Saving Old Seagulls

John and all others:

Have emailed about this before and appreciate answers. BUT:
My Century Plus CPCL 53115 has a Mark 1 ignition with Villiers. I also have a Wipac ignition system, which I understand is interchangeable with the Villiers.
Question(s):
Is it worth swapping the Villiers for the Wipac?
How much bother would that be?
Is it a direct bolt-on?
I prefer the Mark 1 for its looks alone. It starts right up on 3d pull even in 20 or 30 degrees F weather, has so far run reliably, etc. Afraid that refitting with Wipac I might mess something up and end up with a mess that will have to be repaired. A Villiers replacement coil will cost about what I m prepared to spend over what I am prepared to spend, and I would hold it in reserve until the inevitable happens and the older coil needs to be replaced. I run THE MOTOR only in slow moving local river (stream) near the "old bridge that arched the flood" where we Yankees started the revolution in Concord MA, USA.

BTW, THE MOTOR gets many inquisitive and admiring glances at the boat ramp. Love it!

Bruce

For the originality of the motor I would stay with the Villiers, find a replacement coil or complete stator plate, as you are in no rush at the moment, you can keep your eye out of one at the right price.
I don't like Wipac motors, but that's my own preference.

both fit exactly the same wipac much more reliable

Bruce

Put simply both types of ignitions are interchangeable. There's just 1 little screw that holds the baseplate onto the engine crankcase. Sometimes this screw will be SO tight you'll wish you hadn't bothered, but if the inevitable happens then it will be a straight forward job.There's only 1 way it will fit so you cannot get it wrong and upset the timing. No worries there. Apart from removing the flywheel it can be a little challenging to free up the baseplate from the crankcase as there will probably be some localised corrosion around the flange. Apart from that it's an easy job.
Re-adjusting the points is a MUST as there will always be slight discrepancies from 1 motor to another.


I'm with Keith though.
If it aint broke, it don't need fixing.
The villiers MK1, provided the coil is stable enough and doesn't decide to suddenly drop dead, with the occasional servicing and adjusting of the points gap should keep going for a good while yet.
Just keep it all dry and away from the elements when the motor is not being used. A quick spray with wd40 over the electrics with the round cover removed won't do it any harm either.

Jon

How well does the shellac coil insulation resist the solvents used in WD40?

If it where me I would just keep it claen and dry and not spray anything at the coil or points... If you are so inclined just a small dab of grease on the cam lug is all that is required. Have a look in the book there is no mention of WD40!

Chas.
I can honestly say with hand on heart that i've never once had any trouble using wd40 on anything under the flywheel of a seagull. It's a very good water dispersal agent after all, and i shall carry on using it for a long time yet.

All of mine have had the same treatment, and every year they start right up, regular as clockwork and usually quite quickly after their winter slumber. All of my coils are just fine. No damage to the lacquer what so ever. I think it helps anyway....


Use it if you like, don't use it if you think it will damage something. Choice is yours.


solvents?


Jon

WD40 is a very good cleaner as well as water repellent, as as been said above I would avoid putting it anywhere close to a villiers coil, shellac is used to coat the copper windings, WD40 will soften the shellac..which might already be in pretty poor condition, as these coils are known to start to fail as they get older.

Modern coils such as the one George sells are made with copper wire that is expoxy coated and will last for a lot longer than the originals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

One of the main ingredients is very similar to white spirits. Interestingly WD40 is not approved for use on the Rolls-Royce aero engines I work on, instead plusgas is used as a penetrating oil. A friend of mine who works in the labs told me it is because WD40 can have a negative effect on o-ring and other rubber seals.

now i know how she fell pregnant 7 times i used to think it was the luck of the irish

A friend of mine who works in the labs told me it is because WD40 can have a negative effect on o-ring and other rubber seals.

Not approved for use on the Rolls-Royce aero engines

Works well on Atlas Missiles.

Tam we've nearly collected enough money to buy you a 42" smart tv, then you'll have something else to do after dark!

Whatever..

I'll still be using wd40. Have done for years and it hasn't done any of my gulls ignitions any harm. I use gallons of the stuff over the course of a year. My moped gets drenched in it. Always starts though, even when its chucking it down. Same with the bigger bike, and my van come to think of it.

Why change the habit of a lifetime.

headdownarseup wrote:Whatever..
Why change the habit of a lifetime.

Does your other combustion motors have points or CDI? WD40 will collect dust which then attracts moisture etc on points that can cause tracking to earth. But then again you could be using "WD40 specialist contact cleaner" which is a different ball game altogether. There is a reason why they brought this product to the market.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/wd-40-speci ... r_p6100409

Do my other combustion motors have cdi or points?------both
My old Atco lawnmower(4 stroke) has points/magneto ignition,as it's fairly well concealed from the elements there's little chance of dust collecting on the points.
I have a selection of 2 stroke powered garden machinery like hedge trimmers, weed wackers etc. with cdi ignitions. All have had a good drench in the past.
My bigger bike has cdi ignition. All of the electrical connections have had a good drench in wd40 over the years.The ignition module is fairly well enclosed within the engine cases, so little chance of dust settling on anything.
My van is a diesel, but again all the electrical connections get a good drenching now and then.
All of my gulls have had the same treatment, and they all run like clockwork.

Contact cleaner on the other hand i don't really use. I prefer carb or brake cleaner, and if i can get to it easily a go over with some emery paper on the contacts.
Each to their own with this, but i do things my way, and to date it's never done anything of mine any harm.
Quite the opposite actually

Jon