Saving Old Seagulls

Hello,

Picked up my first Seagull yesterday, just been out in the garage tonight to have a good look at it. It's a 40+ FP1172F2 June 1972

Well, it's not pretty but I like a challenge and think its worth having a crack at. From the outset it has a lot of salt build up around most parts and all bolts/nuts are pretty rusty. There's quite a big crack on the outside of the cylinder block on the exhaust side (underneath) and its completely seized. A cracking start!

I pulled the plug which was in a terrible state, put a little oil in the cylinder and gave the whole engine a good spray of GT85. After dinner I had another look at it and managed to get it moving. Fuel tank wasn't the easiest to remove so I removed the head and they are still mated together at the moment. I was surprised to see the cylinder bore was in ok condition but the water jacket is pretty much non existant as it is completely blocked with rust (more than likely the cause of the big crack on the outside?)

That's about as far as I got but i'm still pretty keen to get it up and running. Any hints or advice is gratefully received! From what i've read on the forum so far, I have come to the right place!

Where the fuel tank joins the head is there an ideal way of splitting the two as i'm reluctant to put too much pressure on either of them. Would abit of heat help do you think?

Thanks for the great resource of this forum and site, I will try and post a few pictures if that's cool?

Cheers,
Dan.

The 40-Plus are good little motors with almost as much go as a century100. The 1st thing i would suggest is to remove the top flywheel nut and flywheel, Then remove the powerhead. Use plenty of de-rusting fluid and take your time cracking all the nuts and bolts loose. Leave the lower unit till latter. Lets have a look at the top part 1st.

P;s The cyl block will need replacing by the looks of that one. Im sure you can get one from some place

You have some good parts there. Well worth owning as a parts motor, great tank, fuel tap, gear box, drive tube,transom mount etc. Take it completely apart to learn the model and then start shopping for a complete running engine. You don't have near enough there to make it even remotely feasible to rebuild that with out hemoraging cash well beyond the cost of a nice cleam running 40. My bet is that you can find a real nice 40 for what it will cost you for a cylinder, HT lead, rings etc etc.

Not trying to be negative or to disuade you from tinkering with a great and useful little engine model just voicing a word of caution.

What kind of boat are you gonna mount it on? I am a new 40 user and love them best marine bargain out there.

Hi,

Thanks for the replies guys. The flywheel was actually where I first started but the nut was not budging so I have left it overnight to soak a little. Hopefully at some point over the weekend i will be able to remove it and start at the top. There should be a Wipac mk2 under there I hope. The engine has been tinkered with already but from what I can tell its pretty original. The spark plug thread has been Helicoiled at some point and under the rusty nuts I spied some stainless washers.

Boat wise - I hadn't even thought about that yet.

Cheers,
Dan.

The helicoil & the washers are original.

Ah, thanks Charles. This could mean the engine is in pretty original state. The plug I pulled was a Champion 8 but was planning on putting in a D16 as per the forum advice.

Dan.

Heat is amazing at freeing things off... bit of a dodgy area that! drain the fuel and leave the cap off and let the fumes evaporate first!
You will defiantly need a new block...often available on fleebay
separate the gearbox from it and see if that turns ok.

Forties are nice little motors. And you're in the UK, so pay no attention to the doom laden warnings about expending buckets of treasure on restoring it.

The cylinder block will have to go, but a replacement won't cost much. In fact do you ever get over to Poole? PM me if you do.

The HT lead is probably in need of replacement, on the grounds of age and because it has a suppressor, which is not a good thing. With care you can reuse both ends and simply put a new length of HT lead in - that'll cost pence.

Have a look inside the gearbox before you go too much further; hopefully the neglect is external. Pop the end cap off and show us what's inside.

Great fun to be had with this, be very careful you don't get hooked. You'll get it running and it'll be an achievement; you'll mention it to the lads in the pub and next thing someone will offer you another, and that's how it starts.

A real crusty coastal motor...looks like it's seen to much salt water! Like the rest of the guys have already told you,try and remove the motor from the leg and begin to strip it down. Cylinder looks shot but internals may be fine...don't lose hope,we have all gone through exactly what you are faced with! You should see some of the junk I drag home... Believe me,you will get it running eventually,it's a British Seagull we all love these old motors and you won't be stuck for advice here!

Thanks for all the comments and advice folks. Hopefully I have a replacement block on the way in the near future kindly from a forum member who got in touch this morning! Just been out for a quick look again and it is now in bits on the bench. The only problem I have at the moment is the gearbox. I went to drain it and a very small amount of emulsified oil came out of which, I was expecting more. Had a quick look inside and its pretty gummed up in there. Seems to be turning freely though with no real noise. Couldn't get the bolts out which hold the casing apart so have left them to soak until tomorrow hopefully.
Now just to start cleaning everything up and sourcing any bits I need. One other thing is the ignition system. It says on it Wipac Mk III and I was expecting a MkII??

Fortunately I get to play with marine engines everyday at work so this is just something to tinker with at home as I've not worked on a Seagull before. Would be nice to restore it to its former glory.
Hope no one minds me posting some pictures of the progress?
Thanks again,
Dan.

Charles,

Was there not a board member serviced, clean and running 40 for sale on here for weeks for 40 pounds????? How much do 4 head bolts, head gasket and HT lead cost in Britian???? It aint doom and gloom it is simply smart math. Even if he finds a good Cylinder for free a complete running motor is still cheaper. But if pouring money into trash is more fun then pouring money into utility have at her.

Charles,

Was there not a board member (good mechanic trusted fellow) serviced, clean and running 40 for sale on here for weeks for 40 or 50 pounds????? How much do 4 head bolts, head gasket and HT lead cost in Britian???? It aint doom and gloom it is simply smart math. Even if he finds a good Cylinder for half what SOS sells them for a complete running motor is still cheaper. But if pouring money into trash is more fun then pouring money into utility have at her.

I reckon the HT lead should cost a pence if he makes it up himself - the ends can probably be used again, so also the brass bits.

The cylinder won't cost him anything, because he has already been offered one.

The head gasket can be re-used if cleaned and annealed.

So this gentleman's motor isn't 'trash' at all. It's a forty year old outboard that can be restored.

It aint being restored, the good parts attached to some rubbish are being wrapped around a gift

There is no reason why this could be a good engine. A new block and then some tlc, perhaps a few new nuts and bolts. For more fun in rebuilding something others would just throw out.

The gearbox bolts will come off with plenty of heat to the area around the threads, then use a screwdriver with a hex shaft that a spanner can be applied.