Saving Old Seagulls

You missed out Pub and campsite

H-A

P.S. Must be fresh water, could not face stickiing the olduns in the sea.

Plenty of the former, all by the river or canal. Could certainly arrange a day cruise!

Back to the restoration, A question, why does the SD have a bush in the end of the driveshaft leg, but later 102s don't seem to? I understand why the bush is there, but am baffled why it is not present on the AD and TC legs I also have?

Cost saving.

Hello Charles, Ah I see..hence the removal of the nipple in the lower casting on later engines, no need for lubrication as the bush had been deleted. Thanks.

I do like these 102s I must admit. They are forming a bit of a queue

Parts search is going well, I've found a original throttle lever, (I think, waiting for it to arrive) and fingers crossed there might be a gearbox available shortly.

Was the original non aluminum clutch lever brass or bronze? I'm thinking about getting one plated with a dull finish, have you any experience of trying this?

A.

I have a gear lever pattern I made somewhere around.
Ha has a friend who casts bronze we were going to get some made.

When you look at both lower units side by side you will realise that the later version would be much cheaper to produce.

Nottingham seems a good meeting place lots of fresh water.
As for the throttle I had assumed may be wrongly that the one I had was an original. It is stamped with “Amal “on the leaver.
I am struggling with the motivation to get on with this project after coming up blank with the bayonet fuel cap 1 7/8” closest I can find is 2”. Where the tank straps all the Jubilee type or is this a later addition?

Hello Graham, keep your pecker up young man. Your throttle seems to me to be an original one when compared to photos such as H-A's and Jan's SD?
Why not use a standard screw tank as a temporary measure in the short term? Other than that your engine is all there is it not?

I've been looking around for parts and have also kept an eye open for a filler cap. Don't worry one will be found.

On tank straps my understanding is that zinc plated jubilee clips are the correct method of tank fastening, and new zinc plated ones or stainless ones can be obtained. The ones I have are all a little corroded but will clean up. As I am using all the original fasteners which have scrubbed up with WD40 and wire wool, I shall probably use the jubilee clips that came on the engine, also cleaned up. I want the engine to look like an old engine nicely cleaned up, rather than a blinged up version.

Try:

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/spares/1_filler_caps.php

The originals had a screw vent in the centre, but I have never seen a new replacement - is it possible that one of these would do for now?

Your throttle lever is indeed original. The SDs were all fitted with this one.

Thanks for the support chaps, I did look at caps from this and other sites. I even considered stripping off the 1 7/8” filler opening and re welding on a 2 “ to be able to fit a standard cap.
I fear that I may have to do what Charles suggested and fit a later tank. Luckily I do have one with a period metal screw filler cap.
Of all the 102s I do find this the most appealing of my small flock. May be its the abundance of polish able brass akin to a well loved traction engine. Or just the nostalgia of an era when quality mattered, who knows.
I know I need to get it finished if we are having a meet in my neck of the woods . may have to jack it up a bit to fit on the inflatable !
Thanks again all
Graham

How far is Grimsby from Surrey.

Got any good venues sorted?

You could always come to the Hayling Island Marathon or Cholsey 2011 ( if there is one) does John not have a new venue up his sleve.

H-A

HA aprox 240 miles, unfortunately there is a distinct lack of fresh water around here but an awful lot of sea. That’s why I have to travel in land to pick up the canal system.

Finally got my Amal throttle lever. Shame I had to buy the very nice 40 plus it was attached to Luckily I know somebody looking for a nice 40 series

As nearly all my SD is now cleaned up or awaiting other parts, I made a start on the AD cylinder with a rotary wire brush, to use a spare hour. Quite like the polished cast iron finish!

Hate to say this but all the AD cylinders I've owned have brass core plugs (identical to the gearbox oil cap) & low level inlet ports, yours looks like a later replacement cylinder.

The picture below is an AC (identical power head but with clutch) if you zoom in you can just see the core plug.

Hello Charles, Yes you are right, it is a replacement taken from a TC model from around 1958-59. The "original" from my AD does indeed have the brass slotted core plugs. Not much else left though

I originally bought a job lot of three 102's. The SD without the original gearbox, a complete but rusty AD that had a completely shot water jacket, and the remains of a TC that had no magneto, tank, carb or prop. I have subsequently bought a nice complete AC that I will restore when I complete the SD and AD...

The AC I have has hexangonal core plugs!

The "original" AD and the replacement TC cylinders seem to have identical port configuration. Getting the cylinder off the AD was a job!

The AD has a bit of wear on both the small and big ends, so I'll be looking at that at some stage, before rebuilding. I have all the parts ready to go.