel yet again,nipped the points wire,stripped a half inch off and screwed it back in.Away she went.Ran for ten minutes before the hail drove me into the house.Went out a few hours later,first pull,ran for twenty minutes before the hail came again. Ran smooth,I have never heard her run so well
I am not sure what was wrong it,but I think it was a combination of wobbly block face,purchased of fleece bay,the plug and points being kaput,but I am now confident that she is fixed
So thanks to all for the encouragement and advice and this bitsa which is no longer an SJP but that and a whole lot of others.
I now only need a con rod to assemble another block and crank.Then a head,now if I get those,maybe a leg and gear box I might find an ignition system somewhere, will I or won't I

Which type of gearbox do you need Noel. I have a whole stack of them piled up outside the shed. Conrod no problem either. Same with a head. I can probably get you enough bits to make up a 40+ lower unit with prop as long as you have everything else over there.

PM me for details

Glad to hear that you've resisted the temptation to throw it off the peir These seagulls can sometimes leave you going round and round and round in circles. She's definitely a keeper now after what you've been through surely?


Jon

Thanks for the offer Jon,but I think I'll let it lie for awhile,I think Kathy curses the day she bought it for me,but in the meantime I'll wheel her out everyday and pull her over just to make sure she keeps running,the Seagull,not Kathy. And when the weather improves,I might even get out on the wee Mirror to see how she pushes it along,though I'm going to have to raise her up a fair bit and use the rudder.
And now that I have blown about her working,she'll probably roll over and die