Saving Old Seagulls

Hi,
Could somebody tell me if the drive shaft cover on my newly aquired FVP
is threaded into the water pump housing,I think I can see the start of a thread
but do not want to damage it in any way.
Also do I have to anneal the metal gaskets either end of the cyl block or would a
clean up and a thin smear of RTV be enough on rebuild
Is there any other thing I should be wary about when rebuilding the FVP,
Thank you in anticipation
CC4

Is there any other thing I should be wary about when rebuilding the FVP

Yes removing the water pump housing, it may come apart or it may not, normally they don't.
I would anneal the gaskets, but this will depend on the condition of the gaskets you have and I don't think you can get them anymore.
I have not removed the cylinder from my two only because they are on solid and I don't want to do any damage to them and they still pump.

The fv I rebuilt had quite nasty corroded gaskets. So I made a new base gasket from stainless and used a normal 40 copper head gasket, with a liberal coating of hylomar top and bottom. It worked fine.

The problem with these engines is corrosion of the crankcase and the studs. The combination of alloy, mild steel gaskets and salt water is very nasty.

To get the drive shaft tube out you may have to cut it and implode it, and make a new leg. They are great little engines though, well worth saving They dont seem to command a high price, so great for the enthusiast.

I have a few useful spares if you are struggling to find anything.

How about some pictures, we like pictures